Many power utilities now offer consumers choices between conventional electricity powered by fossil fuels and green electricity powered by renewable resources. Customers also have more options to use energy more efficiently in homes and businesses.

How green is your energy? Programs vary between states and providers, but here are some questions to pursue when considering how to minimize the impact of our home and business energy usage.

Q. What is renewable energy?

Renewable energy, defined by dictionary.com, is “any naturally occurring, theoretically inexhaustible source of energy, as biomass, solar, wind, tidal, wave, and hydroelectric power, that is not derived from fossil or nuclear fuel.”

A fossil fuel is “any combustible organic material, as oil, coal, or natural gas, derived from the remains of former life.”

Q. Does my utility use renewable energy?

Many utilities already get a portion of their energy from renewable resources. And many states now mandate that utilities increase their percentage of energy derived from renewable resources. Call your utility to find out how much of your energy comes from renewable resources, and what the company is doing to increase that amount.

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Q. Can I choose whether my home or business’s energy source is renewable or not?

Some utilities offer green pricing programs, in which consumers pay more money to support their utility’s renewable energy efforts. Xcel Energy customers in Colorado, for instance, can enroll in the Windsource program: Fully subscribed members pay about $13 more per month to support and expand Xcel’s wind farms in Colorado.

Q. What can I do to use energy more efficiently?

Consumers have more options than getting energy from renewable resources. Many utilities offer extensive information on ways consumers can change habits, reduce consumption and upgrade homes and businesses to use energy more efficiently. Xcel Energy, for instance, offers customers a brochure with 60 simple ways to save energy.

Q. How can I learn about my own energy usage?

Some utilities offer online bill calculators that help consumers understand what is determining the cost of their bills. NorthWestern Energy, a provider of electricity and natural gas in the Upper Midwest and Northwest, plans to launch a bill calculator in 2008 and, like many utilities across the country, continues to offer free home energy audits for qualified customers.

“That cost per unit of energy is not something the customer has control over,” said Claudia Rapkoch, director of communications for NorthWestern Energy. “That’s what the market has control over.”

However, the customer decides how many units are used, Rapkoch said.

Q. What are the benefits to more efficient energy usage?

Lower utility bills and a cleaner environment are two benefits that can come from using energy more efficiently, but utilities might also offer customers rebates or rewards.

Southern California Edison, for instance, offers rebates to customers on products like Energy Star-qualified refrigerators and air conditioners. Go to www.dsireusa.org to find out about incentives offered by state programs and utilities concerning renewble energy and energy efficiency .

Q. Are there other resources?

Your local utility’s Web site probably outlines many options for renewable energy and using energy more efficiently.

Orso writes for the La Crosse Tribune in Wisconsin. Contact: joe.orso@lee.net