The Philadelphia International Airport has won the admiration of environmentally-minded citizens everywhere for its efforts to minimize its carbon footprint. Calvin M. Davenger Jr. – the Deputy Director of Aviation Planning and Environmental Stewardship – has overseen the implementation of policies such as a timer system for airport lights and a fleet of hybrid cars for employees. Last March, the airport announced its most ambitious project yet: a $216,514 wind energy program that would allegedly offset more than 14 million pounds of carbon dioxide.
But Delaware’s News Journal found that this wind energy program – like many of those currently available for offset initiatives – is misleading. It turns out that wind energy credits bought from Perco do not directly correspond to an actual measure of electricity. Instead, each credit goes towards commodity certificates that are traded on Wall Street. The credit purchase represents an investment in a wind energy company, but not a directive to that company to produce a specific amount of energy. And while it is true that investment in the wind energy sector is always a good thing, it is disheartening that none of the participants understood the deal that they were entering.
As a result of this purchase, PIA claims to have offset 8% of its carbon use, but the actual number is closer to 1%. When confronted about this disparity, Davenger was unaware that he had bought company credits rather than actual wind power. He shrugged it off, as did Perco’s communications manager, Cathy Engel. Engel did not understand the system herself, at first insisting that the credits corresponded to increased wind energy presence on the power grid. In actuality, the wind energy that makes its way to the power grid has been purchased by various well-meaning carbon offsetters already.
This is a real-time example of the phenomenon discussed during the press conference with Brighter Planet a couple of weeks ago. In it, co-founder Andy Rossmeissl warned against buying into established alternative energy companies because your dollars go to increasing the company’s value rather than helping it to build new facilities. The best course of action for Davenger (and the rest of us) is to purchase our alternative energy from upstart companies that rely entirely on credit purchase to deliver energy into the grid. Brighter Planet uses Native Energy – a company that distributes bought credits among wind energy startups that might not be built if not for N.E.’s initial investment.
The Federal Trade Commission is in the process of updating their “Green Guides,” which should help those looking to offset their carbon to navigate the private alternative energy market. To read more, click here.
