Cities of Olympia and Lacey Close to Earning $30,000 in Community Solar Project Grants from Puget Sound Energy
50 More Green Power Program Participants Needed
OLYMPIA, Wash. (Dec. 9, 2011) – Residents and businesses of Olympia and Lacey have until Dec. 31 to enroll in Puget Sound Energy’s voluntary Green Power Program for electric customers to help the two cities earn a total of $30,000 in grants from the utility to fund community solar photovoltaic projects. Currently, the cities are 50 participants away from receiving the grant.
“The support of the Green Power Program by customers in the South Sound has shown us that local renewable energy development is important to our customers in this area,” said Casey Cochrane, local government and community relations manager for PSE. “With 50 more enrollments, our South Sound customers have the chance to see a solar energy project in their very own community.”
Earlier this year Puget Sound Energy teamed up with the cities of Olympia and Lacey, Intercity Transit, and Thurston Energy to challenge local residents to “Flip the Switch to Green Power.” Their aim is to increase the development of electricity generated from renewable energy sources in the region.
Eastside Big Tom, a drive inn restaurant in Olympia has been a Green Power Program participant since summer 2011. In addition to purchasing Green Power, the drive inn restaurant has gone green by installing solar panels to heat hot water, has an electric vehicle charging station and reuses the oil from their fryers to power a vehicle.
“Eastside Big Tom purchases 100 percent Green Power because it is a small price to pay to do the right thing,” said Michael Fritsch, owner of Eastside Big Tom in Olympia. “Supporting the Green Power Program is a simple and inexpensive way for my business to support something we believe in, local renewable energy, and supporting this program is something most everyone can do for a small cost.”
Currently, more than 4,000 PSE customers in the two cities participate in the program. If 50 more PSE Green Power customers from Olympia and Lacey enroll by Dec. 31, PSE will provide $20,000 toward a community solar project in Olympia and $10,000 toward a solar project in Lacey. Each city will determine where its project will be located and how it will be implemented.
PSE’s voluntary Green Power Program gives PSE electric customers a way to guarantee that some or all of the energy they use is matched in the electric grid with clean electricity from wind, solar, biomass and other renewable energy sources. None of the renewable energy in PSE’s Green Power Program is generated by PSE; it all comes from other independent producers of renewable power.
With two participation options, PSE residential customers can purchase 100 percent green power for approximately $10 to $12 a month based on their actual usage or buy a specific amount, with a minimum purchase of $4 per month for 320 kilowatt-hours (kWh). Additional green power can be bought in increments of $2 for 160 kWh. Business customers can also participate at rates specific to their situation.
More than 90 businesses in Olympia and Lacey currently participate in the Green Power Program, with 24 of them participating in Green Power Rewards, which offers residential Green Power customers a rewards card for ongoing discounts on products and services at local businesses that also participate in the Green Power Program. Thurston County businesses in Green Power Rewards include retail, dining, personal care, home and garden, legal services, and sporting goods stores in the Olympia, Lacey and Yelm area.
For more information about Flip the Switch to Green Power, visit PSE.com/Flip. To sign up for PSE’s Green Power Program call a PSE Energy Advisor at 1-800-562-1482, Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., or visit PSE.com/GreenPower. Additional information on Green Power Rewards can be found at PSE.com/GreenPowerRewards.
About Puget Sound Energy
Washington state’s oldest local energy utility, Puget Sound Energy serves more than 1 million electric customers and 750,000 natural gas customers in 11 counties. A subsidiary of Puget Energy, PSE meets the energy needs of its customers through incremental, cost-effective energy efficiency, procurement of sustainable energy resources, and far-sighted investment in the energy-delivery infrastructure. PSE employees are dedicated to providing great customer service and delivering energy that is safe, dependable and efficient. For more information, visit www.PSE.com.
Media Contact
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