Providing 100% green electricity from renewable energy sources is a difficult feat to pull off. Good Energy, here in the UK, should be proud to manage to do that (read our article featuring them here). Ecotricity, also UK, are up to a guaranteed 30% from renewables. Well done. We have gotten used to expecting that at least a proportion of the total provided originates from wind turbines or equivalent, most companies do give customers the green option. They tend to promote that fact nowadays, however small the actual percentage is. On the other hand, opting for a few carbon offset initiatives and every once in while staging events by PR-departments is much easier, convenient and not to mention cheap.

Picking up a seemingly cold case – almost two years old in fact – of dodgy fast-track building permits for the construction of new coal fired power plants, we want to see how a crooked player in the energy game is coming along. Slow to admit that an estimated 78Million metric tons a year of CO2-emissions from their new plants would do any real damage, Texas-based TXU Energy tries to approach the problem the green wash way. Just for reference, 78 000 000 000 kilograms of CO2 equals, for example, Japan’s commitment to the Kyoto protocol or adding 14 million cars or surpassing the entire output of countries like Sweden and Denmark. In a press release from April 25th this year, TXU vice president of community relations, Kelli Rod said:

We know the important role trees play as Texas looks to go green, and this additional support will advance this cause. Our six-year relationship with the Texas Trees Foundation is a vital component of commitment to do our part to help improve the environment.

Trees are important. Good job working that out. So what does the company actually do for a greener Texas? According to their web site, among other things that all sound really great, they:

Help maintain the TXU Energy Urban Tree Farm, the largest non-profit urban tree farm in the nation. Throughout 2007, TXU Energy and community volunteers planted approximately 10,000 trees, which will eventually be provided to neighbourhood associations, schools, non-profit organizations, various cities and government entities state-wide. *

Furthermore, in the face of their rush to get all their projected coal plants up and running before regulations come into force, they claim to be:

supporting clean-air initiatives, increasing our renewable energy portfolio, providing smart-usage products and services, and helping customers reduce and better manage their energy consumption, we’re working to keep our air clean and our environment healthy now – and for generations to come. *

Sadly insidious and infuriating as it is, when it comes to PR-schemes, it works pretty well. We buy into it, the culture of appearance in this case is sustained because it is so easy take their word for it, checking it up is simply too much work. And actually researching the current progress of the power plants TXU wants to build shows surprisingly difficult from here. So the question remains what to do with Texas? With the largest energy consumption in the US and infamously close ties between policy makers and the oil industry maintained; it appears the state – will with some minor adjustments – trudge along the beaten track.

* To go see their environmental commitment statement, click here.