Great River Energy, a Minnesota-based not-for-profit electric cooperative, and its participating member cooperatives have launched Revolt, a program Great River says allows customers to fuel their vehicles with 100% wind energy at no additional cost.
Great River Energy says renewable sources are already part of its power mix, but the Revolt program provides a more direct connection between wind energy and the EV driver.
Technically, the co-op explains, energy comes from all kinds of sources, and once it hits the grid, there's no way of telling where it came from. However, when renewable energy is added to the mix, a renewable energy credit (REC) is created that embodies all of the environmental benefits of that energy. When an EV owner joins the Revolt program, Great River will dedicate wind energy RECs on the owner's behalf, completely offsetting the energy used to power the EV.
“Our Revolt program allows consumers to further support the use of renewable energy. We are dedicating wind energy to completely cover the electricity that a consumer uses to fuel an electric vehicle for the vehicle's lifetime,” says David Ranallo, Great River Energy's Revolt program manager. “We're thrilled to offer this innovative program and hope it acts as a spark to ignite awareness around electric vehicles in Minnesota.”
To be eligible for participation in Revolt, a cooperative member must currently own, purchase or lease a plug-in electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle by Dec. 31, 2016. A household can enroll up to four EVs in the program. Standard or off-peak rates still apply for electricity used to fuel the vehicles.
More information about the Revolt program is available at MNRevolt.com.
