Downtown Alliance - Salt Lake City, Utah

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Farmer's Market goes green with bike valets and Blue Sky

SALT LAKE CITY – The city's Downtown Farmer's Market is making a serious push toward becoming a zero-waste marketplace this season. Vendors are urged to use recycled materials and attendees are being asked to bring their own bags and use the bicycle valet to keep their rides safe.

In addition, Rocky Mountain Power is making the event even more eco friendly by providing Blue Sky renewable energy equivalent to the market's anticipated electricity use. It will provide similar[JH1] environmental benefits to not driving nearly 2,500 miles or planting 29 trees.

The Farmer's Market, located in Historic Pioneer Park, 300 South and 300 West, is open Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Starting Aug. 3, the market also will be open Tuesday evenings from 4:00 p.m. to dusk. The market's season ends Oct. 16.

The Downtown Farmers Market is a local growers' market, featuring fresh produce from more than 80 Utah farmers. In addition to fresh, local produce, the market has a tasty selection of fresh-baked breads and pastries, cheeses, meat and seafood, jams and honeys, as well as house and garden plants. There is an abundance of food vendors, and an arts and crafts market comprised of local, handmade products.

Rocky Mountain Power's Blue Sky team will have a booth at the market, to help sign up people for its renewable energy program. Blue Sky provides an easy way for Rocky Mountain Power customers to support wind-powered generation and other renewable energy facilities in the region. Blue Sky is sold in 100 kilowatt-hour block increments for as little as $1.95 per month.

"We truly are focused on making this market a zero-waste marketplace," said Kim Angeli, director of the Farmer's Market. "We're covering a lot of details. We have a fellow from the University of Utah who is working with our vendors to use eco-friendly packaging for food."

Attendees also are being asked to do their part.

"There will be 50 volunteers on hand throughout the season to help visitors sort and dispose of their refuse at designated waste stations," Angeli said. "We hope that will continue being a practice in their own homes,"

The market's bike valet is another benefit. Visitors simply drop their bike off without worrying about it getting stolen. Last year, it stowed 2,850 bikes.

"The Farmer's Market is looking at every detail – not only to ensure it has the least impact on the environment as possible, but to help our neighbors have a wonderful time," said Alene Bentley, customer and community manager for Rocky Mountain Power. "We're happy that we can do our part by providing some Blue Sky renewable energy on behalf of this event."

The number of customers signed up for Blue Sky is bringing the program national recognition. In April of this year, the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory ranked the company's Blue Sky program second in the nation in the number of customers buying renewable power, and third in the nation for renewable power sales volume.

When a customer enrolls in Blue Sky, Rocky Mountain Power purchases Green-e, Energy-certified renewable energy certificates on their behalf from wind energy facilities in the region. Blue Sky funds also help support the development of smaller projects in local communities that can include wind, solar, geothermal, low-emission biomass or other certified renewable energy sources. More than 31,000 Rocky Mountain Power customers in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho currently buy Blue Sky renewable energy.

For more information on the Salt Lake City Farmer's Market, go to: www.slcfarmersmarket.org

Rocky Mountain Power
Rocky Mountain Power is headquartered in Salt Lake City and provides electric service to more than one million customers in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. As part of PacifiCorp, one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, Rocky Mountain Power and Pacific Power provide approximately 1.7 million customers in six Western states with reliable, efficient energy. The company works to meet growing energy demand while protecting and enhancing the environment. Visit www.rockymountainpower.net.

Blue Sky

This year, the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory ranked the company's Blue Sky program second in the nation in the number of customers buying renewable power, and third in the nation for renewable power sales volume. Blue Sky was named 2007 Green Power Program of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. To learn more about Blue Sky or to sign up, visit www.rockymountainpower.net/bluesky or call 1-800-769-3717.