Press Releases
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October 19, 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jennifer Walz, Communications Director,
(218) 299-5407
Chris
Reed, Energy Services and Marketing Director, (218) 299-5199
HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS! IT’S CAPTURE THE WIND™ WEEK IN MOORHEAD!
With Moorhead Public Service (MPS)
kicking off their campaign to launch a second wind turbine in north Moorhead, Mayor Morris
Lanning has officially declared the week of October 23-29 as "Capture The Wind™
Week"!
Bill Schwandt, the utility’s general
manager, says, "Moorhead Public Service customers were so enthusiastic and supportive
of the first wind turbine. We’ve
had a waiting list of a about 100 people since the first Capture The Wind™ program
filled."
MPS is kicking off the festivities by holding a
Second Wind Celebration in the Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center auditorium next
Monday, October 23, 2000 at 10:30 A.M. "We’ve invited customers from the waiting
list to come and renew their commitment to clean wind energy."
By participating in the program, customers will
save resources for future generations. "An average customer using 1,000 kilowatt
hours (kWh) of
electricity each month will prevent 8,800 pounds of greenhouse gases from being emitted
into the air. That has the same effect on the environment as planting 1.2 acres of
trees," explains Christopher Reed, energy services and marketing director for MPS.
Reed continues, "Wind energy is an inexhaustible and environmentally-friendly
source of electricity. Wind turns the turbine’s rotor
which spins the generator that makes electricity. There is no need to mine, burn,
or dispose of anything."
The Minnesota Environmental Initiative honored
MPS in 1999 with the Environmental Initiative Award for its Capture The Wind™
program. Environmental Initiative Awards are given to companies and organizations that
have taken the lead in executing substantial changes in response to pressing environmental
issues.
MPS’s Capture The Wind™ program also
received recognition from the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). NREL recently compiled
a list of the Top Ten Utility Green Pricing Programs in the nation. In the first category,
Premium Charged for New, Customer-Driven Renewable Power,
MPS ranked fourth nationally for its low wind power rate. And with 3.4% of its current
customers participating in the Capture The Wind™ program, MPS is ranked sixth
nationally in the category for Customer Participation Rates.
Once again, for a limited time, MPS customers
will have the opportunity to become members of MPS’s Capture The Wind™ program.
For just a
half-penny more per kWh, residential customers can choose to buy all of their electricity
or a block of 1,000 kilowatt hours per month at the wind power rate. For the average
residential customer, that means about $5 more each month. Commercial customers are also
encouraged to participate and are offered the choice of buying all of their electricity at
the wind power rate or a block of
1,500 kWh each month. MPS customers who participate in the program
won’t be billed for wind-generated energy until the turbine begins operating
next fall.
MPS customers should receive contracts in the
mail during Capture The Wind™ Week
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