As carbon emissions from fossil fuels keep warming the planet, eco-conscious consumers may wonder if there’s a way to buy electricity from renewable sources without installing technology like solar panels or windmills on their property.
In short, the answer is yes.
However, the option isn’t necessarily available to all homeowners and renters. It also often comes with a slight price premium, experts said.
Few people are aware they can buy green energy
Renewable energy sources — including wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal and biomass — accounted for about 21% of U.S. electricity generation in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Most, 60%, came from fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and oil. These energy sources release carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere and contributes to global warming.
A growing number of individuals and organizations are opting to shift away from fossil fuels: About 9.6 million customers bought 273 Terawatt hours of renewable energy through voluntary green power markets in 2022, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. That’s up fivefold from 54 TWh in 2012.
In the voluntary market, customers buy renewable energy in amounts that exceed states’ minimum requirements from utility companies. Over half of U.S. states have policies to raise the share of electricity sourced from renewables, though most targets are years away.
Voluntary purchases accounted for 28% of the renewable energy market (excluding hydropower) as of 2016, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. They help increase overall demand for renewable electricity, thereby driving change in the energy mix, the EPA said.
Photovoltaic solar panels at the Roadrunner solar plant near McCamey, Texas, on Nov. 10, 2023.
Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The bulk of the increase is from corporations, according to NREL estimates. Residential sales have grown, too, but more slowly.
Just one in six U.S. adults know that they may have the option to buy renewable power, either from their electric company or another provider, according to most recent NREL survey data on the topic, published in 2011.
“The market does continue to grow every year in terms of sales and customers,” said Jenny Sumner, group manager of modeling and analysis at NREL, a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy.
“But very few people are aware” they can opt in to green programs, she said. “It’s just not something that’s top of mind for most people.”
How consumers can buy green power
Joe Raedle | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Wind turbines in Solano County, California, on Aug. 28, 2023.
Loren Elliott/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Power companies may offer “green pricing programs,” for instance.
Customers in these programs — also known as utility green power programs — pay their utility a “small premium” to get electricity from renewable sources, according to the U.S. Energy Department.
The cost generally exceeds that of a utility’s standard electricity service by about 1 to 2 cents per kilowatt hour, Sumner said.
That may roughly translate to about $5 to $15 more per month, Sumner said. It will ultimately depend on factors like program price and household energy use, she added.
Nearly half of Americans, 47%, said they were willing to pay more to get their electricity from 100% renewable sources, according to a 2019 poll by Yale University’s Program on Climate Change Communication. On average, they said they would be willing to pay $33.72 more per month.
Green power marketing programs
Consumers in some states can also opt into “green power marketing programs.”
Such states have “competitive” energy markets, meaning consumers can choose from among many different companies to generate their power. (Unlike with “green pricing programs,” the company generating the renewable power may not be the customer’s utility, which distributes the power.)
Residential green power options are available in these states with competitive (also known as “deregulated”) markets: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia, according to the U.S. Energy Department and EPA.
These also tend to come with a premium, though in some regions they “may be price competitive with default electricity options,” the agencies wrote.
Community choice aggregation
With “community choice aggregation” programs, local governments buy power from an alternative green power supplier on behalf of their residents.
The municipality essentially operates as the supplier for the community’s electricity, Sumner said. These programs are especially prevalent in California, she said.
Unlike the other program types, residents generally don’t have to opt in to community choice programs; it’s typically automatic and consumers can opt out if they wish, Sumner said.
How renewable energy certificates (RECs) work
A solar farm in Imperial, California, on December 6, 2023.
Valerie Macon | Afp | Getty Images
Just because a consumer opts for renewable power doesn’t mean the electricity being pumped into their home is coming from those renewable sources.
This may sound strange. But it’s due to the physical nature of electricity and its movement through the shared electric grid.
“Once the electrons have been injected into the grid, there’s no way of tagging that these are ‘green’ electrons and these are not green,” said Joydeep Mitra, head of the power system program at Michigan State University. “Nobody knows which electrons are going where.”
Green energy programs instead rely on “renewable energy certificates,” or RECs.
The certificates are essentially an accounting mechanism for the generation and purchase of renewable energy, Mitra said.
You may not be getting the green power — but someone, somewhere is. And RECs keep track of it all.
Any consumer — even one who doesn’t have access to a green power program through their utility — can also purchase a REC as a separate, stand-alone product. It’s a way to provide extra funding to a renewable energy project, typically sold by a broker or marketer rather than a utility, Sumner said.
Buying these certificates separately doesn’t impact a consumer’s existing utility service relationship.
How to verify your electricity is green
Experts recommend choosing a green power option or REC that has been verified by an independent third party.
That’s because the voluntary sales and purchases of renewable energy aren’t subject to government oversight, according to the EPA and U.S. Energy Department.
One such independent body is the Center for Resource Solutions, a nonprofit that oversees the Green-e certification standard, the agencies said.
For example, Green-e polices the disclosures energy suppliers make to consumers about renewable energy, and verifies the purchase of that energy isn’t being counted toward state energy mandates, among other things.
In this new series, CNBC will examine what climate change means for your money, from retirement savings to insurance costs to career outlook.
Has climate change left you with bigger or new bills? Tell us about your experience by emailing me at gregory.iacurci@nbcuni.com.
Tesla has launched a new software update for its vehicles that includes the anticipated integration of Grok, but it doesnt even interface with the car yet.
Today, Tesla started pushing the update to the fleet, but there’s a significant caveat.
The automaker wrote in the release notes (2025.26):
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Grok (Beta) (US, AMD)
Grok now available directly in your Tesla
Requires Premium Connectivity or a WiFi connection
Grok is currently in Beta & does not issue commands to your car – existing voice commands remain unchanged.
First off, it is only available in vehicles in the US equipped with the AMD infotainment computer, which means cars produced since mid-2021.
But more importantly, Tesla says that it doesn’t send commands to the car under the current version. Therefore, it is simply like having Grok on your phone, but on the onboard computer instead.
Tesla showed an example:
There are a few other features in the 2025.26 software update, but they are not major.
For Tesla vehicles equipped with ambient lighting strips inside the car, the light strip can now sync to music:
Accent lights now respond to music & you can also choose to match the lights to the album’s color for a more immersive effect
Toybox > Light Sync
Here’s the new setting:
The audio setting can now be saved under multiple presets to match listening preferences for different people or circumstances:
The software update also includes the capacity to zoom or adjust the playback speed of the Dashcam Viewer.
Cybertruck also gets the updated Dashcam Viewer app with a grid view for easier access and review of recordings:
Tesla also updated the charging info in its navigation system to be able to search which locations require valet service or pay-to-park access.
Upon arrival, drivers will receive a notification with access codes, parking restrictions, level or floor information, and restroom availability:
Finally, there’s a new onboarding guide directly on the center display to help people who are experiencing a Tesla vehicle for the first time.
Electrek’s Take
Tesla is really playing catch-up here. Right now, this update is essentially nothing. If you already have Grok, it’s no more different than having it on your phone or through the vehicle’s browser, since it has no capacity to interact with any function inside the vehicle.
Most other automakers are integrating LLMs inside vehicles with the capacity to interact with the vehicle. In China, this is becoming standard even in entry-level cars.
In the Xiaomi YU7, the vehicle’s AI can not only interact with the car, but it also sees what the car sees through its camera, and it can tell you about what it sees:
Tesla is clearly far behind on that front as many automakers are integrating with other LLMs like ChatGPT and in-house LLMs, like Xiaomi’s.
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Robinhood stock hit an all-time high Friday as the financial services platform continued to rip higher this year, along with bitcoin and other crypto stocks.
Robinhood, up more than 160% in 2025, hit an intraday high above $101 before pulling back and closing slightly lower.
The reversal came after a Bloomberg report that JPMorgan plans to start charging fintechs for access to customer bank data, a move that could raise costs across the industry.
For fintech firms that rely on thin margins to offer free or low-cost services to customers, even slight disruptions to their cost structure can have major ripple effects. PayPal and Affirm both ended the day nearly 6% lower following the report.
Despite its stellar year, the online broker is facing several headwinds, with a regulatory probe in Florida, pushback over new staking fees and growing friction with one of the world’s most high-profile artificial intelligence companies.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier opened a formal investigation into Robinhood Crypto on Thursday, alleging the platform misled users by claiming to offer the lowest-cost crypto trading.
“Robinhood has long claimed to be the best bargain, but we believe those representations were deceptive,” Uthmeier said in a statement.
The probe centers on Robinhood’s use of payment for order flow — a common practice where market makers pay to execute trades — which the AG said can result in worse pricing for customers.
Robinhood Crypto General Counsel Lucas Moskowitz told CNBC its disclosures are “best-in-class” and that it delivers the lowest average cost.
“We disclose pricing information to customers during the lifecycle of a trade that clearly outlines the spread or the fees associated with the transaction, and the revenue Robinhood receives,” added Moskowitz.
Robinhood is also facing opposition to a new 25% cut of staking rewards for U.S. users, set to begin October 1. In Europe, the platform will take a smaller 15% cut.
Staking allows crypto holders to earn yield by locking up their tokens to help secure blockchain networks like ethereum, but platforms often take a percentage of those rewards as commission.
Robinhood’s 25% cut puts it in line with Coinbase, which charges between 25.25% and 35% depending on the token. The cut is notably higher than Gemini’s flat 15% fee.
It marks a shift for the company, which had previously steered clear of staking amid regulatory uncertainty.
Under President Joe Biden‘s administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission cracked down on U.S. platforms offering staking services, arguing they constituted unregistered securities.
With President Donald Trump in the White House, the agency has reversed course on several crypto enforcement actions, dropping cases against major players like Coinbase and Binance and signaling a more permissive stance.
Even as enforcement actions ease, Robinhood is under fresh scrutiny for its tokenized stock push, which is a growing part of its international strategy.
The company now offers blockchain-based assets in Europe that give users synthetic exposure to private firms like OpenAI and SpaceX through special purpose vehicles, or SPVs.
An SPV is a separate entity that acquires shares in a company. Users then buy tokens of the SPV and don’t have shareholder privileges or voting rights directly in the company.
OpenAI has publicly objected, warning the tokens do not represent real equity and were issued without its approval. In an interview with CNBC International, CEO Vlad Tenev acknowledged the tokens aren’t technically equity shares, but said that misses the broader point.
“What’s important is that retail customers have an opportunity to get exposure to this asset,” he said, pointing to the disruptive nature of AI and the historically limited access to pre-IPO companies.
“It is true that these are not technically equity,” Tenev added, noting that institutional investors often gain similar exposure through structured financial instruments.
The Bank of Lithuania — Robinhood’s lead regulator in the EU — told CNBC on Monday that it is “awaiting clarifications” following OpenAI’s statement.
“Only after receiving and evaluating this information will we be able to assess the legality and compliance of these specific instruments,” a spokesperson said, adding that information for investors must be “clear, fair, and non-misleading.”
Tenev responded that Robinhood is “happy to continue to answer questions from our regulators,” and said the company built its tokenized stock program to withstand scrutiny.
“Since this is a new thing, regulators are going to want to look at it,” he said. “And we expect to be scrutinized as a large, innovative player in this space.”
SEC Chair Paul Atkins recently called the model “an innovation” on CNBC’s Squawk Box, offering some validation as Robinhood leans further into its synthetic equity strategy — even as legal clarity remains in flux across jurisdictions.
Despite the regulatory noise, many investors remain focused on Robinhood’s upside, and particularly the political tailwinds.
The company is positioning itself as a key beneficiary of Trump’s newly signed megabill, which includes $1,000 government-seeded investment accounts for newborns. Robinhood said it’s already prototyping an app for the ‘Trump Accounts‘ initiative.
Korean auto giants Hyundai and Kia think lower-priced EVs will help minimize the blow from the new US auto tariffs. Hyundai is set to unveil a new entry-level electric car soon, which will be sold alongside the Kia EV2. Will it be the IONIQ 2?
Hyundai and Kia shift to lower-priced EVs
Hyundai and Kia already offer some of the most affordable and efficient electric vehicles on the market, with models like the IONIQ 5 and EV6.
In Europe, Korea, Japan, and other overseas markets, Hyundai sells the Inster EV (sold as the Casper Electric in Korea), an electric city car. The Inster EV starts at about $27,000 (€23,900), but Hyundai will soon offer another lower-priced EV, similar to the upcoming Kia EV2.
The Inster EV is seeing strong initial demand in Europe and Japan. According to a local report (via Newsis), demand for the Casper Electric is so high that buyers are waiting over a year for delivery.
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Hyundai is doubling down with plans to introduce an even more affordable EV, rumored to be the IONIQ 2. Xavier Martinet, CEO of Hyundai Motor Europe, said during a recent interview that “The new electric vehicle will be unveiled in the next few months.”
Hyundai Casper Electric/ Inster EV models (Source: Hyundai)
The new EV is expected to be a compact SUV, which will likely resemble the upcoming Kia EV2. Kia will launch the EV2 in Europe and other global regions in 2026.
Hyundai is keeping most details under wraps, but the expected IONIQ 2 is likely to sit below the Kona Electric as a smaller city EV.
Kia Concept EV2 (Source: Kia)
More affordable electric cars are on the way
Although nothing is confirmed, it’s expected to be priced at around €30,000 ($35,000), or slightly less than the Kia EV3.
The Kia EV3 starts at €35,990 in Europe and £33,005 in the UK, or about $42,000. Through the first half of the year, Kia’s compact electric SUV is the UK’s most popular EV.
Kia EV3 (Source: Kia)
Like the Hyundai IONIQ models and Kia’s other electric vehicles, the EV3 is based on the E-GMP platform. It’s available with two battery packs: 58.3 kWh or 81.48 kWh, providing a WLTP range of up to 430 km (270 miles) and 599 km (375 miles), respectively.
Hyundai is expected to reveal the new EV at the IAA Mobility show in Munich in September. Meanwhile, Kia is working on a smaller electric car to sit below the EV2 that could start at under €25,000 ($30,000).
Kia unveils EV4 sedan and hatchback, PV5 electric van, and EV2 Concept at 2025 Kia EV Day (Source: Kia)
According to the report, Hyundai and Kia are doubling down on lower-priced EVs to balance potential losses from the new US auto tariffs.
Despite opening its new EV manufacturing plant in Georgia to boost local production, Hyundai is still expected to expand sales in other regions. An industry insider explained, “Considering the risk of US tariffs, Hyundai’s move to target the European market with small electric vehicles is a natural strategy.”
2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 (Source: Hyundai)
Although Hyundai is expanding in other markets, it remains a leading EV brand in the US. The IONIQ 5 remains a top-selling EV with over 19,000 units sold through June.
After delivering the first IONIQ 9 models in May, Hyundai reported that over 1,000 models had been sold through the end of June, its three-row electric SUV.
While the $7,500 EV tax credit is still here, Hyundai is offering generous savings with leases for the 2025 IONIQ 5 starting as low as $179 per month. The three-row IONIQ 9 starts at just $419 per month. And Hyundai is even throwing in a free ChargePoint Home Flex Level 2 charger if you buy or lease either model.
Unfortunately, we likely won’t see the entry-level EV2 or IONIQ 2 in the US. However, Kia is set to launch its first electric sedan, the EV4, in early 2026.
Ready to take advantage of the savings while they are still here? You can use our links below to find deals on Hyundai and Kia EV models in your area.
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