LAKEWOOD, Colo.— A city-owned utility teamed with five Federal facilities to buy almost 1.7 million MWhs of renewable energy certificates for up to five years.

Western Area Power Administration coordinated the purchase for the agencies through its Renewable Resources for Federal Agencies program. The program, a partnership with the Federal Energy Management Program, helps Federal agencies move toward renewable energy goals set by Section 203 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

The Federal agencies purchased more than 235,605 MWhs of RECs over five years. The agencies include:

• Environmental Protection Agency, Denver—7,000 MWh
• Fort Lewis, Wash. – 209,455 MWh
• NASA - Ames Research Center, Calif.—12,300 MWh
• NASA – Eastside Airfield, Calif.—4,100 MWh
• U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region—2,750 MWh

The RECs for the agencies will be supplied by 3 Phases Energy, a third-party marketer, and will come from wind, biomass and geothermal energy generated in California, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oregon and South Dakota. The company also provided RECs for a purchase Western coordinated for the EPA in 2004.

The purchase by city-owned Colorado Springs Utilities supports Western's goal to encourage its customers in the voluntary use of renewable energy. The city will apply its total purchase of more than 1.5 million MWh over a five-year period toward its voluntary compliance with Colorado's Amendment 37 requirements. Community Energy, also a third-party marketer, procured the renewable energy supply from wind energy and other sources generated primarily in California, Kansas and Nebraska. Wind sites in Colorado may supply additional RECs in the future.

Renewable energy certificates, also known as green tags, are the intangible environmental benefits associated with generating one megawatthour of electric energy by a renewable resource. They don't require the energy to be physically delivered to the buyer, but instead offset the difference between cost of the renewable power and power from fossil energy sources.

This is Western's first joint local and Federal government purchase. "We are pleased to be able to provide additional energy services to help Colorado Springs Utilities in its voluntary efforts to meet the state's renewable portfolio standard." said Peggy Plate, Energy Services representative for Western’s Rocky Mountain Region office. The purchase was coordinated through RMR.

For more about Western's renewable resources program, log on to Western's Green Tags Web site.

Western Area Power Administration Media Contact:
LaVerne Kyriss
720-962-7051
kyriss@wapa.gov