Do you live inor attend a congregation in Montgomery County? Learn How to Promote and Participate in Montgomery County 's Clean Energy Rewards Program.

Our faiths instruct us to be good stewards of the creation – to till it and keep it for the greater glory of God. But our use of energy is polluting the air and altering the very climate that sustains life on earth. About 40% of America’s air pollution comes from the production of electricity. In this region, burning coal provides roughly half of our power. Another third of our power comes from nuclear energy. Little of our power comes from clean renewable energy sources like wind turbines, solar panels and landfill gas.

Coal-burning power plants produce pollutants that harm everyone’s health – but the very young, the elderly, the poor, and communities of color are especially vulnerable. This entire region feels the impact from these pollutants, whether it is acid rain killing trees and lakes or urban smog, exacerbating asthma and other diseases. These power plants are also responsible for much of the mercury pollution that can harm pregnancies.

But the impacts go far beyond our region, to the entire planet. We are called to “love your neighbor as yourself,” but the way we use energy is hurting others. Half the people in the world depend on fishing, farming, and forestry – and they are being harmed by global warming. Global warming is also increasing the frequency of el Niño, which has devastated poor countries like Honduras. To be good stewards of the earth, we must minimize this harm. We must act to protect God’s creation, not destroy it.

Better choices are available – and Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light (GWIPL) can help make the right choice much easier. God has provided us with abundant energy to serve all the needs of humankind, in the form of sunlight, wind, wood, and water. GWIPL is a cooperative, non-profit project offering your congregation and members clean, renewable energy that will make our skies brighter, our planet safer, and our air more healthy to breathe. Please ask your clergy or governing board to participate.

Clean Energy Choices

GWIPL is currently offering two clean energy choices – electricity from wind or from landfill gas. Your congregation and members can choose to get all of their energy from these sources, or begin with a smaller amount.

• Wind is a popular and fast-growing kind of renewable energy. Once a wind turbine is built, the wind is free – but because the wind does not always blow, the cost of wind power is about one-third more than regular electricity. The extra cost is 2 cents per kilowatt-hour.

• Landfill gas is produced when trash rots in garbage dumps. Bacteria turn the trash into a gas that can be burned to make electricity. The cost is scarcely higher than for conventional power -- just half a cent per kilowatt-hour more.

Buying Clean Energy

Greater Washington Interfaith Power & Light is a cooperative, non-profit project. GWIPL will work with you to make your purchase of renewable energy easy and affordable. There is no overhead fee, so 100% of your purchase goes toward buying clean, renewable energy.

If you buy renewable energy from GWIPL, your relationship with your current provider, such as Pepco, will not change. You will still get your electricity from Pepco (and the same monthly bill. By pooling your purchase with that of other faith communities and individuals through GWIPL, however, renewable energy producers can lower their price and sell more clean energy into our regional power “grid.” This clean energy replaces dirtier power from coal and other sources. It makes the power throughout the system a little bit “greener.”

GWIPL keeps the cost to you low by cutting out all the paperwork. Just write a single check to GWIPL to pay the extra cost of a full year’s worth of clean energy. Because of the harm that pollution causes for our health and the environment – for our neighbors and ourselves – GWIPL recommends that congregations and their members buy all of their power from clean, renewable energy if they can. You can also phase in your purchase over time, starting with a certain percentage and increasing it annually. Buying clean energy can start with whatever you can afford – any amount will buy some clean energy, and every purchase of clean energy helps.

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