Power blowin’ in the wind

Abest Power & Gas L.L.C., an electricity and natural gas supplier with offices in Norwalk and the Northeast region, and Georgia-based Sterling Planet, billed as the nation”™s leading retail provider of renewable energy and other carbon-reduction assets, have reached a deal for Abest to offer wind-power options to its customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey.

Sterling Planet will supply customers of Abest with Green-e Energy certified renewable energy certificates (RECs) from wind-power projects. Customers can match 50 percent or 100 percent of their use of conventionally produced electricity with RECs to lessen the environmental impacts of conventionally produced electricity with zero-emissions wind energy.

The average residential customer can expect to pay an additional 50 cents daily for wind energy at the 100 percent level.

“We”™re excited about providing our residential and business customers the ability to choose to reduce the environmental impact of their everyday lives,” said Abest Power & Gas CEO Frank Rosa. “We all use electricity, so we all have an impact. Now electricity users in the markets we serve can erase that impact by simply making a choice.”

Enrolled customers will avoid the emissions of carbon dioxide and its equivalent greenhouse gases that would otherwise result from electricity use. For the average U.S. residence using 1,000 kilowatt-hours monthly, the annual avoidance is 18,600 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. The environmental benefit compares to taking two cars off U.S. roads for a year or not burning nearly 1,000 gallons of gasoline, according to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Beyond these environmental benefits, enrollment also helps grow the green-power market, creating new revenue to keep existing renewable projects operational and fund new projects. Greater use of U.S.-made renewable energy translates to less reliance on imported sources of electricity, greater energy security and an economic stimulus through green job creation and additional tax revenue.

Businesses enrolling for Abest wind power can claim a “greenup” of their electricity use to meet their environmental goals, strengthen their brand and demonstrate environmental stewardship to customers. Businesses using large amounts of electricity can request a quote for a wind power greenup.

Sterling Planet”™s RECs are Green-e Energy certified, which means “stringent standards for environmental integrity and consumer protection are upheld.” Each REC represents all the bundled environmental benefits of 1,000 kilowatt-hours of renewable power.

“Sterling Planet is pleased to extend our green reach with this offer of renewable energy to Abest customers,” said Mel Jones, Sterling Planet president and CEO. “The benefits of this sustainable energy extend beyond the environment. Wind power is home-grown, USA-made power that strengthens the economy, increases energy diversity and contributes to greater independence from imported fuels.”

Abest provides energy rate plans ”” “economical and secure” ”” for businesses and homes. It is a subsidiary of publicly traded Corporate Resource Services.

Since 2000, the Atlanta-based Sterling Planet has offered business and residential customers renewable energy certificates as a way to reduce the impacts of electricity use.