Green Power Awards to Honor Clean Electricity Buyers as `New Breed of American Heroes'

Media Borough Announces Plan to Buy 44% of its Electricity from Wind State of New Jersey, Large & Small Businesses, Legislators, Organizations, Individuals Honored

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture) will hold its third annual Green Power Awards on Wednesday, October 23, 2002 from 12:00 to 2:00 PM at the Sheraton Rittenhouse Square Hotel in Philadelphia. The awards will honor the individuals, private industries, government agencies and public interest organizations that are making Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic Region a thriving renewable energy market.

"The individuals and institutions we are honoring are a new breed of American heroes," said John Hanger, President and CEO of PennFuture. "Together they've created the environmental benefits of planting 19 million trees. They've avoided tons of air pollution - 340 million pounds of carbon dioxide, 880,000 pounds of nitrogen oxide, and 2.5 million pounds of sulfur dioxide. They've avoided as much air pollution as removing 34,000 cars from the road. And they've increased our domestic security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil. With their leadership, our region is building the new renewable energy future at a record pace."

In addition to the awards, the luncheon will also mark the official announcement by Media (PA) Borough of an unprecedented clean energy purchase. Media Borough Council has voted to buy 44 percent of the electricity for Borough Hall and its municipal parking garage from one of the new Pennsylvania wind farms; they will receive the award as Green Municipal Buyer of the Year. Other awards will be presented to:

		Green Policymakers: State Representatives Greg Vitali (D-Delaware County) and Ellen Bard (R-Montgomery County) are being honored for their leadership in creating public policies that help build awareness of the need for green energy;
		Green Colleges: Drexel University and Dickinson College will be feted for their recent clean electricity purchases, as is the Pennsylvania Consortium for Interdisciplinary Environmental Policy, which has assisted its 25 member colleges in purchasing and promoting clean electricity for their campuses;
		Green Businesses: Schiff Printing of Pittsburgh will receive an award for being the first industrial facility to buy 100% wind energy and Fiorella Woodworking of Philadelphia is being honored as a small business which both buys and promotes green electricity;
		Chestnut Hill United Methodist Church and Main Line Unitarian Church, for putting their philosophy as people of faith that they must be stewards of the Earth into action through green energy purchasing. The Chestnut Hill congregation buys clean electricity for each of its buildings. Main Line Unitarian buys 100% green electricity, and also encourages its members to help "Adopt a Turbine." So far, 47 households from the Church have switched to 100 percent wind power;
		Government agencies leading the green energy revolution will be honored, including the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, for its purchase of wind energy for its headquarters, and the National Park Service and the U.S. General Services Administration, for their purchases of clean electricity for Independence National Historical Park and the Liberty Bell Pavilion and Center, as well as power for other federal government buildings;
		Solar pioneers Andy Rudin of Melrose Park, PA and Ellen Sherk of Fort Washington, PA will be honored for their home use of solar power. Through The Energy Cooperative, they have been able to sell their excess electricity to others;
		Conservation Consultants, Inc., a trailblazing public interest environmental organization in Pittsburgh whose headquarters is a hub for ecological activism, will be honored for its example of uncompromising green energy use.

This year, Green Power heroes from beyond Pennsylvania's borders will also be honored, including:

		FPL Energy, whose purchase and development of wind energy facilities has guaranteed continued availability of pollution-free wind energy throughout the region;
		Atlantic Renewable Energy Corporation, the developer of the Mill Run and Somerset (PA) wind farms, and the initial developer of the new massive Mountaineer Wind Energy Center in West Virginia;
		The State of New Jersey, which has made the largest state green electricity purchase in the nation;
		Catholic University of America, whose historic 4 million kWh green energy purchase, along with its unprecedented commitment to energy conservation, has set a new standard for environmental responsibility for colleges throughout the region;
		Washington Gas Energy Services, the New Mid-Atlantic Green Retailer of the Year, offers clean electricity to the Washington, DC area, serving new green energy customers ranging from National Geographic to the U.S. Army.

The luncheon, which is open to the public, is presented in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Green Power Partnership, the U.S. Department of Energy, Philadelphia Regional Office, and the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition's Clean Your Air Campaign. The cost to attend the luncheon is $25 for the general public, $15 for PennFuture members. Reservations may be made by calling PennFuture at 1-800-321-7775.

PennFuture, which has offices in Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, is a statewide public interest membership organization that advances policies to protect and improve the state's environment and economy. PennFuture's activities include litigating cases before regulatory bodies and in local, state and federal courts, advocating and advancing legislative action on a state and federal level, public education and assisting citizens in public advocacy