Green Energy Sales Benefit Salmon Habitat

Customers of Pacific Power and Portland General Electric can have a direct effect on salmon habitats by purchasing electricity through the utilities’ Blue Sky Habitat renewable power option. When participating customers buy 100 percent renewable power they will also be making a direct $2.50 donation to The Nature Conservancy, which will manage the salmon habitat restoration projects to reopen streams and improve the water quality for threatened fish.

Portland, Oregon – August 25, 2004 [SolarAccess.com] “Donations through Pacific Power’s Blue Sky Habitat option are leveraging additional dollars to fund restoration projects,” said Bill Edmonds, director of environmental policy for Pacific Power. “It helps bring in grants from federal agencies and others. It creates partnerships among people with a like goal.” Since 2002, Oregon customers of PGE and Pacific Power have been able to choose from three renewable power options: Fixed Renewable, Renewable Usage or Habitat. About 5,500 PGE customers and 2,400 Pacific Power customers are enrolled in the Habitat option. The Nature Conservancy pledged to expand habitat restoration efforts to places such as the Sandy River, Clackamas River, Necanicum River, Zumwalt Prairie, the Klamath Basin and other sites. To date, Habitat customers have helped restore fish habitat in Hawk Creek, Tenmile Lakes, the Coquille River, Scappoose, Gresham, Beaver Creek, Happy Valley, Oregon City, Canby, Albany and Lakeside. Investments in habitat restoration projects such as Blue Sky will also have an impact on many other species besides salmon and also benefit local communities, according to the conservancy. PG&E is also working on a specific restoration project for the Clackamas River. The utility expects to complete the $1.2 million project in September of this year. The Clackamas project was funded through a statewide bond that was passed in 1995.