Rocky Mountain Power Blue Sky program seeks applicants for renewable energy project funding
by Rocky Mountain Power
March 4, 2009
Do you have a bright idea for making Utah, Wyoming or Idaho a little greener? Could you use a little green to make your project a reality? As they have since 2006, Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky customers—who make a difference by purchasing renewable energy credits from Western wind farms every month—are also funding new community-based renewable energy projects in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho.
Renewable energy projects eligible for funding awards from Rocky Mountain Power may include those that support technologies such as wind, solar, biomass, wave, landfill gas, certified low-impact hydro and geothermal. To be considered in this competitive application process, interested parties must complete an application and submit it along with supporting materials by 5 p.m. on Monday, May 15, 2009. Applications will be accepted beginning March 9.
"We’re honored to be able to offer these funding awards to help bring community-based renewable energy projects in our service area to reality," said Karen Gilmore, vice president of customer services for Rocky Mountain Power. "We look forward to seeing this round of applications and selecting projects that demonstrate significant community benefit for our customers."
This funding is available for projects in Rocky Mountain Power’s service area that are locally owned and produce less than 10 megawatts of electricity. Projects need to be completed within two years of the receipt of funding and focus on encouraging renewable energy market transformation. A preference is given to local community-based projects that develop renewable energy generation, support educational efforts to bring broader understanding of renewable energy development and generation, and/or invest in research and demonstration of new generation technologies.
Funding is not available for off-grid projects or projects from private individuals. For detailed criteria on project qualifications and application forms, please go to: www.rockymountainpower.net/blueskyfunds.
Entries should be thorough, and should be submitted with supporting materials such as photographs, schematics, drawings, cut sheets, narratives or anything the applicant considers useful in the project evaluation.
Materials may be submitted by mail, fax or e-mail to:
Rocky Mountain Power
Attn: Blue Sky Fund Award
One Utah Center – 24th Floor
201 S. Main Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Fax: 800-754-3114
E-mail: blueskyprojects@rockymountainpower.net
The amount available for funding awards will vary year to year. It comes from Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky Block program, where customers can purchase 100-kilowatt-hour increments of renewable energy to help encourage the development of new clean energy in the region. The growth of the award-winning Blue Sky program has already helped support small and medium-sized community-based renewable energy projects that may not otherwise be viable, going beyond the wind energy purchases made on behalf of Blue Sky customers.
"Our successful Blue Sky program coupled with the large investments we are making in renewable energy projects now and in the coming years demonstrates our company’s commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship," said Gilmore. "We see these funding incentives as another strong component of our overall commitment to our customers and communities, encouraging their initiative. We are looking forward to seeing what kinds of quality projects this process produces."
In 2008, Rocky Mountain Power gave Blue Sky funding awards worth $872,824 to 15 projects in its service area.
About Blue Sky
The strong support of Rocky Mountain Power customers has led to the Blue Sky program being named national 2007 Green Power Program of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory ranks Blue Sky third or better in the nation for the fourth consecutive year in the number of customers buying renewable power and for renewable power sales volume for 2007. 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 on Green-e Energy, visit www.green-e.org/energy. More than 29,500 Rocky Mountain Power customers in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho are part of Blue Sky
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