“There is a change in the mindset of not just the utility companies, but all across the country,” Nixon said. “We need a way to reduce the carbon footprint on planet Earth.”

By the end of 2008, Granger expects to be generating enough energy for the board to power more than 2,000 households, said Tonia Olson, Granger spokeswoman.

“Landfill gas is a very reliable resource,” she said. “We’re taking hometown trash and converting it into hometown power.”

Granger already provides renewable energy to other providers, including Consumers Energy, at its Lansing site, Olson said.

Up to 15,000 Michigan residents, or up to 3 percent of Michigan’s major energy providers’ customers, have bought renewable energy through programs offered by their utilities provider, said Tom Stanton, coordinator of Michigan’s Renewable Energy Program at the Michigan Public Service Commission.

Those programs, including the board’s GreenWise plan, offer customers the opportunity to purchase renewable energy for a larger monthly fee. The new agreement differs because the board is supplying the renewable energy at no extra cost to consumers. Currently, the board charges $7.50 each month for roughly half of an average family’s energy bill.

“It’s important as a way to move us forward as a state using renewable energy,” Stanton said.

Not many people are willing to pay a higher monthly bill to receive green energy, Stanton said.

For example, before the Lansing Board of Water & Light began offering customers the option to purchase renewable energy, the company asked its customers whether they would be willing to pay a small fee to receive the energy, Stanton said.

Nearly 70 percent of the board’s customers said they would be likely to purchase the energy, but less than 3 percent of its customers have bought it.

“There’s a small percentage of customers who feel this is important and would vote with their dollars,” he said. “That’s very common with many environmental issues.”