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newsroom
Give the Gift of a Cleaner Environment Some of the things that we most want to give our loved ones – such as a way to generate electricity without creating any harmful by-products or depleting our natural resources – are difficult to gift-wrap and don’t fit under the tree. However, many companies are supporting the construction of new wind power plants by voluntarily choosing to buy wind energy or “green tags” for a significant part of their electricity supply. Buying products and services from these companies sends a signal that their support of wind power is important to you as a consumer, which will encourage other companies to make wind power an important part of their electricity supply. The American Wind Energy Association would like to provide a small sample of the items that are now being made with electricity from wind power, a pollution-free, clean, domestic resource. Here are a few gift ideas from the growing number of companies that support wind power:
You may be interested in seeing past suggested “windy” gift lists as well. The past two years’ lists are available at http://www.awea.org/news/news041118gft.html and http://www.awea.org/news/news031209.html . With green power or green tags, it is now easier than ever to buy portions of wind power directly. For example, you could buy enough to power your household's Christmas lights, to offset the carbon emitted in the trip back home, or enough to power the electronic toys under the tree for a year. Buying 100 kWh of wind power would be enough to offset the pollution from a moderate amount of Christmas lighting. Costs vary according to the program, but are usually in the range of 2.5¢/kWh, so a purchase of 100 kWh would cost about $2.50. Many utilities offer their customers a green power option. If your utility does not, you can still purchase green tags from a couple of nation-wide green tags marketers. To find out what green power products are available in your area, use the EPA’s Green Power Locator at http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/locator.html , or go to the U.S. Department of Energy's Green Power Network site at http://www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/home.shtml . This holiday season, the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) is partnering with REI to offer a special gift for the holidays. For a limited time, when you buy three or more of their $20 green tags (total cost $60 or more) as a gift, the lucky recipient will also receive a free gift card from REI, the nation’s largest consumer cooperative and leading supplier of specialty outdoor gear and clothing. For more information and the promotional code, go to http://www.greentagsusa.org/GreenTags/holidaygift_2005.cfm . For some background on green power, go to the EPA Green Power Web site at http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/locator/index.htm . To see a list of companies making a commitment to green power, go to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Green Power Partnership Web site at http://www.epa.gov/greenpower . Emission-free wind power accounts for less than 1% of the electricity generation in the U.S., but it is increasingly competitive in many areas with other forms of electricity generation, and is one of the fastest-growing types of generation in the U.S. – averaging over 23% growth annually in the past five years. Your support can build on this momentum so that wind power can provide at least 6% of the nation’s electricity by 2020—similar to the amount that hydropower is producing today—and build a modern, clean industry for the future. If you buy a gift from one of the companies listed above, be sure to tell them that you are purchasing from them to support their clean energy purchase because clean air and water is the best gift we can give to our children. AWEA members offering wind power-based green power or green tags products: AWEA, formed in 1974, is the national trade association of the U.S. wind energy industry. The association's membership includes turbine manufacturers, wind project developers, utilities, academicians, and interested individuals. More information on wind energy is available at the AWEA web site: www.awea.org. # # # |
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