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Show vVV First in the Nation UTAH'S FIRST 100 500 Volume 111 NEWSPAPER WIND-POWE- R Number 39 Thursday, October 7, 2004 WWW.moabtimes com Moab looking to be the first EPA Greenpower Community by Lisa Church contributing writer When it comes to encouraging renewable energy use, the Moab community is already a frontrunner. Last year, Moab became the first-eve- r Blue Sky Community, and today, several area businesses have added to the list of firsts - KZMU has become the first public radio station to The be is first newspaper to be and the Moab Folk Music Festival is the first of its kind to use electricity generated completely by wind. Now, a group of local businesses and individuals hopes to make Moab and Grand County the first ever U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Green Power Community. The EPA began its Green Power Partnership program in 2001 to encourage corporations, government agencies, and other large power consumers to choose green power sources for their electricity. The voluntary program is aimed at boosting the market for power alternatives that reduce the environmental and health risks of conventional electricity generation, an EPA news release explains. Green Power partners are often large corporations such as Johnson and Johnson, government agencies, 100-perce- wind-powere- nt d, Times-Independe- wind-powere- 100-perce- nt Times-Independe- d, municipalities and businesses. The City of Moab, which joined the program in 2002, was awarded a 2003 Green Power Leadership Award by the agency. The City of Moab was recognized by the U.S. EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy in 2003 with a Green Power Leadership Award for its earlier work on promoting green power in this area, said Matt Clouse, Director of the U.S. EPAs Green Power Partnership. EPA plans to highlight Moabs ongoing efforts in order to in- spire other communities to use more renewable energy. In presenting the award, the EPA praised the Moab community for demonstrating an unprecedented commitment to supporting renewable energy. On April 22, 2003, the Moab Blue Sky Community Challenge began with a goal of signing up 5 percent of the areas residents and busi-ness- es by October 2003, a goal reached in a little more than one month. Today, more than 8.6 percent of Moab area electric customers are purchasing Blue Sky wind energy: an additional 1,450 megawatt hours. Nearly 1.5 percent of the communitys total energy usage now comes from renewable wind power, the Green Power Partnership website notes. Rallying the community to- - gether behind clean renewable energy, the communitys combined purchase has had very significant environmental and educational benefits. In fact, two other prominent Utah communities have expressed interest in creating similar Clean Energy Challenges for their communities, and the Moab community created an outreach model that can be replicated across the country. To keep that commitment growing, the new Moab group, with the backing of the mayors of Moab and Castle Valley, this year worked with the EPA to create a new Green Power Partnership designation for communities, and this popular tourist community now stands poised to become the first community in the nation to receive the endorsement. Castle Valley Mayor Bruce Keeler, and Moab Mayor Dave Sakrison signed the Green Power Community pledge. Being first in the nation to achieve this designation is a huge coup for a little community like ours in terms of the positive publicity that can come out of this, said Andy Nettell, spokesman for the group. Any consumer whos conscious of the energy problems of the country will recognize businesses that are forward thinking in this regard. It makes sense to use renewable energy boost to Moab EPA quest The Moab announced a large boost today to the communitys EPA Green Power Community Partner goal by offsetting 100 percent of its electricity use with Utah Powers Blue Sky wind power. Blue Sky gives customers a way to grow the demand for wind energy and to take advantage of its environmental benefits. It is sold by Utah Power block increin ments for $1.95 each, in addition to a customers regular monthly electric Sky has the same impact of not driving a car 54,000 miles or planting 10 The acres of trees. Blue Sky purchase is equivalent to the amount of energy used by 3.5 average homes each month. Moab has been working to achieve this national EPA award for a year now and we want to be part of the effort, explained Adrien Taylor, bill. toward the development of cleaner power sources. Were working with the city, and with a local committee to meet the EPA award level by October 15. Moab established two goals over a year ago - one to reach 5 percent customer participation in Blue Sky, and the aforementioned goal of linking 3 percent of the energy used by the community to renewables. Sarah Wright, Director of Utah Clean Energy, has been working with city officials for a year to enroll businesses and residential customers in Blue Sky. Im impressed by how well this community is working together to create change and bring more clean energy into our system, she said. Beyond their local efforts, Moab is inspiring com-u n i tie s around the nation to take the lead in the promotion of sus- Times-Independe- nt ur If the Moab community purchases three percent of its energy from renewable sources - the equivalent of 2,455 block increments of Blue Sky - it will receive national recognition from the Environmental Protection Agency as the first U.S. EPA Green Power Community Partner. The community is close to its goal. Moab is now linking two percent of its energy use to renewable energy through Blue Sky, which is 68 percent of goal, with more than 1,668 blocks purchased. The purchase of 21 blocks (2,100 kilowatt-hours- ) each month helps Moab move closer to its 3 percent goal. It also contributes a substantial environmental benefit, as 21 blocks of Blue Times-Independen- ts Times-Independen- ts editor. We know additional amount we pay goes Times-Independe- the m tainable en- ergy. Ive been contacted by towns in Wash- ington, Or- egon, Wisconsin and Georgia about how to create com- munity challenges for e w a b re-- n 1 e power. In Utah, three communities are already followTimes-Independe- nt Sam and Adrien Taylor show off Certificate of Envirnmental Stewardship plaque received from Pacificorp recognizing the newspaper's commitment to renewable energy and desire to make a positive environmental impact. ing Moabs ex- ample: Salt Lake City, Park City and Sundance. Photo by Lisa Church resources. Its a As owner of Arches Book Company, Nettell was among the first group of businesses to sign up for the Utah Power Blue Sky Challenge in 2003. Now, working with Moab Mayor Dave Sakrison and other business owners and area residents, Nettell hopes to persuade every Continued on Page A2 Synergy led the way on wind power and is stepping out with tree planting gives nt Andy Nettell, John Andrews, Jayne Dillon, Dave Sakrison, Melissa Schmaedick, and Jim Collar have been instrumental in helping the Moab community become the first EPA Green Power Community in the nation. Along with other local business owners, the group is asking businesses and individuals to supplement a portion of their electricity use through Utah Power's Blue Sky program. To achieve of all electricity used in Grand County must come the EPA designation, from renewable energy sources such as wind power. Representatives from the EPA will be on hand on November 6 to present the community with a wind turbine sculpture, and officially certify Moabs place as the first Green Power Community. by Lisa Church First in the Nation EPA Green Power Community Steering Committee co Mayor Dave Saknson Moab City Office 115 West 200 South Moab Utah 84532 What's up with the Moab challenge ? Since the Moab challenge was an- nounced, customer signups have doubled: 448 residential customers and 65 businesses have doubled the goal of signing up 5 percent of the communitys customers. The current percentage is 10.22 percent. According to Utah Power, enrollin ing Blue Sky is easy and has benefits. Buying one block of Blue Sky has the impact of not driving more than 2,500 miles or planting almost half an acre of trees, said Carol Hunter, Utah Power vice president. While Utah Power already buys renewable energy for its customers, Blue Sky brings even more wind power into the system and encourages wind farm development. Moabs community efforts will culminate in early November at the 100 percent Blue Sky wind powered Moab Folk festival where the community will be recognized by EPA as the First in the Nation - EPA Green Moabs leaderPower Community. ship has set the stage for other communities around the country, but there can only be one first said Wright. Given the enthusiasm and dedication of the community volunteers working on this project, Im confident that they will meet their goal. To enroll in Blue Sky, call or blueskypacificorp.com . Customers also can sign up on line at www.utahpower.netbluesky Large businesses can take advantage of bulk purchase discounts of renewable power with the new Blue Sky QS program. Blue Sky QS (quantity savings) allows Utah Powers commercial customers to buy renewable power for less, providing they purchase at least 101 blocks of Blue Sky per month for a year. long-reachi- contributing writer Protecting the environment and supporting renewable energy re- sources can be accomplished in many ways, and for one local company, meeting that goal means working to replace every kilowatt of energy used to create its products. The Synergy Company, which produces dietary supplements that are sold around the globe, was the first Moab company to purchase 100 percent of its electricity as wind power through the Utah Power Blue Sky program. But Synergy owners John Groo and Mitchell Mays have taken their commitment to the environment one step further - by planting trees to help compensate for the carbon emissions that are created during the manufacture of Synergy. Through Plant It 2020, a nong foundation dediprofit cated to planting, maintaining and protecting indigenous trees worldwide, The Synergy Company is helping reforest areas of the West. When one does business, there are many things we dont think about - shipping, boxes, office paper, etcetera, all require energy to produce, Mays said. The vision for this is a desire on Synergys part to really make certain that our footprint is a minimal as possible in the world. Company officials met with experts to figure out how the company can compensate for the total energy costs of doing business. They used existing formulas to determine how much pollution, waste, greenhouse gases, the company inadvertently wastes, then developed a plan to tree-plantin- make up for that waste by implementing measures including planting trees, and buying renewable energy. We want to take responsibility for all the emissions we create, Mays said. Weve looked at everything from paper use to employee gas consumption. We really want to contribute on all levels. Last year, the company estimates it planted a minimum of 2,500 trees through its contributions to Plant It 2020. In all, Synergy spends $5,000 to $10,000 annually in its efforts to help preserve the environment. Synergy officials expect the companies they do business with to take similar measures, and the company is also working with local government to plant trees locally and and encourage the use of renewable non-profi- ts energy resources. Earlier this year, Synergy paid to relocate fruit trees to the Youth Garden Project site from an orchard that was being razed for development. And the company is coordinating tree planting efforts local officials. Synergy has also begun distributing its products locally through Moonflower Market at a discount. The company donates 10 percent of their local product sales to its environmental efforts. Planting trees is a clear way to make the future brighter, Mays said. The beauty of trees is that theyre here for future generations, he said. People need to start making those types of choices ifwere not going to be paying a really big price down the road. These efforts are relatively inexpensive compared to the human costs of ailments and environmental destruction. About the Blue Sky Program To meet the wind power goal, area residents and busihour blocks nesses must enroll to purchase about 816 more of Blue Sky power through Utah Powers Blue Sky Program. For information, or to enroll, contact Utah Power at or visit the companys website at www.utahpower.netArticle Article22009.html and click on Enroll online now 100-kilow- 8, About the EPA Green Power Partnership Program For more information, visit the EPA website at www.epa.govgreenpower A |