SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- The Oasis Cafe and Golden Braid Bookstore is celebrating Earth Day this year by giving customers a 10 percent discount if they sign up for Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky wind energy. Those who already have Blue Sky just need to show a bill statement to get the discount.

"We’re offering the discount for 60 days or until we reach our goal of selling 2,003 blocks of Blue Sky," said Joel LaSalle, owner of the Oasis Café and Gold Braid Bookstore, located at 151 South 500 East in Salt Lake City.

Giving the campaign a further boost, Rocky Mountain Power announced that it filed a request to lower Blue Sky’s price from $2.95 per 100 kilowatt-hour block to $1.95. If approved by the Utah Public Service Commission, the price will change on May 1, 2003. 

Since Rocky Mountain Power launched the program in 2000, more than 5,380 Utahns have signed up for Blue Sky to support clean, renewable wind energy development. LaSalle’s purchase of Blue Sky came about after a thorough evaluation of his business’s environmental impact.

Last January, Salt Lake City and the Oasis Cafe and Golden Braid Bookstore launched the first government-sponsored green business program in Utah, known as the e2 business initiative. As part of the program, LaSalle performed an environmental audit and implemented five environmental improvement goals.

"Our audit went through every aspect of the business," LaSalle said. "We reduced water, electricity, natural gas and waste by 10 to 15 percent. We take the food from the café to a local aviary. We don’t serve customers water unless they ask for it. I’ve changed to energy-efficient, compact florescent lighting and saved 27 percent. Our incandescent bulbs dim automatically during the brighter times of the day."

LaSalle claims he didn’t go into business to become an environmental leader. "When I took over the establishment, I wasn’t a vegetarian or particularly into conservation," he said. "But my customers are so passionate about the environment. I’ve found that being more environmentally conscious is easy and I’m saving a ton of money.

"I can’t imagine any company – large or small – not doing the same thing," LaSalle said.

LaSalle also buys 20 percent of his equivalent energy use through the Blue Sky program, calling it an investment in the future. He intends to spread his ethic among his establishment’s 20,000 members.

"Joel has discovered how simple it is to reduce the environmental impact of his electricity use through energy efficiency and buying wind power," said Sarah Wright, Director of the Utah Clean Energy Alliance and coordinator of the Utah Wind Power Campaign. "His clean energy challenge brings his epiphany to the community."

"If he can achieve his goal of adding another 2,003 blocks of Blue Sky wind power, it would be the near-equivalent to the output of a one megawatt wind turbine," she said. "That would prevent more than 1,680 tons of carbon dioxide each year. It shows that if we all do a little — together we can accomplish great things."

Buying a 100-kwh block of Blue Sky each month for a year has the same positive environmental impact as planting a third of an acre of trees or not driving a car for 1,800 miles.* Renewable energy, such as wind, solar and geothermal, has little-to-no emissions and the supply is unlimited. Wind power produces no air pollutants, wastewater, smog or acid rain. It also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Rocky Mountain Power’s parent company, PacifiCorp, received national recognition for its renewable power efforts. Last March, the U.S. Dept. of Energy ranked PacifiCorp third in the nation for the number of customers signed up for renewable power, and sixth for the amount purchased.

"Blue Sky purchases are made in addition to the renewables that Rocky Mountain Power already places into its system," Edmonds said. "For example, we recently announced plans to add 1,400 megawatts of new wind and geothermal resources into our energy mix in the next 10 years."

To sign up for Blue Sky, call 1-800-842-8458 or e-mail bluesky@pacificorp.com .  Customers can sign up on line at www.rockymtnpower.net/goto/renewablepower. The Oasis Café and Golden Braid Bookstore can be reached at 801- 322-1162. For information about e2 businesses, go to www.ci.slc.ut.us/environment/e2.htm

About Blue Sky

Rocky Mountain Power launched Blue Sky in 2000 to give customers a choice in how their energy is produced, and to allow them a part in creating demand for renewable energy resources. The program provides Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming customers the opportunity to buy renewable energy in 100-kilowatt-hour block increments, in addition to their regular monthly electric bill. Rocky Mountain Power cannot guarantee that electricity from a particular facility will flow directly to a customer’s home or business. However, the company will deliver to the regional grid an amount of renewable energy equal to the amount of a customer’s block purchase. All Blue Sky purchases help support renewable energy generation. Rocky Mountain Power purchases power or certificates associated with power from renewable power plants.

About the Utah Wind Power Campaign

The Utah Wind Power Campaign is a joint project of the Land and Water Fund of the Rockies, a nonprofit regional environmental policy and law organization and the Utah Clean Energy Alliance, a non-profit organization promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy sources in Utah. The goal of the campaign is to increase public awareness and use of pollution-free wind generated electricity. For more information about the campaign call (801) 673-7156 or visitwww.utahgreenpower.org .

Media inquiries:newsdesk@PacifiCorp.com .