MOAB, Utah  —  A local outdoor adventure firm is whipping up wind power by purchasing Blue Sky renewable energy. Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky program gives customers a way to bring more renewable power into the system.

“We are always looking for opportunities to operate our business with less environmental impact, and we like the idea of Moab being a trendsetter in renewable power,” said Brian I.Merrill, CEO of Western River Expeditions and The Moab Adventure Center.

Rocky Mountain Power sells Blue Sky renewable energy in 100-kilowatt-hour block increments for $1.95 each, in addition to a customer’s regular monthly electric bill. Last November, the U.S. Environmental Agency recognized Utah’s Greater Moab Area as the nation's first Green Power Community.

”We learned about Blue Sky initially from a mailer sent out by Rocky Mountain Power,” Merrill said.  “Then we learned more about it when the City of Moab began their push.”

By having 4 percent of the Moab area’s electricity offset through Rocky Mountain Power's Blue Sky, the City of Moab, Castle Valley, Park Creek Ranch, and Spanish Valley became the first in the nation to meet and exceed the EPA Green Power Partnership’s minimum benchmark for green power usage with voluntary purchases.

Blue Sky comes from wind power. Wind is an attractive form of energy generation because it helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Wind produces no air pollutants, wastewater, smog or acid rain. Just one block of Blue Sky has the same environmental benefit of either not driving 2,500 miles or planting a half acre of trees. Enrollment is optional and customers can increase their participation or withdraw at any time.

Western River Expeditions started in 1961 and is a partner with the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management, providing whitewater rafting trips and land tours in Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, and Arches National Parks; as well as Desolation Canyon, Westwater Canyon, and the Colorado River near Moab, Utah.

Western River Expeditions also is participating in an initiative sponsored by the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association to develop an electric outboard engine that is powerful and durable enough to use on whitewater rafting trips in Grand Canyon. 

“Ideally, the motor will one day obtain its electricity from a fuel cell generator,” Merrill said.  “The engine has already been tested several times in Grand Canyon.  The fuel cell is still a bit of a stretch, but we are hopeful.

For more information or to sign up for Blue Sky, call 1-800-842-8458 or e-mail bluesky@pacificorp.com . Customers can sign up on line at www.rockymtnpower.net/bluesky

More about Rocky Mountain Power and Blue Sky

Rocky Mountain Power is the state’s largest electric utility, serving about 703,700 Utah customers with reliable, safe, low-cost electricity. The U.S. Dept. of Energy ranked Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky program second in the nation for customers enrolled in a renewable power program; and third in the amount of renewable power sold. In Utah, 14.300 residential and business customers participate. More than 38,800 customers buy Blue Sky in the Western U.S. In Utah, Blue Sky Community Challenges have been issued in Salt Lake City, Park City, Moab and Sundance.

Media inquiries:newsdesk@pacificorp.com