Sterling Planet Supplies Wind for First North American Event Labeled “WindMade"

Environmental impacts of AWEA’s WINDPOWER 2012 100% offset with wind
Jun 19, 2012 2:55 PM ET

(3BL Media) Atlanta, GA - June 19, 2012 – Sterling Planet has supplied wind renewable energy certificates (RECs) for the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) WINDPOWER 2012 Conference and Exposition, making the June event in Atlanta the first in North America to be labeled by WindMade as 100% powered by wind.

Sterling Planet supplied wind RECs to match the total electricity consumed at the event, including event preparations at the AWEA offices, the power usage at the Georgia World Congress Center, and electricity used at social events such as receptions and conference dinners.

“Wind power already provides approximately 20 percent of electricity in places like Iowa and South Dakota – and now, thanks to Sterling Planet and WindMade, WINDPOWER 2012 was 100% wind powered,” AWEA CEO Denise Bode said. “The WindMade label is an important development for our industry, and highlighting it at WINDPOWER is one way to show how the clean, affordable energy source that our industry produces is generating both electricity and jobs today for America.”

WindMade is the world’s first global consumer label for companies, events and products using wind power. The label is managed by the WindMade nonprofit organization, which is dedicated to accelerating the adoption of renewable energy by improving companies’ ability to communicate their wind energy investments to their stakeholders.

“We are delighted to see AWEA use the WindMade label for this flagship event,” WindMade CEO Henrik Kuffner said. “Procuring wind power for a convention as large as WINDPOWER 2012 will make a real difference to its overall environmental impact, and WindMade is proud to provide a tool to communicate this commitment in a meaningful way to visitors.”

Delivering the large wind REC volume needed for the 100% WindMade AWEA conference was standard operating procedure for Sterling Planet, ranked by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the top U.S. renewable energy provider in volume of sales to voluntary buyers.

“With pride, we provided AWEA with certified wind RECs from projects located nationwide and into Canada,” said Mel Jones, Sterling Planet President and CEO. “We’re accustomed to this kind of demand for wind energy, which continues to drive the growth of Sterling Planet’s client base and contribute to expansion of the wind industry.”

Sterling Planet leads the nation in retail sales of renewable energy certificates (RECs) and is the only provider of a comprehensive portfolio of carbon-reduction assets – RECs, carbon offsets and innovative White Tags® energy efficiency certificates. Founded in 2000, the company was the first to offer RECs to retail clients nationwide and was a pioneer in early development and certification of the REC market. This year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ranks Sterling Planet No. 1 in terms of renewable kWh provided to members of the EPA Green Power Partnership, with more than 5 billion kWh delivered to Partnership members, including the top three purchasers. In compliance markets, Sterling Planet is a leading supplier to government agencies and has partnered with 160 utilities nationwide.