July 22, 2009

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore.  — The City of Lake Oswego is challenging its citizens to purchase more environmentally friendly green power. At Tuesday’s city council meeting, Mayor Jack D. Hoffman and the Lake Oswego City Council proclaimed the City’s first Green Power Challenge.

“The City of Lake Oswego is very committed to sustainable business practices,” said Mayor Hoffman. “We demonstrated our powerful commitment to green power by going the extra mile to sponsor this challenge and purchase renewable energy for the city. I encourage citizens to sign up for renewable power during the Lake Oswego Green Power Challenge and contribute to environmental stewardship for the future of our city and our state.”

The two-month Green Power Challenge, available to all Lake Oswego PGE customers — business and residential — begins August 1 and concludes September 30. Through the community-wide challenge, the city hopes to increase its reliance on clean, renewable energy. The goal is to generate 300 new green power signups in PGE’s residential and small business renewable programs.

As a role model, the city of Lake Oswego has already shown its commitment to green power. The city currently purchases more than 1.7 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of renewable energy of wind power annually for its city operations, which equals nearly 8 percent of Lake Oswego’s annual electricity usage for its city facilities. This green power purchase is enough power to offset approximately 1.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in one year, which is equivalent to not driving 1.7 million miles. CO₂ is a major contributor of global warming.

 “Using renewable energy is one of the best ways to combat global warming,” said Thor Hinckley, PGE’s renewable power program manager. “Lake Oswego’s citizens will emerge as leaders on this important issue. PGE applauds Mayor Hoffman and the City Council for launching this important chapter in Lake Oswego’s environmental history.”

PGE’s renewable power options
PGE offers two green power products* for residential and small business customers as part of its Renewable Power Options program:

• Clean Wind^SM — Residential and small business customers pay a $3.50 fee for a fixed amount of new wind power each month. The wind power comes from wind farms in Oregon and Washington and helps build new renewable resources in Oregon.
• Green Source^SM — With this product, 100 percent of the energy residents and businesses use is offset with renewable energy from 100 percent new renewable sources. The extra cost is about $9 monthly for the average PGE residential renewable power customer. For the average small business it’s about $19 more per month.

In addition, PGE’s residential and small business renewable power customers have the option of improving salmon and steelhead habitat in Oregon by supplementing their renewable choice with Habitat Support, a $2.50 monthly contribution that goes directly to a program administered by The Nature Conservancy of Oregon. PGE also offers a green power option for medium and large business customers like the city of Lake Oswego — PGE’s Clean Wind program — for as little as $11 per month for 1,000 kWh, up to 100 percent of their usage.

How to sign up for the challenge
Lake Oswego residential and small business customers who want to participate in the challenge and buy renewable power from PGE can enroll by visiting www.PortlandGeneral.com/Renewable/LakeOswego. Medium and large business customers should visit our Clean Wind page. All customers can call (503) 228-6322.

The City of Lake Oswego and PGE will promote this challenge through various grassroots marketing and sales efforts and events, including neighborhood canvassing and tabling at the Lake Oswego Farmers’ Market Aug. 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29 and Sept. 5, 12, 19 and 26 from 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. at Millennium Plaza Park.. In addition, PGE will have sales representatives at retail stores and various local events.

The City of Lake Oswego is committed to making smart and sustainable decisions about its impact on the environment. In addition to using renewable energy, the city is working with regional and state partners to prepare the Portland metro region and the state for electric vehicle funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). As a recipient of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program, the city will be developing a strategy to implement energy efficiency and conservation projects and programs for city operations and the community.