Customers may sign up for GreenEdge online or by calling our customer care contact center. Participation in the GreenEdge program is completely voluntary. Customers elect to pay an additional $3 per program block per month to balance the carbon generated from their natural gas usage.
Green Edge
GreenEdgeSM is a new way to help create a sustainable future.
As a Piedmont customer in North Carolina, you may enroll in GreenEdge to balance the carbon generated from your natural gas usage. This voluntary program is available to residential and small business customers to purchase blocks of environmental attribute equivalents and to claim the associated environmental benefits.
For as little as $3 more per month, you can join the GreenEdge community working to create a more sustainable energy future.
How it works
Why should I choose GreenEdge?
Flexible. You decide what participation level is right for you. Change your level or cancel at any time. GreenEdge doesn’t require you to make any changes to your home.
Impactful. Your program fees are used to purchase renewable natural gas environmental attributes and carbon offsets from projects that reduce or prevent the release of greenhouse gases. Your participation supports land use projects and sustainable resources.
Inclusive. GreenEdge is open to renters, lessees, homeowners and small businesses. No matter where you reside or work, you can know you are making a lasting positive impact for the environment.
Transparent. GreenEdge is a self-funding program, and Piedmont does not profit from this program. Participants will receive an annual report with a summary of the program's impact.
Am I balancing my home or business’s exact natural gas usage?
No. The amount of emissions balanced is up to you. Each $3 block is equivalent to 12.5 therms of natural gas, or 25% of the average household’s monthly natural gas usage. The program is open to homeowners, renters, lessees and small businesses. Customers subscribing to four blocks per month could address approximately 100% of their monthly household natural gas usage, although there is no limit on the number of blocks allowed for purchase. The participation fee is conveniently added to your bill and will be in addition to your gas bill.
How does the program balance RNG environmental attributes and carbon offsets?
The program supports a cleaner North Carolina with roughly 95% achieved through carbon offsets and about 5% achieved with RNG environmental attributes. This level of investment in the environmental attributes of RNG delivers an impact but at an affordable price.
How will I see the benefit?
Piedmont will use GreenEdge proceeds to purchase RNG environmental attributes and carbon offsets on behalf of participating customers. In addition to knowing you are making a difference for the planet, participating customers will receive an annual report highlighting their contributions and the overall effect on the program.
Learn how food scraps, farm and forestry projects can help address carbon emissions.
Frequently Asked Questions
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A block is the combined purchase of 12.5 therms of renewable natural gas (RNG) green environmental attributes and carbon offsets, as well as program-related marketing and administration costs. Each $3 block payment includes these items.
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In addition to supporting and helping build demand for renewable energy, customers will receive an annual participation report highlighting their contribution and the overall effect of the program. Customers can also claim the environmental benefits associated with their participation in GreenEdge toward their overall environmental goals.
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North Carolina natural gas customers connected to the Piedmont Natural Gas system are eligible to participate in the GreenEdge program. Customers will need to be in good financial standing with Piedmont, without any currently past-due bills.
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No. The amount of emissions addressed is your choice. You can select to purchase as few as one block or as many blocks as you like. Four blocks approximately represent the average monthly natural gas usage of a North Carolina home, which is 50 therms.
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Piedmont seeks to source renewable natural gas environmental attributes within the states where the company operates with a preference for resources in North Carolina. If resources are unavailable, they may be purchased anywhere in the country.
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The program supports a cleaner North Carolina with roughly 95% achieved through purchases of carbon offsets and about 5% achieved with renewable natural gas environmental attributes. The 5% level allows us to acquire impactful amounts of RNG environmental attributes while keeping GreenEdge affordable.
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Without the production of RNG, gas generated by our household waste would either be released into the atmosphere as methane (which is 25 times more harmful* than CO2 during combustion) or burned in biomethanization plants. Burning in biomethanization plants has the same impact, in terms of GHG, as when the gas is consumed as natural gas. To avoid those two scenarios, we give that gas a second life by recovering, cleaning and injecting it into the natural gas system to replace fossil-derived natural gas. Thus, reusing our waste to turn it into a valuable product is the perfect example of the circular economy because we use that gas as a source of energy. As a result, we can confirm that RNG is carbon neutral as it does not contribute to the increase in greenhouse gases.
*Source: https://www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane -
A carbon offset, commonly associated with a carbon credit, is a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions created when 1 metric ton of carbon dioxide emissions, or other greenhouse gas equivalent, is captured, avoided or destroyed to compensate for an equivalent emission made elsewhere.
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The cost of renewable natural gas is made up of two components: the gas itself and an environmental attribute. This attribute is a certificate that verifies that energy (in this case, renewable natural gas) was produced from a renewable source.
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A therm is a standard unit of measuring energy, used primarily to measure natural gas usage. One therm is equivalent to 100,000 British thermal units (Btu). A North Carolina residential natural gas customer uses, on average, 50 therms per month.
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Improved Forest Management (IFM) projects work by preventing or reducing timber harvesting activities that would otherwise likely occur in forests. This allows the forest to store and continue to sequester carbon beyond what it would have done if normal timber harvesting activities had been allowed to occur. This additional carbon sequestration is what generates carbon offsets for the GreenEdge program, all of which are verified through the American Carbon Registry or other tracking system. Many of the Improved Forest Management projects have the added benefits of also preserving wildlife habitat and protecting water quality.
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RNG is pipeline-quality natural gas produced from existing waste streams and a variety of renewable and sustainable biomass sources. Sources may include wastewater, landfills, agricultural waste or food waste. RNG environmental attributes will be purchased under the program, and RNG will not be purchased to supply individual homes. Since RNG cannot be distinguished from natural gas once injected into the natural gas pipeline, the RNG environmental benefit in the form of a “certificate” is the proof that the natural gas originated from a renewable resource.
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An RNG certificate represents the environmental attributes associated with RNG and helps with environmental accounting. A RNG certificate serves as proof that the natural gas originated from renewable or biogenic sources and is unbundled from the physical natural gas that’s injected into the pipeline.
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Carbon offsets are created from projects that reduce or prevent the release of carbon emissions that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. Renewable natural gas (RNG) transforms organic waste into renewable energy that can be delivered through existing infrastructure to fuel fleets and heat homes. Some projects that create carbon offsets also produce RNG.
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Your participation fees are used to cover the costs of carbon offsets that help protect and preserve forests; to procure RNG environmental attributes; RNG helps to significantly reduce the greenhouse gas impact of methane; and to help support program administration.
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No, Piedmont does not profit from the GreenEdge program.
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Correct. They are both voluntary programs. The Duke Energy program (Renewable Advantage) is based on renewable energy certificates (RECs) representing 1 MWh of electricity generated from a renewable resource (e.g., solar or wind), whereas the Piedmont program (GreenEdge) is based on a blend of renewable natural gas environmental attributes that are proof that the gas originated from a renewable resource, coupled with carbon offsets. Supply sources under consideration are landfill and livestock projects, as well as reforestation and land conservation efforts.