|
|
FALL 2000
Help Moorhead Catch its Second Wind!
Due to the popularity and overwhelming success of the Capture The Wind™
program, Moorhead Public Service (MPS) is pleased to announce plans for a
second wind turbine! For a limited time, MPS customers can once again sign
up to receive wind-generated electricity.
Since the first turbine began generating electricity on
May 14, 1999, it has produced over 1,716,711 kilowatt hours of
electricity. By choosing to replace coal-generated electricity with
wind-generated electricity, the Capture The Wind™ Charter Members have
prevented over 3,776,764 pounds of greenhouse gases from being emitted
into the environment. Without their strong support and enthusiastic
participation, Capture The Wind™ would not be the success it is today.
Moorhead Public Service would like to thank all of our Charter Members for
their continued support of Capture The Wind™.
MPS customers will receive Capture The Wind™
applications in the mail later this fall (2000). If you are interested in
partnering with MPS to bring a second wind turbine to Moorhead, be sure to
complete the contract and mail it back to us. If you are on the waiting
list from the first wind turbine, your membership in the program is
already guaranteed. MPS will contact you to confirm your commitment to
Capture The Wind™.
Be sure to call the Capture The Wind™ hotline at (218)
299-5199 if you have any questions.
MSUM Shows Concern for Environment
Since making a 10-year commitment to Capture The Wind™ in May of 1998,
Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) has continued its support of
clean, renewable wind-generated electricity. As the largest Charter Member
of Moorhead Public Service’s Capture The Wind™ program, MSUM purchases
83,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each month at the Capture The Wind™
rate. Since the wind turbine began generating electricity in May of 1999,
MSUM’s efforts have prevented approximately 1,028,500 pounds of
greenhouse gases from being emitted into the environment.
Dr. David Crockett, MSUM’s Vice President of
Administrative Affairs, says, "A very significant reason for our
university’s involvement in the project centers around environmental
issues. It’s the type of project that an educational institution should
be standing behind very strongly."
But this isn’t the first time that the two
organizations have worked together on a project that has significantly
benefited the environment. By participating in MPS’s "Lighten
Up" Energy-Efficient Lighting Program, MSUM has been able to
considerably reduce its lighting costs. Christopher Reed, Energy Services
and Marketing Director for MPS, explains, "By replacing older,
less-efficient lighting with state-of-the-art high-efficiency lighting,
Minnesota State University Moorhead saves over 4,665,976 kilowatt hours of
electricity per year. MSUM saves enough energy each year to provide
electricity to about 475 homes in Moorhead."
Based on the significant efforts MSUM has made to become
more energy efficient, they are entitled to rebates from MPS. Todd
Stugelmayer, Director of the Physical Plant at MSUM, says, "The
money’s coming back, so why not turn around and get use out of it again
by doing something green, if you will?"
Stugelmayer continues, "I think the wind is an
untapped resource. It’s something that we can give back to the
community, and it’s a good thing."
Capture The Wind Makes NREL Top Ten List
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has compiled a list of the
Top Ten Utility Green Pricing Programs in the nation. For both high
customer participation rates and low premiums, Moorhead Public
Services’s Capture The Wind™ program has made the top ten list in two
of the four categories.
In the first category, Premium Charged for New,
Customer-Driven Renewable Power, MPS is ranked fourth nationally for its
low wind power rate. With 3.4% of its current customers participating in
the Capture The Wind™ program, MPS is ranked sixth in the category for
Customer Participation Rates. MPS is proud of the national recognition it
has received and hopes to inspire other utilities to adopt similar
programs which support the use of renewable resources.
More information about the Top Ten Utility Green Pricing
Programs is currently available on NREL’s Green Power Network web site: www.eren.doe.gov/greenpower/topten.shtml
|
