The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has approved NSTAR Green, a program that gives customers the option to purchase clean electricity and reduce their impact on the environment. The program was developed through a collaboration between NSTAR and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Conservation Law Foundation and Environment Massachusetts. It will enable customers to choose to buy half or all of their power from wind farms in the Northeast.

“What makes this program unique is the fact that it’s transparent. Customers know exactly where their renewable energy is being generated. The approval of NSTAR Green represents a major step forward in the effort to increase the amount of clean electricity that’s available to customers in our region,” said Thomas J. May, NSTAR chairman, -president and CEO.

“The DPU’s action shows that long-term contracts for renewable power are cost-competitive for consumers,” said Ian Bowles, Massachusetts’ secretary of energy and environmental affairs.

Customers who opt to enroll in NSTAR Green will pay a premium of either roughly 0.85 cents or 1.45 cents/kilowatt-hour more than the active basic service price, depending on which option they choose. This would add about $4 for the half option or roughly $7 for the full option to the average 500 kilowatt-hour customer bill.

“Millions of Massachusetts residents will now have the option to support the development of clean, renewable energy in New England,” said Sue Reid, director of the Conservation Law Foundation’s Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Change Initiative.