The Pembina Institute celebrates the first-year anniversary of its Wind Power Certificates program by announcing the sale of close to 2,000 megawatt-hours of wind power.
"While several other organizations now sell wind power certificates, what makes Pembina's program unique is that it allows Canadians to not only invest in wind power, but, at the same time, to support one of Canada's most influential and respected environmental organizations," says Marlo Raynolds, the Pembina Institute's Executive Director. "The Pembina Institute's primary objective is to move society towards a sustainable energy future, and the people supporting our program are helping to realize this objective," adds Raynolds.
Last October, the Pembina Institute, a non-profit environmental research and advocacy organization, teamed up with Vision Quest, Canada's largest producer of wind energy. The Pembina Institute's Wind Power Certificates program allows home owners and small businesses to feed wind power into the electricity grid, thereby displacing conventional sources of electricity. Much of the electricity used in Canada today is generated by burning coal, oil or natural gas. Using these fossil fuels contributes to climate change, acid rain and smog, which in turn create negative health, social and economic impacts.
Crystal Springs Dairy Farm, near Bluffton, Alberta was one of the Pembina Institute's first wind power certificate customers. The farm's owner, Pieter Broere, was determined to power his operation with wind power. After some persistent searching, he learned he could purchase wind power certificates. Now his farm is 100 % wind-powered and the cheese produced on his farm is "emissions free." Broere's investment in wind power removes about 85 tonnes of environmentally damaging emissions from the atmosphere each year.
"Wind power is nothing new," says Broere. "We are 600 years behind in Canada. I was born in Kinderdyk, Holland. My parents and grandparents used wind power. I wanted to use wind power for my farm to reduce the ecological footprint of my own operations and that of my community. The sun-which drives the wind-makes the grass grow, my cows eat the grass, the cows produce milk, and I produce my dairy products using wind power. This cycle creates a finished product that is ecologically sound," says Broere.
Although wind power currently costs a few cents more per kilowatt hour than conventional energy, Broere found that some simple energy efficiency measures, like removing non-essential light bulbs and ensuring his equipment was working efficiently, eliminated any net cost increase.
"The prices for wind power are coming down all the time," says Raynolds. "The technology for wind power is sound, but market incentives are not yet well developed."
"The retail market is a new approach for the Pembina Institute," adds Raynolds. "We made the decision to sell wind power certificates because the program creates a solid bridge between the technology that makes wind power possible and the people who want to switch to a clean source of electricity. By purchasing wind power in the certificate form, Canadians can boost the market for renewable energy, and help to bring it into the mainstream. We will soon be launching some new and exciting opportunities for Canadians to purchase wind power certificates and support our work to help advance renewable energy in Canada," says Raynolds.
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For more information contact:
Marlo Raynolds
Executive Director
The Pembina Institute
403-269-3344 x 113
Pieter Broere
Crystal Springs Dairy Farm
403-843-3502
High resolution pictures of Pieter Broere on his dairy farm are available for use.
Image 1: Pieter with Dutch windmill photo
Image 2:Pieter with cows
Image 3:Pieter with Wind Power Certificates
More information on wind energy and Wind Power Certificates is available on the Pembina Institute's Wind Power Certificates pages.