The Green Power Choice program empowers CEC members to support renewable energy and technology development through the purchase of green power.

Through a partnership among local electric cooperatives, PowerSouth and Waste Management, methane gas from Springhill Regional Landfill in Campbellton, Fla., is extracted and burned to generate 4.8 megawatts of green energy. Members may participate in Green Power Choice for as little as $2 per month in addition to their normal energy bill. Members purchase green power in 100-kilowatt-hour blocks. The minimum participation period is one year.

Buying two blocks of green power per month for a year equals recycling 480 lbs. of aluminum or recycling 1,766 lbs. of newspaper. If you are interested in signing up for the Green Power Choice Program, please print this form (Sign Up Green Power Choice Program), complete and return it to any CEC office.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is “Green power”?

“Green power” is a marketing term for electricity that is partially or entirely generated from environmentally preferable renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biogas and low-impact hydro. The green power currently available to our members is generated at a landfill gas-to-energy facility at Springhill Regional Landfill near Campbellton, Fla.

What is landfill gas-to-energy?

The process begins with the disposal of organic-rich solid waste into sanitary landfills. As the waste decomposes, methane gas is produced. This gas is recovered by a series of wells drilled into the landfill and interconnected by a common collection system that transports the gas to a compression facility. There, the gas is compressed, dried and filtered before being sent through turbines or engines to produce electricity.

What is Green Power Choice?

The Green Power Choice program offers consumers the option of voluntarily purchasing blocks of power through their local electric cooperative. This allows interested members to join their local electric cooperatives in actively caring for the environment while supporting the environmental benefits of using renewable energy – such as methane gas – as a fuel source.

How do I participate in Green Power Choice?

To enroll, members can call their local cooperative or fill out the form inside the “Green Power”

brochure. Members will need to register their names and account numbers and choose the level at which they would like to participate. Green power may be purchased in 100-kilowatt-hour blocks for just $2 per month. The minimum participation period is one year.

How do I know I’m getting power from the Springhill Regional Landfill?

Power generated at the Springhill Regional Landfill enters the transmission grid along with power from all other sources utilized by your local electric cooperative. Members participating in Green Power Choice receive the same blend of electrons that every other member on the system receives, but they become owners of the environmental benefits associated with the blocks they have purchased.

Why is there an extra fee associated with Green Power Choice?

Even though renewable resources like methane gas are free, the technology required to extract it and use it for power generation are more expensive than traditional power generation methods. Member support of Green Power Choice helps to further develop renewable resources to be used as energy sources.

Why should I participate?

Participating in the Green Power Choice program allows consumers to not only join their electric cooperatives in protecting the environment, but it also puts some of the five pounds of solid waste generated daily by every person in the United States to good use. By using green power sources to generate electricity, electric utilities preserve fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal and oil.

What is the Springhill Regional Landfill?

The Springhill Regional Landfill near Campbellton, Fla., serves residential, municipal, industrial and commercial customers in Jackson County and surrounding communities. A total of 75 people are employed at the facility, which is owned and operated by Waste Management, the industry’s leading provider of comprehensive waste management services.

Located on company-owned property, the landfill currently has a single 182-acre “footprint” where waste is being deposited, referred to as Springhill South. A separate 39-acre portion of the landfill, called Springhill North, has reached its permitted capacity and has been closed. A final cover system has been installed on this footprint. Both areas have an independent network of groundwater monitoring wells and methane probes. They also have stand-alone landfill gas collection systems.