AUSTIN, Texas, May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- When the American Wind Energy Association's (AWEA), WINDPOWER 2003 Conference blows into Austin next week, not only will conference goers be talking about wind energy, they'll be putting it into action. Green Mountain Energy Company, the nation's largest provider of cleaner electricity, is donating enough wind energy tags from west Texas to offset pollution from the Austin Convention Center's electricity consumption for the three-day conference. A wind tag certifies that electricity from a wind farm has been produced and that the generation was pollution free. Purchasing wind tags is a way to support clean renewable energy generation. It helps to avoid pollution by reducing the demand for electricity generated with fossil fuels.

"AWEA is proud to use tags from Texas wind farms for the WINDPOWER 2003 Conference and Exhibition," said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher. "Customer purchases of wind tags and cleaner electricity are powerful ways to demonstrate support for renewable energy generation."

The wind energy tags donated for WINDPOWER 2003 represent the production of over 120 megawatt-hours of wind power. Based on the local electricity mix, this purchase will be offsetting the emission of 88 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). Carbon dioxide is the leading greenhouse gas associated with global warming.

"Our customers around the country recognize the power of cleaner electricity and this donation highlights the role that wind can play in enabling individuals and institutions to reduce their share of pollution from making electricity," said Thomas H. Rawls, chief environmental officer from Green Mountain Energy Company. "In fact, it would take nearly 12,000 trees an entire year to avoid 88 tons of CO2. We're offsetting as much CO2 as a car would make in 195,000 miles."

Wind energy is growing at a double-digit pace in the U.S. and WINDPOWER 2003 will be the U.S. wind energy industry's largest event ever, featuring over 38,000 square feet of exhibition space, over 2,500 expected attendees, an array of notable speakers, panels on a host of issues, field trips, and much more. The conference will take place on May 18-21, 2003 in Austin, Texas, the heart of a state that is blazing a trail in wind power development with over 1,000 megawatts of wind power installed. For additional information about the WINDPOWER 2003 conference visit www.awea.org/conference .

This past year, Green Mountain Energy Company has also worked with the Bonnie Raitt Green Highway tour and the National Ski Areas Association on similar efforts to support wind power. The company is currently serving customers in seven states and has been offering 100% pollution-free electricity products in Texas since April 2001. Customers can call 1-866-GREEN-TX or visit www.greenmountain.com to sign up for Green Mountain Energy electricity service.

About AWEA

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) formed in 1974, is the national trade association of the U.S. wind energy industry. The association's membership includes turbine manufacturers, wind project developers, utilities, academicians, and interested individuals. Information about wind energy is available on the Web at http://www.awea.org .

About Green Mountain Energy Company

Founded in 1997 to "change the way power is made", Green Mountain Energy Company (www.greenmountain.com ) sells cleaner electricity generated from sources such as wind, solar, water, geothermal, biomass and natural gas to residential, business, institutional and governmental customers. About 600,000 customers in California, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Texas have chosen Green Mountain Energy® electricity, which is dramatically less-polluting than typical system power in those states. The company is based in Austin, Texas.

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