NEWS FROM WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION
For immediate release: December 20, 2006
Contact: Randy Wilkerson, 720-962-7056, wilkerson@wapa.gov
WESTERN AND DOE CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR WIND CO-OP OF THE YEAR
Nominations for the 2006 Wind Co-op of the Year award, honoring one electric cooperative for its leadership in wind power, are due Jan. 29.
This year marks the 6th anniversary of the award, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Powering America Program in partnership with Western Area Power Administration's Renewable Resource Program. Illinois Rural Electric Cooperative was the winner of the 2005 award. Other past winners include Great River Energy, Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Holy Cross Electric Association and Western Farmers Electric Cooperative.
All electric co-ops that are members of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association are eligible to apply, and electric cooperatives can nominate themselves. Entries will be judged on four criteria:
A diverse panel of judges, some from the wind industry, will look at creative solutions the nominee used to overcome barriers to securing wind power, how the project benefited co-op customers and innovative marketing or customer education strategies the nominee used to build support for its wind power project.
The 2006 winner will be recognized at the NRECA TechAdvantage Conference in Las Vegas on March 16. Also, the winning co-op will be recognized in a future issue of Rural Electric Magazine.
More information on the award can be found on the Public Renewables Partnership Web site, or contact Randy Manion, Western Area Power Administration, at 720-962-7423.
Western Area Power Administration annually markets and transmits more than 10,000 megawatts of power from hydroelectric powerplants owned and operated by the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 15 western and central states. It is part of the Department of Energy.
Serving the West with Federal hydropower
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