First Large-scale Solar Electric Facility Built After Deregulation Serves As Backdrop for Landmark Bill Signing

Green Mountain Energy(R) BJ's Solar in Conshohocken, Pa. provided the backdrop today for Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell as he signed the landmark Clean Energy Portfolio Standard law.

Green Mountain Energy Solar was the first commercial-scale solar electric power generating facility built in Pennsylvania in response to consumer demand for renewable electricity under the Commonwealth's "UtilityChoice" program. The 50-kilowatt photovoltaic (solar) panel array was dedicated in April 1999 on Earth Day. At the time, it was the largest solar array in Pennsylvania.

The solar array is affixed to the roof of a B.J.'s Wholesale Club store in Conshohocken, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia. Five hundred two-foot by three-foot panels convert energy from the sun's rays into pollution-free electricity.

B.J.'s Wholesale Club also purchases Green Mountain Energy(R) electricity for the store.

Since 1999, Green Mountain Energy Solar has produced an average of 100 megawatt-hours of pollution-free power annually. That's equal to the amount of electricity used each year by about ten average Pennsylvania homes. Green Mountain Energy Company uses the output of the solar array to meet the demand of the company's customers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

"We're proud that Governor Rendell chose Green Mountain Energy Solar as the stage to showcase this important law. These solar panels are the evidence that electric customers in Pennsylvania want to change the way power is made," said Paul Thomas, chief executive officer of Green Mountain Energy Company. "We applaud the Governor and the Pennsylvania legislature for their leadership in energizing the renewable power industry in the Keystone State."

Green Mountain Energy Company pioneered the retail market for cleaner and renewable energy in Pennsylvania and has been continuously serving customers in Pennsylvania longer than any other renewable energy supplier. Green Mountain Energy Company signed up its first customer in Pennsylvania in September 1998 at the start of electric competition.

Customers of Green Mountain Energy Company in the northeast offset over 32,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2003. That's like taking over 5,600 cars off the road for a year.

Customers of Green Mountain Energy Company helped bring about the development of the first utility-scale wind power facility built in Pennsylvania: the 10.4-megawatt Green Mountain Energy Wind Farm in Garrett, Pa; as well as the 30-kilowatt Green Mountain Energy Solar at Pittsburgh, and the 52-kilowatt Green Mountain Energy Solar at Southern New Jersey in Deptford, N.J.

About Green Mountain Energy Company

Founded in 1997 to "change the way power is made," Green Mountain Energy Company (www.greenmountain.com) sells cleaner electricity generated from sources such as wind, solar, water, geothermal, biomass and natural gas to residential, business, institutional and governmental customers. About 600,000 customers nationwide have chosen Green Mountain Energy(R) electricity, which is dramatically less polluting than typical system power in those states. The company is based in Austin, Texas.

Fast Facts . . . Green Mountain Energy(R) BJ's Solar Dedicated Earth Day 1999 Capacity: 50 kilowatts Average annual output: 100 megawatt-hours GMEC 1st Pa. customer: Sept. 1998