your community energy company

Transcription

1 your community energy company

2 Why Madison-area businesses buy green power your community energy company

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4 what we ve learned about Madison businesses and the environment The Madison area is a great place to work and live. Businesses here are concerned about the well-being of their employees and the environment. We ve offered our customers the option to purchase green power since Today, more than 250 businesses participate in Green Power Tomorrow. Every month they pay an additional cost to make sure that more of our electricity comes from the wind and the sun. Why do they do it? We can give you some of their reasons. Our team completed more than 200 interviews with green power business customers. They talked with owners and managers to understand why they made their green power purchases. Now you have a chance to learn what we ve learned. We hope you ll find reasons that lead you to join other MGE customers to make a real difference for our community and our environment. Thanks to our green power customers and everyone who helped to make Green Power Tomorrow one of the top green power programs in the United States. The MGE Green Power Tomorrow Team P.S.: You can learn more about green power at mge.com/gogreen.

5 Built in 1999, our original wind farm in Kewaunee County, Wis., has a generation capacity of megawatts. Through the years our wind resources, both owned and purchased, have grown to more than 65 megawatts.

6 reason 1 Provide support for renewable energy technologies Building demand is key to success for new products. Business owners and managers struggle with this challenge everyday. Maybe that s why they re willing to be early adopters of green power. They feel that they can jump-start the market. Their purchases drive us to install the wind turbines, solar panels and distribution systems needed to bring green power to the grid. Madison Chiropractic is very clear about its business mission: to positively change lives. We felt that we couldn t afford not to support Green Power Tomorrow, said Dr. Brent McNabb, one of the clinic s partners. The additional charge is very minimal the bill is about $20 higher a month and these funds will play a critical role in expanding the industry and making renewable energy more affordable and available to everyone.

7 By participating in Green Power Tomorrow MGE customers have doubled the amount of renewable energy in our generation mix.

8 reason 2 Increase the use of renewable fuels and reduce our carbon footprint Green Power Tomorrow is a perfect fit for Madison business owners and managers who are concerned about the use of fossil fuels and want to reduce their carbon footprint. For every kilowatt-hour of electricity that we generate for our green power customers, there is a kilowatt-hour of electricity that won t be generated by nonrenewable fuels. Please consider green power. It s an easy, effective way to make a difference. We have wind and solar power ready for you to buy right now. The Seafood Center is a locally owned and operated retail seafood market. They offer fresh and frozen fish, deli items and fishand-chips dinners to go. According to owner Scott Kennedy, We need to make sure those products continue to be available in the future, so sustainability is very important to us. Kennedy added, The same holds true for the environment. We want to make sure it is clean and green in the future. Supporting renewable energy helps achieve that goal.

9 Every year MGE Green Power Tomorrow customers help us to avoid the production of more than 150,000 tons of carbon dioxide and other air emissions.

10 reason 3 Protect the environment For many businesses taking care of the environment is an important part of their business plan. They simply want to make sure that future generations can enjoy the same benefits that we have. But green power is just the first step. Some do even more. Alvarado Real Estate Group is a residential real estate brokerage firm on Madison s near east side. Sara Alvarado, co-owner and certified eco-broker, feels that Taking care of the environment is a responsibility that lies with all of us. We all can and should make green choices daily like switching to energy-efficient lightbulbs, turning off equipment and buying renewable energy.

11 Madison residents are interested in protecting the environment. More than 10,500 residential customers participate in Green Power Tomorrow. They pushed the Madison area into the top 5 U.S. markets for green power purchases.

12 reason 4 It s important to my customers Customers select a grocery store, restaurant, dentist or gift shop for a myriad of reasons. They like the location, expertise, price or products they find. But values, like a concern for the environment, are also important to their decision. And one of the easiest ways for a business to show its concern for the environment is by purchasing green power. Buying green power directly reduces your carbon footprint. Metcalfe s Market was one of our first green power customers. Grocery stores are generally large energy users because of our product mix, store size and the fact that we re open 24 hours a day, said Tim Metcalfe, president and co-owner of Metcalfe s Market. It s critical that we do what we can to reduce our carbon footprint both because it s the right thing to do and because we know it s important to our customers.

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14 it does make a difference We ve learned why businesses buy green power, but what have they achieved? There are some very clear answers to this question. Through the power of working together our business and residential Green Power Tomorrow customers help to: Prevent carbon dioxide emissions that are equivalent to burning the amount of coal needed to fill a coal train more than 7.4 miles long. Offset the greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking 26,000 passenger vehicles off the road. Bring more solar energy into MGE s power supply. We now have 165 customer-owned solar electric systems connected to our local grid. Customers like the Overlook Apartments have installed new solar systems through our Clean Power Partners program. Systems in this program supply energy for Green Power Tomorrow customers.

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16 sign up for Green Power Tomorrow Now that you have the answers to the why and what of green power, all you need is the how much. We have flexible participation options. Select a monthly cost that is comfortable for your budget. Your MGE business account manager can help. Here s how to get started. Visit mge.com/gogreen and complete the information form. An MGE account manager will call to discuss your options. Call our Business Energy Line and ask to speak with an MGE account manager. support local green power businesses MGE helps to build recognition for green power businesses in our area. The Marketplace section of mge.com features green business profiles and a searchable database. Learn more about each business and their reasons for purchasing green power. Visit Use the Marketplace section of mge.com to learn more about the local businesses who buy green power. GS /20/2012