Opening up the power supply industry to competition through deregulation not only allows individual consumers to choose their energy providers, but they now can also choose whether to support more environmentally friendly sources for producing electricity.

IDT Energy has a ‘Buy Green’ option for its customers. Choosing this option means that a certain amount of the electricity a consumer receives is produced from sources which use our natural resources in a way that does no harm to the environment. These sources may include wind power, running water, solar power and organic matter, which are all renewable and are relatively clean compared to the more standard sources of electricity which often include the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas.

IDT Energy is proud to say that they have joined the State to help create a center for environmentally friendly technologies here in New York. Within 10 years New York hopes to obtain 25% of its power from green sources, and IDT is playing an important role in this development.

In Rockland and Orange Counties, New York, IDT Energy is one of two providers of electricity which is generated by wind and water to consumers who are served by Orange and Rockland Utilities Inc.

The good news is that this green solution is actually coming down in price, making this alternative source for electricity production more attractive to consumers.

It is a sign that renewable energy is becoming a viable alternative to traditional forms of electricity production as business in this sector increases, while the costs goe down.

This is the first time that the green power alternative was actually cheaper than power produced by coal, natural gas, nuclear power or hydro plants.

Apollo Fuel Cell Rocket

Although fuel cells were first invented in 1839 and were used in the Gemini and Apollo missions of the NASA space program, we are still working on making fuel cells a realistic alternative to internal combustion engines.

A clear benefit of improving fuel cell function would be to reduce the United States’ dependence on foreign countries for its energy needs. Consumption far exceeds production: in the year 2007 the U.S. produced 5.1 million barrels of oil each day but used 20.7 million barrels per day.

Since the source of the electricity which fuel cells produce is hydrogen and oxygen, which are available in the air, It is easy to see how fuel cells could greatly increase the U.S. independence from foreign oil suppliers.