The northwest Missouri community of Plattsburg is partnering with AmerenUE to become Missouri’s first U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Green Power Community (GPC). Plattsburg is challenging other Missouri cities to join them in becoming a GPC—cities, towns, and villages in which the local government, businesses, and residents collectively buy a certain percentage of green power.
The city of Plattsburg will celebrate with a kickoff celebration from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 26. Festivities will include a picnic lunch for all, games, prizes, and a pinwheel art contest by the local students. In addition, 500 energy efficient, compact fluorescent light bulbs will be distributed for free.
To start the process, Plattsburg has enrolled 17 city-owned electric service meters and two lighting accounts in Pure Power®, AmerenUE’s voluntary green power program. Through this program, customers volunteer to have an additional 1.5 cents per each kilowatthour of electric usage added to their bills. That money goes toward the purchase of renewable energy credits, or RECs, from regional alternative energy sources, like wind power.
Plattsburg will purchase RECs equal to 100% of the electrical usage from the meters and lighting accounts. This first step alone will prevent 785,544 pounds of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (C02) from entering the atmosphere each year—equivalent to 81 acres of forest storing carbon for one year or taking 77 cars off the road the annually.
Community leaders are now urging their citizens to sign up for Pure Power so that Plattsburg has 5 percent of its entire energy usage committed to reducing the city’s “carbon footprint”—and to raising the city to GPC status.
“We want to reach that goal by April 2009,” says Mayor James Kennedy. “Technically, we only need to have 3 percent participation to be an EPA Green Power Community, but we are setting a stretch goal for our citizens. This is a great way for Plattsburg to gain national recognition as a leader in efforts to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide—a leading greenhouse gas.”
To demonstrate his personal commitment, Mayor Kennedy will enroll his own home in Pure Power at the event. Also in attendance will be Leland P. Grooms, Environmental Scientist for U.S. EPA Region VII; Bill Barbieri, Ameren manager-Renewables; and Mike Holman, Ameren assistant manager—Missouri Valley Division.
The day will also mark the launch of a new AmerenUE Pure Power’s own green initiative, P.U.R.E. Genius. “P.U.R.E.” stands for People Using Renewable Energy.
“We are so excited that the city of Plattsburg is making this dramatic statement in support of green power,” says Cindy Bambini of 3Degrees Group Inc., which is managing the program for AmerenUE. “They have really stepped up to the plate, and their commitment will help support local renewable energy projects that are adding more green power to Missouri’s electrical grid.”
AmerenUE serves 1.2 million electric customers and 127,000 natural gas customers in a 24,000-square-mile area of north, central and eastern Missouri. It is a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Ameren Corporation.
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CONTACT: Mike Cleary, 573.681.7137 or Tim Fox, 314.554.3120, both of AmerenUE