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Liberty Bell Pavilion Purchases 100 Percent Renewable Electricity from Green Mountain Energy Company
Green Mountain Energy Company, the nation's largest and fastest growing retail provider of cleaner energy, is now providing 100 percent renewable electricity service to one of America's best known landmarks -- the Liberty Bell Pavilion at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia.
The Liberty Bell is the only national landmark purchasing 100 percent renewable electricity, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy. At a news conference today in Philadelphia, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christie Whitman joined representatives from Green Mountain Energy Company, and federal and state agencies to announce a three- year contract to purchase 100 percent renewable electricity for historic buildings in Independence National Historical Park and other federal government-operated facilities in the Philadelphia region. Renewable electricity is generated from less-polluting sources such as wind, solar, water and biomass.
The federal government will purchase a total of 11 million kilowatt hours of renewable electricity from Green Mountain Energy Company over the full term of the contract. That's equivalent to the average usage of over 200 homes. Among the accounts included in the contract are the Liberty Bell Pavilion; the new Liberty Bell Center currently under construction; the First Bank of the United States (circa 1797); and the Todd House (circa 1791). The contract also covers seven other government facilities in and around Philadelphia, operated by EPA, U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Park Service (NPS). Although these buildings will not have electricity from a specific generating facility delivered directly onsite, the electricity they pay for each month is generated from renewable electricity sources and delivered to the region's power system. There, it is mixed with electricity from other generation sources and delivered over a system of wires throughout the service region.
"Increasing the usage of alternative and renewable energy sources is not only an integral part of our energy future, but our environmental future as well. In order to accomplish this goal, we need the type of environmental leadership on display today by Independence National Park and Green Mountain Energy," said EPA Administrator Christie Whitman. "The green power purchase being announced here today is something that should make us all breathe easier." "Making electricity causes more air pollution than any other industry in the United States, emitting billions of tons of carbon dioxide annually," said A. Clifton Payne, Jr., eastern region president for Green Mountain Energy Company. "The Green Mountain Energy electricity being purchased under this contract will help avoid more than 640 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions over the length of the contract. That prevents as much carbon dioxide pollution over 3 years as not driving more than one million miles -- the equivalent of over 9,000 road trips from Independence Hall to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC." About Green Mountain Energy Company Green Mountain Energy(SM) electricity is the leading brand of cleaner electricity in the seven states where Green Mountain Energy Company ( http://www.greenmountain.com ) has historically done business.