As Sarah Harmer embarks on her musical hiking "I Love the Escarpment" tour in southern Ontario, she makes a wind power purchase worth singing about. The talented singer/songwriter purchased wind power certificates to help bring wind power to Ontario and to do her part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Wind Power by Pembina program aims to move Canada towards a sustainable energy future by strengthening the market for low-impact renewable energy such as wind power, through the sale of wind power certificates.
Last fall Sarah Harmer toured from Newfoundland to San Francisco with her band, promoting her album, All of Our Names. The band played a total of 33 shows. Her wind power certificate purchase, which cost less than $600, prevented 17.4 tonnes of C02 emissions from entering the atmosphere. This has the same positive environmental impact as planting 98 trees or not driving a car 85,000 kilometres.
"Supporting the wind power program is a straightforward way to financially contribute to building the renewable energy/wind sector and help offset the amount of toxic pollutants that are created transporting me and my band from theatre, to hotel and home again. There's also a global benefit in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. I hope other musicians, individuals and businesses will like the idea and do the same," she said.
The Pembina Institute partnered with Vision Quest, Canada's largest wind power producer to kick off their wind power program in 2003. A portion of the proceeds from wind power certificate sales helps support the development of new wind energy. Vision Quest has over 5,000 acres of land and wind farm opportunities across Canada, including Ontario, Alberta and the Maritimes.
"Although the best way to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change is to make lifestyle changes that are less energy intensive, it's not always possible to do that," says Marlo Raynolds, Executive Director of the Pembina Institute.
"Wind power certificates allow Canadians to compensate for personal or business-related greenhouse gas emissions that they can't reduce by direct action," he added.
"In essence, you buy the assurance that clean, renewable wind energy will be supplied into the power pool. Individuals or businesses decide how many certificates they want to purchase to offset emissions produced from up to 100% of their energy consumption. This purchase helps to displace emissions from coal- and gas-fired generation, which contributes to climate change, and general air quality is improved through the use of renewable energy," says Raynolds.
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Contacts:
Marlo Raynolds, Executive Director, the Pembina Institute
Tel: 403-269-3344 Ext. 113
E-mail:marlor@pembina.org
Tyson Parker, Universal Music
Tel: —416-718-4000
E-mail: Tyson.parker@umusic.com