By: Danielle Ulman

On the surface, companies with coal-fired power plants and organizations that protect ecologically important land and water don’t seem like an obvious love connection.

So it could have caught me off guard when I saw that Constellation Energy Group is donating $1 to The Nature Conservancy every time a post on its EcoStar Grants program gets re-tweeted — up to $5,000 worth.

But over the last few years Constellation has upped its eco-friendliness, lighting up the courts at the U.S. Open with wind power,  winning awards for its solar installation at Patriot Place (retail/dining area across from Gillette Stadium, where the Patriots play) and its energy conservation program at a New England college. Not to mention its plans for solar and wind projects in Maryland and the recent upgrade to its Brandon Shores plant.

The EcoStar grants of up to $5,000 are for projects being completed near areas where Constellation does business, and according to the Nature Conservancy, it has helped to preserve more than 160,000 acres of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Instead of being surprised, I hit the re-tweet button. What can I say? I like spending other people’s money, especially when it’s for a good cause.