From a colleague of mine at the CUNY Sustainable Building Initiative (Susan Robinson), some research on how to Green Power your apartment when you are renting in New York City:

Ok, I finally got around to investigating green power options for my apartment and thought I'd share my research. Fortunately, you can easily switch over and pay little to nothing more for greener energy sources. Here's the deal--

Right now with regular ConEd, you pay a variable rate, depending on the supply and demand of local energy. Right now it's 15.6 cents, and it typically goes up to 17 or 18 cents in the summer when demand is higher (due to air conditioning).

To switch to greener electric sources you have two options, and both of them are administered through ConEd. Neither of them charge you to make the switch and there is no cancellation fee.

1) GREEN plan. 65% of your power would come from hydroelectric sources and 35% from wind sources. It's cost is 17.5 cents/KWH. (A *fixed* rate for 12 months.)

2) WIND plan. 100% comes from wind sources. It's 19 cents/KWH. (Also, a *fixed* rate for 12 months.) It's more ideal for those trying to be *really* green, as hydro sources don't pollute the air, but still have negative environmental impacts. Wind farms have very, very little actual environmental impact-- the complaint typically had to do with "visual impact" in the areas they are developed, but they're a lot prettier than a typical power plant!

I live in a big 3-bedroom apt. and typically use about 300 KWH per month. So, with the WIND plan my roomates and I will split an extra 5-10 dollars a month. If I were to choose the GREEN plan, then we'd be paying the same in the summer and a few dollars more in the winter.

Here's the kicker, tho-- Con Ed will send you a check for $25 for using either the GREEN or WIND plans, assuming you've paid your bill and use the service for at least 3 months. (The 25 bucks is really coming from the NYS government.)

So, there's really no reason not to at least switch to the GREEN plan, and if you're willing to give an extra few dollars a month to encourage the development of wind energy sources, I'd definitely recommend it. To switch call "ConEd Solutions" at 1-888-320-8991. It took them just a few minutes and will go into effect next month.