BMW partners with Green Mountain Energy Company to offer renewable energy certificates to BMW ActiveE Drivers

31 July 2012

BMW of North America will partner with Green Mountain Energy Company to offer drivers of the BMW ActiveE the choice to support renewable energy for their cars. The ActiveE drivers can purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs) from Green Mountain to cover the estimated electricity that will be used to charge their electric vehicles.

For a one-time payment of $48.00, ActiveE drivers can purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs) to ensure the estimated amount of electricity that will be used to charge their vehicle during the lease period is replaced with renewable energy.

ActiveE drivers who power their vehicles with renewable energy for the estimated mileage usage will offset 9,900 lbs (4,490 kg) of CO₂ during the course of their two year lease, the equivalent of not driving 11,000 miles in a conventional gas-powered car.

In addition to this opportunity to purchase RECs from Green Mountain, ActiveE drivers can take advantage of a separate BMW clean energy offer. As of May 2012, ActiveE drivers can install solar panels on their homes for a discount of approximately 35%.

Within the framework of project i, the BMW Group is carrying out research and development work on the development of electrically powered vehicles. The next step after the ActiveE will be the BMW i3 due to launch in 2013. It will be designed to meet the demands of a sustainable mobility solution for congested urban areas. For this reason, the drive components and battery technology that will be used in the BMW i3 are being tested now in the BMW ActiveE.

Beginning this year a test fleet of more than 1,100 BMW ActiveE vehicles on the road in the US, Europe and China will provide further valuable insights into the everyday use of the vehicle. 700 BMW ActiveEs are on the road in the US, mostly in private hands. The feedback from customers testing the MINI E and the BMW ActiveE will be fed directly into series production of the BMW i3.