FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 7, 2008

KUB AND THE CITY OF KNOXVILLE ANNOUNCE DOWNTOWN GREEN POWER INITIATIVE IS MORE THAN HALF WAY TO GOAL

KUB and the city of Knoxville are encouraging downtown residents and businesses to purchase green power as part of an initiative to make downtown Knoxville “green.”

Block for block, downtown recently surpassed the halfway mark to the goal with 280 green power blocks sold.

The initiative was kicked off in May 2008, with a goal for downtown to purchase an additional 400 blocks of green power. The goal represents the 400 city blocks in downtown Knoxville, extending from just past Interstate 40 to the north, Blount Avenue to the south, Hall of Fame Drive to the east and 11th Street to the west.

“The downtown Green Power Switch initiative has allowed downtown residents and businesses alike to take ownership of their community’s commitment to the environment,” said Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam. “Many individuals and businesses have stepped up to the challenge and are helping to generate big results and make downtown Knoxville a green downtown – one green power block at a time. The city of Knoxville applauds their efforts.”

Businesses that have purchased blocks of green power since May 2008 as a part of the downtown initiative, in addition to many downtown residents, include: The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Knoxville Tourism & Sports Corporation; Knoxville Chamber; The Tomato Head; Coffee & Chocolate; and Alcoa, Inc.

Most recently, the purchase of 125 green power blocks by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville pushed the initiative over and beyond the halfway point to the 400-block goal.

In addition, while the Knoxville News Sentinel falls outside of the specified area for the downtown initiative, the Sentinel recently made a substantial purchase of 283 green power blocks.

“KUB is proud of the community involvement that this initiative is generating among residents and businesses alike,” said KUB President and CEO Mintha Roach. “It’s an exciting time to be in downtown Knoxville, and now we’re harnessing that positive downtown energy through Green Power Switch. With everyone’s help, we’re looking forward to reaching our 400-block goal and continuing to make a difference in our community.”

Green power, which is energy created by renewable resources such as wind, solar power and methane gas, is provided by KUB through TVA’s Green Power Switch program, which was launched on Earth Day in 2000. Each 150-kilowatt-hour block of green power purchased costs $4, which is added to the customer’s bill.

KUB customers have been very supportive of the program, making KUB the leader among all TVA power distributors in the number of blocks purchased per month.

Downtown residents and businesses as well as all KUB customers can sign up for green power. For more information or to sign up, visit the Environment section at www.kub.org.

The downtown Green Power Switch initiative was launched in April 2008 by KUB, the city of Knoxville, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), the Central Business Improvement District, the Knoxville Chamber and the Market Square District Association.

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