Renewable Choice Energy Launches First-Of-Its-Kind Product: 'GREEN YOUR PHONE'

BOULDER, Colo., Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- As the environmental impact of conventional energy production and electricity consumption continues to be a growing concern with Americans, Renewable Choice Energy has developed GREEN YOUR PHONE, a first-of its-kind retail product which enables cell phone users to offset their mobile device's electricity use with wind power. GREEN YOUR PHONE allows sustainability-minded customers to support renewable energy, as the purchase supports the development of wind power projects across the U.S. Best Buy is the first major retailer to debut this product.

GREEN YOUR PHONE is loaded with 500 kilowatt hours of certified renewable energy credits (RECs) to offset the manufacturing and use of two mobile phones for two years -- the average lifespan of a phone. RECs make purchasing wind energy possible. They guarantee that a specified amount of electricity is added to the national power grid with wind power or other renewable energy sources.

"GREEN YOUR PHONE provides our customers with a tangible way to support renewable energy," said Scott Moore, VP of Marketing, Best Buy Mobile. "We are dedicated to providing our customers a better choice of phones, networks and accessories and this offering further extends that promise."

GREEN YOUR PHONE will be available at 1,000 Best Buy stores nationwide beginning November 19, 2008. The product includes two "Offset with Wind Power" decals, one for each phone, so that customers can proudly display their purchase while also sharing one of the offsets with a family member or friend. Each offset purchase increases consumers' awareness around electricity use and educates them on the critical role renewable energy credits play in the growth of renewable energy. As part of the GREEN YOUR PHONE product launch, Renewable Choice is providing 10,000 of these offsets free-of-charge to Best Buy Mobile employees to help launch the program and raise awareness of the environmental benefits of RECs.

"For the past several years businesses have increasingly embraced the renewable energy credits to help grow our country's clean power infrastructure," said Quayle Hodek, founder and CEO of Renewable Choice Energy. "GREEN YOUR PHONE is a way for forward-thinking consumers to join this effort and help drive the growth of wind power, helping to reduce our nation's dependence on fossil fuels."

According to industry research consumer electronics are poised to grow substantially as a share of residential energy consumption. In response, Best Buy is working to help empower customers to make environmentally-conscious decisions when it comes to personal electronics. Because of these efforts, Best Buy was named a 2008 ENERGY STAR Award winner.

A portion of GREEN YOUR PHONE sales will fund Renewable Choice's School Power program, which is designed to support the development of wind facilities on school campuses across America. While on-site wind turbines help bolster science curriculums, the value of the installations contribute to each school's bottom line, defraying energy costs by as much as 30 percent.

"Wind power is the cleanest and fastest-growing renewable energy source. In fact we've seen record growth of wind power production in this country over the last three years, undoubtedly due in part to the voluntary commitments of businesses and consumers," added Hodek. "Creating awareness of the importance of renewable energy with products such as GREEN YOUR PHONE is another step in the right direction."

How RECs Work

Over seventy percent of U.S. electricity comes from fossil fuels like burning coal and gas. Every time we burn fossil fuels to generate electricity, harmful greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. Wind energy is clean and sustainable.

Renewable energy credits help get more clean power online. A REC is created every time a renewable energy facility adds one MWh of electricity to the national electricity grid. Every renewable energy developer considers REC sales when deciding whether or not to build new facilities. RECs allow government and consumers to price the positive value of renewable energy, making its generation more competitive financially with electricity generated from fossil fuels.

More than twenty states rely on RECs to track and verify government renewable energy mandates. Consumers purchased approximately 12 million megawatt hours of RECs in 2006. Organizations supporting the use of RECs include the World Resources Institute, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Green-e Energy, administered by the non-profit Center for Resource Solutions, the leading third-party renewable energy certification organization in the U.S., certifies and verifies every transaction to ensure that each REC meets the highest environment and regulatory standards. Green-e Energy provides transparency, marketing guidelines, and consumer disclosure requirements for renewable energy credits.

About Renewable Choice Energy

Boulder, Colo.-based Renewable Choice Energy (http://www.renewablechoice.com) is the award-winning, full-service provider of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) and carbon offsets to organizations and individuals. The company's mission is to move society towards a more sustainable energy future by connecting renewable energy and mitigation project developers with forward-thinking companies, municipalities, academic institutions and residential consumers. Since its inception in 2001, Renewable Choice has developed innovative and meaningful programs on behalf of organizations and Fortune 500 companies. In 2006, Renewable Choice shared the Beacon Prize with its client Whole Foods Market for their campaign to educate customers about wind power. Renewable Choice helped develop many industry standards and best practices, and is the leading REC supplier to LEED certified green building projects. All Renewable Choice RECs are certified by Green-e, the nation's leading independent consumer protection program for the sale of renewable energy and greenhouse gas reductions in the retail market.

For more information on Renewable Choice Energy or the GREEN YOUR PHONE program, visit http://www.renewablechoice.com.

     CONTACT:
     Tim Streeb
     Linhart PR
     (303) 951.2560
     tstreeb@linhartpr.com

SOURCE Renewable Choice Energy

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