&EPA
GREEN
POWER
PARTNER
CITY OF
AT YOUR SERVICE
News Release
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE
5:00 p.m. Dec. 4, 2006
For more information please contact:
Linda Berman, Salem, 503-588-6255
Tony Brown, EPA, 206-553-1203
Steve Corson, PGE, 503-464-8444
Salem first capital city to be named EPA Green Power Community
City also hits Green Power Challenge goal - 3,000 customers
Salem, Ore. — Salem today became the first state capital in the nation to be named a Green Power Community by
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The federal agency extends the honor to communities that show their
environmental commitment by purchasing green power in amounts that meet or exceed EPA purchase requirements.
Simultaneously, city officials announced that they have reached the Green Power Challenge target set by the city
council in July - 3,000 electricity customers now receive renewable energy from Portland General Electric (PGE), a 20
percent increase in just five months.
"Reaching one of these goals is a home run, but accomplishing both green power milestones is a grand slam,"
said Mayor Janet Taylor. "These two accomplishments wouldn't be possible without the overwhelming support of Salem
citizens. They showed their commitment to the environment by purchasing renewable energy."
The region will celebrate the accomplishments at the annual Festival of Lights Parade, Dec. 9, in downtown
Salem. PGE, the parade sponsor, will recognize the achievement with its float, named "Salem Goes Green."
Recognizing the Green Power Community, EPA Oregon Operations Director Socorro Rodriguez presented Mayor
Taylor with two colorful street signs reading, "Welcome to a Green Power Community. We exceed EPA guidelines for
buying clean, renewable energy." The signs will be posted at high visibility locations and the city will add other signs.
Rodriguez made the presentation at Salem's Dec. 4 city council meeting.
Salem is only the sixth city in the United States to receive the designation, joining Corvallis, Ore. and others.
Salem's designation is part of the EPA Green Power Partnership program that encourages organizations to
voluntarily purchase green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with conventional electricity
use.
"The City of Salem deserves a lot of credit for signing on to be America's first Green Power Capital City," said
Socorro Rodriguez, EPA's Oregon State Director. "Salem has exceeded the EPA's green power purchase requirements to
become both an EPA Green Power Partner and an EPA Green Power Community. This is an excellent example of how
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Salem Green Power Community, Page 2 of 3
voluntary programs like EPA's Green Power Partnership can offer municipalities options that can mean a cleaner
environment and a more vibrant local economy."
Salem became a Green Power Community because more than 2 percent of the PGE power consumed within the
city limits is from renewable sources such as wind, geothermal and low-impact hydro. Another key factor was Salem City
Council's commitment to put city government's green power consumption at 3 percent.
Green power enrollments rapidly accelerated after July 10, when the city council and PGE challenged the
community to add more than 500 new green power customers by the end of November. The EPA estimates that the
Salem's use of green power will avoid the carbon dioxide created by more than 4,500 passenger cars - meaning they're
not burning 2.4 million gallons of gasoline per year. By hitting the goal, Salem citizens have avoided generation of an
estimated 25.2 million pounds of carbon dioxide per year - the equivalent of not driving a car 27 million miles. Carbon
dioxide is a major contributor to global warming.*
"Salem is a green power leader in Oregon and a model for the 52 cities we have the honor to serve," said PGE
CEO and President Peggy Fowler. "The prestigious Green Power Community designation is shared by only a handful of
other cities nationwide, but it's no surprise that Salem residents have earned it - after all, this is the community that hosts
the first solar-powered state capitol building in the country. We're pleased that PGE was able to help Salem reach this
benchmark, and we'll continue to offer our customers renewable options to build on this success."
PGE's Renewable Options
PGE's residential and small business customers in Salem and elsewhere can continue to purchase renewable
energy by enrolling atwww.PortlandGeneral.com/Renewable/orby calling 1-800-542-8818.** PGE currently offers
customers two options - Green SourceSM and PGE's Clean WindSM and an additional environmental supplement, Habitat
Support, which provides funding for salmon habitat restoration managed by The Nature Conservancy of Oregon.
The state capitol solar system was funded, in part, by PGE renewable power customers.
PGE's renewable power leadership
PGE leads the nation in kilowatt hours of green power sold to residential customers, according to the latest figures
from the U.S. Department of Energy. The company's leadership in renewable power dates back to the 1990s when PGE
agreed to purchase the entire output of Oregon's first major wind farm, Vansycle Ridge in eastern Oregon. In 1999, PGE
was one of the first utilities to offer a renewable power product to customers and later became the first utility in the nation
to include a fish habitat option. In December 2005, PGE began purchasing the entire output of the new Klondike II wind
farm in Oregon. On Nov. 27, 2006, PGE announced that it had acquired turbines to proceed with the first phase of one of
the largest wind farms in the Northwest, the 25,000 acre Biglow Canyon wind farm, also in eastern Oregon. Biglow was
developed by Orion Energy LLC and will be built, owned and operated by Portland General Electric Company.
Visit PGE on the Web at www.PortlandGeneral.com.
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Salem Green Power Community, Page 3 of 3
About U.S. EPA's Green Power
EPA's Green Power Partnership encourages organizations to purchase green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts
associated with conventional electricity use. The Green Power Partnership currently has hundreds of Partners voluntarily purchasing
billions of kilowatt hours of green power annually. Partners include a wide variety of leading organizations such as Fortune 500
companies, small and medium sized businesses, local, state, and federal governments, trade associations, as well as colleges and
universities. For a full listing of EPA's Green Power Partners and information about buying green power, visit the Partnership's Web
site at http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/
About the City of Salem
Salem is the state capital and Oregon's second largest city, with a population of 147,000.
About PGE
PGE, headquartered in Portland, is a fully integrated electric utility that serves more than 793,000 residential, commercial and
industrial customers in Oregon.
* Based on a PGE customer selecting Green Choice and using 1,000 kWh per month for one year. A customer's total carbon dioxide
offset will vary depending on the amount of electric power used.
** Customers will not have electricity from a specific generation facility delivered directly to their homes or businesses. Their
purchase causes renewable power to be delivered to the Northwest power grid equal to their household's or business's annual
electricity use or a portion thereof, depending on the product they choose.
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