Rob Harmon, BEF’s chief innovation officer and senior vice president, made a strong case for keeping voluntary renewable energy purchases part of the country’s energy solution in this piece published today on Sustainable Business Oregon’s web site.
In it, Rob points to the thousands of Oregon jobs created from investment through the voluntary market and to the environmental benefits of these investments.
It’s a little known fact that, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, nearly one million individuals, businesses and institutions across the United States voluntarily purchased renewable energy in 2008. Together, all of those voluntary purchases support 24 million megawatt hours of renewable energy from sources like wind, solar and biomass. That’s equivalent to the entire electricity needs for the state of Idaho.
Thanks Rob for the article and to Sustainable Business Oregon for publishing it. And a special thanks goes to everyone who has voluntarily made such a positive difference for the planet!