Windsource – Xcel Energy
I’ve recently signed up for Xcel Energy Windsource program and have been explaining it a lot! The two primary questions I’ve been getting about Windsource are:
Why pay more for renewable energy? They should be paying you!
How do you know your house is actually getting energy from wind?
#1 – Yes, we do pay 0.008/kWH more. But that doesn’t tell you much you’ll be out of pocket so I’ve broken down a few different monthly examples here. The first billing cycle (July-September 2019) was only ~$12 in net Windsource charges. I was happy with that, I estimate this will end up being less than $100/year.
#2 – Great question, the answer is utilities can’t and don’t think on this small scale. By signing up for Windsource, Xcel builds or in many cases purchases additional wind resources on to their system to account for our usage. We know our total usage is being pooled with others in the program to increase renewable energy on the grid.
Example: Xcel Energy in Minnesota - Net Windsource charge for April-May 2020 (719kWh used) was $5.92
