Bellingham ‘Most Successful’ Green Power Community

Bellingham Green Power Challenge:

What: U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen on April 21 will join other leaders in an Earth Day celebration to announce that Bellingham is the first city in Washington state and the most successful Green Power Community in the country to be designated a Green Power Community by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Bellingham qualified for this recognition by purchasing from Puget Sound Energy 76 million kilowatt hours of green power, which accounts for more than 11 percent of the community’s total electricity load. That’s enough electricity to light more than 6,300 homes.

Nearly 2,000 households and 110 businesses have enrolled in the Bellingham Green Power Community Challenge.

Who: Congressman Rick Larsen Tim Douglas, mayor of Bellingham Pete Kremen, executive, Whatcom County Dr. Karen Morse, president, Western Washington University Mark Asmundson, director, Northwest Clean Air Agency Michelle Pirzadeh, director, Office of Ecosystems, Tribal and Public Affairs, EPA Cal Shirley, vice president, Energy Efficiency Services, PSE Sally Hintz, Northwest Washington director for U. S. Sen. Maria Cantwell Michelle Long, executive director, Sustainable Connections

When: Saturday, April 21, 2007, 12 – 1 p.m.

Where: Bellingham Farmers Market (from Interstate 5, Exit 253-Lakeway Drive) Depot Market Square 1200 block of Railroad Avenue, Bellingham

Background: As part of the Bellingham Green Power Challenge and PSE’s voluntary Green Power Program, the community — the City of Bellingham, households, businesses, the students of Western Washington University, and Whatcom County — voluntarily chose to invest in renewable energy. The April 21 public recognition will include the unveiling of a highway sign designating Bellingham as a Green Power Community.