San Diego Padres Team Up with Green Mountain Energy Company for "Go Green" on Saturday, Sept. 4

Padres to offset game’s electricity usage and fans’ vehicle emissions by partnering with Green Mountain Energy Company

San Diego (Vocus) September 3, 2010

The San Diego Padres today announced today they are partnering with Green Mountain Energy Company, the nation’s leading competitive retail provider of cleaner energy and carbon offset solutions, for Padres “Go Green” on Saturday, September 4. The effort is part of the Padres ongoing effort to make PETCO Park as environmentally friendly as possible.

The Padres are partnering with Green Mountain Energy Company to offset both the estimated electricity usage for the game and the fans’ estimated roundtrip vehicle travel to and from the game.

Green Power
The Padres are purchasing an estimated 41,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green energy to power the game. Green Mountain is providing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from a California solar project to offset the estimated electricity for Saturday’s game.

Carbon Offsets
In addition, the Padres will offset nearly 210,000 pounds of carbon dioxide vehicle emissions associated with fans driving to and from the game. Green Mountain is providing carbon offsets from the Van Eck Forest Project in Humboldt County, California. The vehicle emissions are based on the Padres’ estimations of fan attendance and average fan mileage to and from the game.

By offsetting the electricity usage for the game and the vehicles emissions, the Padres are avoiding approximately 238,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. That equates to taking roughly 1,100 cars off the road for a week.

“Green Mountain Energy Company is pleased to partner with the San Diego Padres to help make Saturday’s game greener,” said Scott Hart, President of Commercial Services, Green Mountain Energy Company. “The Padres’ commitment to renewable energy and carbon offsets promotes clean air and a healthy environment. They are leading by example and we hope more organizations will choose to follow their lead.”

Renewable energy facilities generate renewable energy certificates (RECs) when they produce electricity. Purchasing these certificates is a widely accepted way to address the greenhouse gas emissions of electricity consumption. Purchasing RECs in the same quantity as the Padres’ estimated electricity consumption ensures that the amount of energy used by the baseball team is added to the power grid from renewable sources and supports the further development of these projects.

In addition to offsetting electricity usage and fans’ vehicle emissions on Saturday, the Padres will offer fans the opportunity to recycle old cell phones and iPods through ecoATM. Before the game, fans will also have the chance to visit the “Go Green Village,” an educational expo featuring local environmental organizations and vendors. The annual “Padres Go Green” event is an extension of the organization’s year-round efforts to make PETCO Park as environmentally friendly as possible. Those efforts include recycling cooking oil, diverting food waste, grass clippings and coffee grinds for composting and printing the official Padres game-day program on recycled paper, using soy-based ink. The Padres’ environmental efforts have been recognized by several organizations. Most recently, PETCO Park won the 2010 City of San Diego Environmental Services Department’s Recycler of the Year award.

Green Mountain Energy Company
Green Mountain, the nation’s leading competitive retail provider of cleaner energy and carbon offset solutions, was founded in 1997 “to change the way power is made.” The company is the longest serving green power marketer in the U.S. and in 2009 was ranked the “Highest in Business Customer Satisfaction with Retail Electric Service” by J.D. Power and Associates1. Green Mountain offers consumers and businesses the choice of clean electricity products from renewable sources such as wind and water, as well as a variety of carbon offset products. Green Mountain customers have collectively helped avoid over 11.3 billion pounds of CO2 emissions. For more information, visit GreenMountain.com.

1Green Mountain Energy Company received the highest numerical score among business electric service retailers in Texas in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Texas Business Retail Electric Provider Satisfaction StudySM. Study based on responses from 2,231 businesses measuring 7 retailers and measures opinions of businesses with their electric service provider. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed May-June and September-October 2009. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.

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