GAIA Host Collective : Green Energy Grant 2006, New England, Solar, Wind, or Micro-hydro

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GAIA Host Collective's Green Energy Grant 2006

Environmental Impact Assessment

What we currently include in the total:

Electricity used to power servers and office computers.
Electricity, Wood, Fuel used to heat and light office.
Fuel used to drive to and from our datacenter, conferences we attended, and work. (note: For the most part we telecommute, minimizing our need for travel )
Energy used for other travel by bus, car pooling to conferences, or air travel.

What was not included in the total: (we are working to include this for 2008)

Energy used to ship items to us
Energy used for non-computer equipment
Our expected lifespan share of energy used for the creation of computer equipment (note: we buy 95%+ of our equipment used, which has a much lower embodied impact than new equipment)

Sample Table of Calculations from 2005:

Activity	Usage	Carbon Emission Rate	Pounds CO₂
Server and Desktop Computers	9,073 kilowatt-hours	1.25 pounds/kilowatt-hour	11,342
Office Heat and Hot Water (wood)	10% of 4 cords	2.59 tons CO₂/cord, 2000 pounds/ton	2,100
Office Heat and Hot Water (oil)	10% of 500 gallons	22.4 pounds CO₂/gallon	1,120
Automobile (using Dino-diesel)	1,300 miles	40 miles/gallon, 22.4 pounds CO₂/gallon	728
Automobile (using Bio-diesel)	600 miles	40 miles/gallon, 5.6 pounds CO₂/gallon	84
Total:			15,374

References

GreenUp Providers

One option for green electricity is to pay a premium per kilowatt-hour for eleectricity that comes from alternative sources. GreenUp providers for National Grid show a cost of 2.0 and 2.4 cents/kwH. They use a mix of energy, including Landfill Gas, Wind, Micro-Hydro, Small Hydro.

National Grid's GreenUp Provider Listing

Carbon Credits versus GAIA Host Renewable Grants

Here's one quote on what a "Green Tag" carbon credit represents:

"A purchase of BEF Green Tags supports new renewable electricity generation, which offset the environmental effects of burning coal, gas and other fossil fuels in the 15 Western States. (The term "new" indicates renewable generators that first started operating on or after May 1, 1999)"

Below are cost estimates to offset the GAIA Host Collective electricity usage using carbon credits, instead of the way we chose by granting directly to new renewable projects. Note the difference of our original 2005/6 grant of $1400 versus the $240 - $400 we would have needed to spend to buy carbon credits. Choosing to invest more in our collective future is best route to choose for us, even if it's not as flashy as the carbon credit trading system.

Bonneville Education Foundation (90% wind, 10% solar): $24/tag valued at 1000 kwH of renewable electricity: 12 Tags TOTAL $288/year
Bonneville Education Foundation (99% wind, 1% solar): $20/tag valued at 1000 kwH of renewable electricity: 12 Tags TOTAL $240/year
PV USA Solar Cost was $25/tag valued at 750 kwH of renewable electricity: 16 Tags TOTAL $400/year