LINCOLN CITY, Ore. — Long known for its views of rugged headlands and sandy beaches, Lincoln City will soon be celebrated for its view of a future powered by renewable energy. The resort town has become the eighth in the nation and the first city on the Oregon coast to receive Green Power Community recognition by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

"This is a very important milestone for Lincoln City, but it is only the first step in making us a leader among small cities committed to sustainability and green power," said Lori Hollingsworth, mayor of Lincoln City. At a June 25 meeting where city officials announced the Green Power designation, they rolled out a proposed comprehensive sustainability plan for the city. To find out more about the plan, go to http://www.lincolncity.org.

A key element of winning the designation was strong participation in Pacific Power’s Blue Sky program. As of June 25, about 7.1 percent of the city’s homes and businesses had chosen to be part of the Blue Sky program. Of the eight Green Power Communities nationwide, two are in Pacific Power service areas and two more in areas served by Rocky Mountain Power, the company’s sister utility, which also offers the Blue Sky program.

Pacific Power’s Blue Sky renewable energy program provides customers several options to purchase renewable energy. Customers may purchase renewable energy in fixed 100-kilowatt-hour increments called blocks for an additional $1.95 per block per month or match 100 percent of their actual monthly usage for less than a penny more per kilowatt-hour.

"Years ago, Lincoln City used to call itself the 20 Miracle Miles. Thanks to good local and state decisions over the years, this coast is still miraculous," said Pat Reiten, president of Pacific Power, speaking to the group gathered at the June 25 announcement. "Thanks to more forward-looking decisions by local leaders, business owners and citizens, you are part of a very sustainable miracle by your demonstrated support for renewable energy."

The city kicked off its efforts to promote more renewable energy use on Earth Day, April 18, 2007, with the goal of reaching the 5 percent mark by October. The campaign proved enormously successful, reaching the 7.1 percent level within seven weeks. Lincoln City plans to keep adding to its success through October.

"This EPA certification shows the level of commitment this community has toward making a real difference," said Allyson Longueira, executive director, Lincoln City Chamber of Commerce.

"Lincoln City is showing what a smaller city can do," said Doris Johnston, Pacific Power regional community manager. "With more than 500 customers dedicated to renewable power, that is the equivalent of taking 655 cars off the road for a year."

The increased use of renewable energy reduces the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by 3,821 tons per year, which creates environmental benefits equal to planting 750,547 trees.

Lincoln City has been working toward its sustainability goals for several months. The city of Lincoln City began purchasing Pacific Power’s Blue Sky renewable energy for city facilities earlier this year. By that time, many local homes and businesses already had signed up for Blue Sky. The Lincoln City Chamber of Commerce has stepped forward, signing up for the Blue Sky Habitat option, in which 100 percent of the chamber’s usage is linked to new renewable energy. In addition, the Habitat option allows the chamber to make a monthly contribution to fish habitat restoration in Oregon through The Nature Conservancy. Pacific Power would like to acknowledge all Blue Sky business partners in Lincoln City:

About Blue Sky

Pacific Power’s Blue Sky program recently was ranked among the top programs in the nation by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in its annual ranking of leading utility green power programs. Pacific Power ranked second in the nation for the third consecutive year in the number of customers buying renewable power and fourth for renewable energy sales volume for 2006. The company has ranked in the top five in these categories for the past several years.

About Pacific Power

Pacific Power strives to promote innovation and works with customers and communities to increase the visibility of clean, renewable, distributed energy generation technologies through education and community outreach. Pacific Power is headquartered in Portland, and provides electric service to more than 713,000 customers in Oregon,

Washington and California. It is part of PacifiCorp, one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, providing approximately 1.7 million customers with reliable, efficient energy. The company works to meet growing energy demand while protecting and enhancing the environment.

About the Green Power Community designation

An Environmental Protection Agency Green Power Community is all about a challenge to a community to buy renewable energy in an amount that collectively meets the EPA Green Power Partnership’s benchmarks. It's intended to motivate collective action of a community's local government, businesses and citizens to meet or exceed the EPA's minimum purchasing benchmarks. The EPA bestows the distinction on communities that meet a minimum of 2 percent to 6 percent of its electricity usage with green power purchases, depending on the overall size of a city's electricity load. Green Power Community recognition is designed to encourage communities to take the lead in purchasing renewable power and also can be a stepping stone for more collective sustainable action.

Media inquiries: newsdesk@pacificorp