How does renewable energy work on the grid?
Qualifying renewable power producers must register with the appropriate power trading authorities and are labeled as certified renewable power plants. After a plant is certified as renewable, those that manage the grid must purchase any output from that certified power plant, displacing conventional sources of fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal. Once the electricity is plugged into the grid, it makes no difference how it was produced, at least from the perspective of utility companies, because by then it is simply made up of electrons that are identical to the output of any other kind of power plant. For those that manage the grid, the only way in which renewable energy is different is that they must give it priority when purchasing, but that does not mean that they pay more for that electricity. In fact, they are required by law to supply their customers with the lowest cost energy available. As a result, renewable energy facilities receive the same payment per megawatt hour prod
