Holiday lighting displays brighten, enlighten
PORTLAND, Ore. — From Prineville’s Christmas in the Pines to Albany’s Twice Around Christmas Parade to Lincoln City’s Deck the Dock, festive community holiday lighting displays celebrate the season while illuminating the benefits of renewable energy.
Throughout the Northwest, Blue Sky renewable energy program participants are matching the electricity they use for lighting celebrations in Pacific Power communities with emission-free renewable energy. Together, these holiday lighting displays are being “greened” with more than 80 megawatt-hours of Blue Sky renewable energy. The renewable energy supported by the Blue Sky “greenings:”
- Avoids 113,850 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent,
- Which is the environmental equivalent of planting about 860 tree seedlings grown for 10 years,
- Or not driving more than 128,000 miles – or 309 roundtrips from Prineville to Lincoln City.
“Bringing light to the holidays is part of Pacific Power’s commitment to its customers today, and has been for more than a century,” said Berit Kling, manager of the Blue Sky program at Pacific Power. “With renewable energy now part of the fabric of our region, we’re proud that our Blue Sky customers ‘green’ these traditional festivals, helping light the season in a meaningful, sustainable way all over the Northwest.”
Pacific Power customers also can celebrate the season by signing up to “green” their own homes and businesses year-round. Enrolling in the Blue Sky program is an easy way to support renewable energy generation in the region and can cost as little as $1.95 per month.
Currently, more than 85,000 Pacific Power customers are enrolled in Blue Sky in the Northwest. To enroll, call Pacific Power at 1-800-769-3717 or visit pacificpower.net/bluesky.
Communities greening their holiday lighting displays this year include:
- Albany
- Bend
- Cannon Beach
- Corvallis
- Cottage Grove
- Hood River
- Klamath Falls
- Lebanon
- Lincoln City
- Madras
- Medford
- Portland
- Prineville
- Redmond
- Toppenish, Wash.
- Zillah, Wash.
(Reporters and editors: Please call for specifics about your community.)
About Blue Sky
Established more than 20 years ago, Blue Sky has long ranked in the top five renewable energy enrollment programs nationally for the number of customers buying renewable power and for renewable power sales volume. The program is Green-e® Energy certified, which means the renewable energy supported meets the rigorous national environmental and consumer-protection standards established by the nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions. For more information about Blue Sky or to join, visit joinbluesky.com. Pacific Power customers participating in the Blue Sky program can visit www.pacificpower.net/blueskyimpact to learn more about their impact.