AmerenUE’s Pure Power announced today that Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Company has agreed to support the development of new renewable energy sources via the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs) through the Pure Power program.
Pure Power is UE’s voluntary renewable energy program and the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2008 New Green Power Program of the Year Award Winner. It gives residential customers the option to add an extra 1.5 cents/kilowatthour to their monthly bills, offsetting 100 percent of their energy usage with clean, renewable energy. Commercial and industrial customers, like Kaldi’s, participate by buying “blocks” of Pure Power, paying an additional $15 a month for each 1,000 kilowatthours used. Residential customers can also participate by purchasing Pure Power blocks. Pure Power funds are used to purchase RECs from Green-e Energy Certified® wind farms and other types of renewable energy projects.
Kaldi’s purchase of 144 blocks of Pure Power makes it a UE Pure Power Leader—a designation reserved for companies, governments or other large users of electricity who agree to offset at least 3% percent of their energy usage through Pure Power REC purchases. The company’s commitment will help prevent approximately 103 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), a leading greenhouse gas, from entering the atmosphere each year. This is equal to the CO2 reduction provided by taking 19 cars off the road for a year.
“Great coffee is intrinsically linked to healthy soil, clean water and fresh air. Preserving our planet is synonymous with preserving our business,” said Josh Ferguson, owner of Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Company.
To further promote Kaldi’s participation in the program, over the next four weeks Pure Power representatives will be on site at all St. Louis area Kaldi’s locations at various times. They will educate Kaldi’s customers about the company’s growing commitment to sustainability and about how to give Pure Power this holiday season—the only gift that’s P.U.R.E.* Genius.
Through the end of October 2009, UE Pure Power customers have supported the generation of 85,168 megawatthours of local renewable energy—the same as taking 11,202 cars off the road for a year.
For more information about UE’s Pure Power program, please visit www.ameren.com/purepower or contact Cindy Bambini at 314.480.3554. Pure Power is Green-e Energy Certified® by the not-for-profit Center for Resource Solutions. Green-e is the leading renewable energy certification and verification program in the U.S.
AmerenUE, founded in 1902, provides electric and gas service to approximately 1.2 million customers across central and eastern Missouri, including the greater St. Louis area. UE serves 57 Missouri counties and 500 towns. The company's electric rates are among the lowest in the nation. For more information, visit www.ameren.com.
*People Using Renewable Energy
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Contacts: Tim Fox 314.554.4335