Clean Electricity
Boundless energy from the sun, wind and water now generates the cleanest and lowest-cost electricity on earth. Learn about why clean electricity matters, your options and how you can benefit.
It turns out clean energy matters. A lot.
Use of fossil fuels, such as gasoline, diesel and natural gas is responsible for more than 90% of man-made carbon emissions changing the climate here in Silicon Valley and worldwide. Cheap and clean renewable energy can replace fossil fuels used in your car and home. Use your clean electricity to make the switch!
Buying clean electricity is an easy and essential first step in fighting climate change. Multiply your impact by replacing fossil fuels used in your car and home with clean electricity. info
SVCE’s GreenStart clean electricity service is available to all customers and costs less than your investor-owned utility. Options such as rooftop solar may help you save even more. info
Power your electric vehicle and high-efficiency home appliances with rooftop solar plus battery. If the rest of the block loses power, you’ll be the one with the lights on.
GreenStart & GreenPrime
Your energy choices. All customers are automatically enrolled in GreenStart – the SVCE base electric plan that comes from renewable and clean sources while costing less than PG&E.
Be at the forefront of a 100% renewable energy future by upgrading to GreenPrime. This creates even more demand for electricity from renewable sources. Customers are invited to indicate their interest in enrollment by emailing info@svcleanenergy.org.
Whether you choose GreenStart or GreenPrime, the new time of use rates that all Californians will transition to, if you are not already on, can save you money and reduce your carbon footprint.
“We went with 100% renewable GreenPrime to power our all-electric appliances – a simple check of a box.”
Discover how you can use clean electricity.
It’s hard to ditch gas, we’re so used to it, but there’s a better option out there. Smarter choices happen when you switch to clean energy to power the car you drive and the appliances you use at home. Clean electricity creates a healthier home for your family, and everyone.
Power your home with clean electricity
There is something better out there. Choose cleaner, safer and smarter home appliances powered exclusively on clean electricity.
Power your vehicle with clean electricity
Keep using clean electricity even after you leave the house. Over half of our community’s emissions come from transportation. Drive electric and produce no emissions!
“SVCE’s carbon-free electricity is similar or lower cost than that of a private utility and improves our community’s air quality and health.”
MARK JACOBSON, Director of Atmosphere and Earth Science at Stanford University | Santa Clara County
Solar Panels + Battery Storage
Consider installing a rooftop solar + battery system that’s sized just right to power all your clean, electric needs for today and tomorrow, even if the grid goes down. Switching from gas to an electric vehicle is your greatest opportunity to reduce your carbon footprint. Already done that? If you’re remodeling or replacing old appliances install clean, all-electric products and eliminate burning fossil fuels in your home.
Curious how much you could save with a solar + battery system? Solar Assistant can help. You can discover the cost and long-term savings of your own installation. Or, speak with an Advisor to answer your questions. Generate your own clean electricity.
And there’s more!
Explore multiple tools and programs that provide incentives and education for home solar+battery storage and help increase your home’s energy resilience.
The Solar+Battery Assistant is a no-obligation, end-to-end concierge service to help you design your solar+battery installation, independently compare pricing from multiple installers, and access financing options. SVCE customers can get $1,000 off if an electrical panel upgrade is needed for their installation.
With Lights On Silicon Valley, customers can get a $500 rebate when they install solar+battery storage with Sunrun and enroll their battery in the program to deliver excess energy back to the grid at times of high energy demand and grid congestion.
Battery Storage
Solar only works when it’s sunny? There’s a battery out there that disagrees. Add batteries to your existing solar system to store energy for later use, in the evening hours when grid electricity is more expensive. Or you can keep surplus clean energy should the grid go down during off-hours.
Have questions about 100% clean electricity?
These are some of the most common questions we receive from the community. We have plenty of resources to share if you can’t find something here. Reach out to us. We’re here to help.
Clean energy comes from sources that do not pollute the atmosphere and are carbon-free. Silicon Valley Clean Energy purchases electricity from wind, solar, large hydropower plants and other renewable resources.
A GHG is any gaseous compound in the atmosphere that is capable of absorbing infrared radiation, thereby trapping and holding heat in the atmosphere. By increasing the heat in the atmosphere GHGs are responsible for the greenhouse effect, which ultimately leads to climate change.
The most significant GHGs are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is largely a result of burning fossil fuels, like gas. About 55% of emissions come from gas-powered vehicles and most of the remaining emissions come from burning fossil fuels in homes and commercial buildings.*
*Sources: PG&E electricity and gas data; CARB; Metropolitan Transportation Commission; California DMV.
Californians are the second-largest consumer of petroleum products. In 2017, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from burning fossil fuels for energy are about 93% of total U.S. human-caused CO2 emissions.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Profile Analysis, January 16, 2020.
As a Silicon Valley Clean Energy Customer you have already committed to reducing our region’s emissions by 20%! If you’re now ready to reduce emissions even more, consider switching your gas-powered car to electric. Emissions from internal combustion engine cars are the number one air pollutant in Silicon Valley and across California. And with an electric car, you can drive commute, travel and run errands on clean electricity.
From there, you can reduce emissions even further by switching to high-efficiency, electric home appliances. For example, replacing a gas-powered water heater to a heat pump water heater will eliminate about 50% of the emissions that come from your home and save you money in the long run.
To learn more about reducing your impact on the climate, and maybe save some money too, go to CoolCalifornia.org, a resource funded by California state government and non-profit agencies.
No, natural gas is not Clean Energy. It’s toxic to people and is a large contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and overall climate change.
Natural gas is commonly used to power gas appliances in California, emitting carbon monoxide into our homes and communities. Switching from gas appliances to high-efficiency electric is healthier and cleaner for all of us.
Onshore wind and solar are now the cheapest sources of power generation in nearly all major economies in the world. Bloomberg NEF, April 29, 2020: Solar and onshore wind cheapest sources of energy.
Today, about half of California’s energy is sourced from renewable energy and large hydroelectric plants. This number will continue to grow as additional sources of clean power become more abundant and battery use (storing energy during the day and transmitting electricity to the grid when needed) increases.
GreenStart is the Silicon Valley Clean Energy standard electricity offering. It is sourced from 50% renewable energy facilities (like solar and wind) and 50% from large hydroelectric facilities. GreenPrime is 100% renewable and is available at a premium. With both products, you are receiving clean electricity.
For many solar customers, solar costs less than continuing to pay their full utility bill. And the cost of the solar system components continues to drop and federal tax credits are still available. However, each home has unique features that will influence the value and cost of installing a solar system. Things like sun exposure, pitch of roof, or whether you choose to buy or lease your solar system, can impact the overall cost.
While solar only generates during the day, solar energy can be stored for nighttime use. Pairing batteries with solar panels allows the homeowner to store excess solar power in the batteries for later use when the sun isn’t shining. Batteries also provide backup power if there’s a power outage in your area.
Learn more about how you can make a difference.
Stay up-to-date on new opportunities and all things clean energy in our community.