Pennsylvania County First to Power All Buildings with Wind

NORRISTOWN, Pennsylvania, September 28, 2007 (ENS) - Montgomery County in Pennsylvania Thursday became the first 100 percent wind powered county in the United States.

Montgomery County, the utility PECO and Community Energy officials today announced a 29 million kilowatt hour wind energy purchase that will power all county facilities.

Equal to the electric consumption of 2,700 typical homes, the purchase ranks among the top 10 largest green power commitments by a U.S. governmental body.

Commissioner James Matthews said, "Montgomery County continues to tackle the very serious threat of climate change. Eliminating the County's greenhouse gas emissions from our electricity use sets a positive example that not only benefits our residents, but serves as a blueprint for other counties and towns to follow."

This commitment dovetails with the efforts of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Task Force, which the county commissioners created earlier this year and charged with finding ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy efficiency and energy independence in Montgomery County.

The purchase of 29 million kilowatt hours of wind powered electricity, equal to the output of more than seven modern 380 foot tall wind turbines, is estimated to have the same environmental benefit as planting more than 16,000 acres of trees or removing 3,700 cars from the roadways.

Five percent of the wind purchase will be provided by PECO Wind. PECO is an electric and natural gas utility subsidiary of Exelon Corporation.

"I want to thank the Montgomery County Commissioners for thinking green and choosing wind generated electricity," said Denis O'Brien, PECO chief executive.

"At PECO, we too choose wind to power 10 percent of the energy needs for our headquarters in Philadelphia," he said. "The commissioners join more than 37,000 PECO Wind customers in the region, making PECO Wind one of the fastest growing green power programs in the country."

The purchase was produced in partnership with wind energy marketer Community Energy.

"This landmark purchase sets Montgomery County apart as a national leader and sends a message that thriving industry and care for the environment can go hand-in-hand, " said Brent Alderfer, president of Community Energy. "Supporting homegrown wind power creates environmental and economic benefits right here in Pennsylvania, and we hope the county's commitment will spur others to follow their lead."

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2007. All rights reserved.