Green energy plans in Texas: are the 100% renewable ones real?

It means all of the plan's power is renewable, as Texas law counts it. Only then may a plan use the word "renewable" alone. The Commission's rule on green and renewable claims draws the line, and "green" sits on the looser side of it.

What counts as renewable? ERCOT's program page lists the sun, wind, heat from the earth, moving water, waves and tides, and plant matter. It says the power cannot come from fossil fuels. Texas natural gas is not on that list, which is why "green" and "renewable" are not the same word.

So the word on the ad matters. Next: what a real 100% plan costs where you live.

It depends on your delivery area, and the table shows each one. We compared the cheapest flat-rate 12-month plans with and without the 100% renewable label. Prices include delivery and are cents per kWh at 1,000 kWh.

To turn a gap into dollars, multiply it by 10 for a 1,000 kWh month. A gap of 0.5¢ is about $5 a month. The gap is not the same in every area. In the TNMP area it is 2.1¢, and in AEP Texas Central it is 0.0¢. "Plain" means a fixed rate, 12 months, no bill-credit or usage-fee flag, not prepaid and not time-of-use. Our guide to the cheapest plans covers every plan type.

This is a guide built from the cheapest plans on the list. It is not a quote, and it leaves out bill credits and fees. Your plan's facts label has the price you will pay.

It must match its renewable sales to credits that ERCOT tracks, or to a contract with a named plant, and the state can ask for the records. A 100% claim is more than a slogan.

1. PlantA wind or solar farm makes power. A farm that qualifies earns renewable energy credits, called RECs. One REC equals one megawatt-hour.
2. CompanyThe company buys power or credits. It can also hold a contract with a named plant, even one outside Texas.
3. ERCOTThe company asks ERCOT, which runs the credit program, to retire one credit for each megawatt-hour it sells as renewable. A retired credit cannot be used again.
4. LabelEach year, by July 1, the company updates the share shown on the plan's facts label.
5. The stateThe Commission can ask the company to show how it backed any green claim.

Every retailer in Texas must register in the credit program and retire credits each year. That comes from ERCOT's own page for the program.

No. Every plant feeds one grid, and your home draws from that grid. A green plan changes where your money goes, not the power in your outlet.

The match is made over the year, not the hour. On a calm night, the power in your outlet may come from gas. The plan's claim is about the year.

On October 24, 2026, 25% of the English plans on the state's list carried the 100% renewable label. We read every one of them. Here is how the shares split.

So on the list, a plan is 100% renewable, or it is 37% or less.

Look closer at the 100% group on Oct. 24, 2026. Of those plans, 28 had a variable rate and 27 were time-of-use plans. Our guides to fixed and variable rates and to free nights plans explain both. The name does not give a plan away either. On that day, 142 of the plans labeled 100% renewable, or 58%, had none of these words in the plan name: green, eco, renew, clean, solar, wind, earth or nature.

Open the plan's Electricity Facts Label and check five things: the renewable share, the state average, the word on the ad, the price rows and the company. It takes about five minutes.

1. 1
   Open the Electricity Facts Label.

   Every plan has one. Find the line that says "This product is x% renewable."

2. 2
   Compare the share with the state average.

   The label prints both, side by side.

3. 3
   Match the word to the share.

   "Renewable" alone must mean 100%. "Green" can include Texas natural gas.

4. 4
   Read the price rows for 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh.

   Green plans have the same traps as others: bill credits, usage fees and cancel fees. Our guide to reading a facts label shows each row.

5. 5
   Look up the company.

   The label shows its certificate number. Our guide to retail electric providers shows how to check it.

Save the label as a PDF for each plan you like. Then compare two of them side by side. The label is part of your contract, so keep the copy.

Skip a green plan with a variable rate, a very short term or a bill credit you must earn. A 100% label tells you where the power is matched, not whether the price is fair.

A bill credit is the easiest trap. On Oct. 24, 2026, six of the 100% renewable plans gave a $125 credit only in a month with 1,000 kWh or more of use. Our guide to bill credit plans shows what happens at 999 kWh.

Yes: rooftop solar, or a renewable rate from a co-op or city utility. A green plan covers your power for the year, but it leaves the amount you use as it is. Cutting 100 kWh a month saves 100 times your price per kWh: at 15¢, that is $15 a month.