With the growing attention on renewable energy, Santa Clara Green Power is officially part of the in-crowd! Santa Clara Green Power, the Green-e Energy Certified renewable energy program sponsored by Silicon Valley Power (SVP), the City of Santa Clara’s municipal electric utility, now has more than 190 businesses and 4,000 households buying 100% wind and solar. We’re the #3 green power program of about 850 in the nation for percentage of customer participation!

Spread the love for Valentine's Day!  Please forward this email to a fellow Santa Claran – if they enroll in Santa Clara Green Power during February 2009, we’ll send you and yours a $10 gift coupon to Barefoot Coffee Roasters. Just be sure that when they enroll online, they enter your email address and “SCGP newsletter” in the “How did you hear about our program” box.

Interested in coffee that covers your tongue in waves of pleasure? What about coffee beans that are harvested from a single farm, roasted the day before you buy them, with flavors that range from warm earthiness to jaw dropping sweetness and fruit notes? Want to enjoy great coffee and save some green while supporting a green business? If so, check out Barefoot Coffee. Barefoot is focused on treating the whole coffee experience as a culinary art and operating sustainably from top to bottom.

As part of their commitment to sustainability, Barefoot joined Santa Clara Green Power in September 2005. Since joining, Barefoot’s choice of clean, renewable energy has prevented the release of 224,847 lbs. of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. This is the equivalent of removing 18 cars from the road for a year or protecting 23 acres of trees annually. “At Barefoot, we strive for great coffee and great relationships with our growers and community,” says owner Andy Newbom. “Supporting renewable energy is one way we reduce our environmental impact and improve our community. It's warm and fuzzy business.” Improve your tastebuds and support great people. Visit Barefoot and use the coupon in the right column of this newsletter.

Santa Clara University’s electricity just got a little greener. The University’s purchase of 11,256 megawatt hours of renewable energy, equal to the annual output of three and a half large-scale wind turbines, represents over one third of the University’s annual electricity use. This action underscores the University’s ongoing commitment to renewable energy, and establishes the University as the largest purchaser in Santa Clara’s nationally acclaimed green power program.

“This purchase is just one of many actions the University is taking to develop a culture of sustainability for our students, faculty, and staff,” says Lindsey Cromwell, Sustainability Coordinator for Santa Clara University. “The Santa Clara Green Power program provides an opportunity to support renewable energy, a major initiative as we strive to reduce the University’s environmental impact.”

The carbon dioxide reduction for the purchase is equivalent to planting 6,003 acres of trees or taking 1,560 cars off the road every year. The commitment makes the University a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership’s exclusive Green Power Leadership Club.

The Santa Clara Convention Center has committed to purchase the annual output of one-half of one large-scale wind turbine through Santa Clara Green Power. This purchase – 1608 Megawatt-hours annually – qualifies the Santa Clara Convention Center as a member of the U.S. EPA’s Green Power Partnership. “By stepping up the use of renewable energy, the Santa Clara Convention Center becomes a powerful showcase of the benefits of responsible energy use to convention visitors from around the world”, said Larry Owens, Division Manager of SVP.

The Santa Clara Convention Center’s clean power commitment will provide multiple environmental benefits, including preventing the release of 862 tons of carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas. This is the climate impact equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide captured by 178 acres of pine or fir forest, or taking 143 cars off the road for one year.

“The commitment to renewable power is an extension of a broad set of initiatives we’ve implemented to conserve energy and minimize our impact on the environment,” said Lisa Moreno, General Manager of the Santa Clara Convention Center.

This past year was also our greenest, with Santa Clara Green Power participants buying more megawatt-hours than ever.  In total, participants purchased 57,986 megawatt-hours, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 62,135,478 pounds, creating the same emissions reduction benefits as not driving 5,162 cars all year (source of methodology: U.S. EPA Green Power Equivalency Calculator).  That mark on the back of your sweater is from our big green pat on the back to thank you!

Want to taste the goodness? Use this coupon to get 15% off your next purchase at Barefoot Café. Barefoot Café is located at 5237 Stevens Creek Blvd (at Lawrence Expressway), Santa Clara. Their phone number is 408-248-4500. This coupon expires 2/28/08 and is not valid with any other offer. Limit one per customer.

At 5 am on November 24, wind power met 43% of Spain’s electricity demand. This breaks the previous record of 40.8% set on March 22. To read a brief article, click here.

Enercon, a wind turbine manufacturer headquartered in Germany, has built a wind turbine capable of powering the equivalent of over 2,500 Santa Clara households. The E-126 turbine has a tower that’s 429 feet tall and a rotor diameter of 413 feet, putting its total height at well over 600 feet. To put this in scale, it can generate approximately four times more electricity than one of the large wind turbines supplying Santa Clara Green Power in 2008. That’s huge! To see pictures and learn more, visit this link. If you want all the nitty-gritty details, see the article starting on page six of this Enercon magazine.