There are three problems with the existing system of generating electricity:

1. Our national energy security is compromised by the current system. This vulnerability is caused by two factors: Relying on foreign oil to generate our electricity, and the vulnerability of traditional powerplants.

   Relying on foreign oil: An estimated 60 Billion kilowatt-hours of America's annual electrical generation is produced from foreign oil. This is approximately equal to the electrical needs of the entire state of Maryland.

   If one or more of the OPEC countries restrict their oil exports to the US, even temporarily, our country would have to make some tough decisions. OPEC countries have restricted their exports to the US in the past, and will certainly do so in the future. Common sense demands that we declare our independence from foreign oil.

   Wind turbines can create large amounts of electricity from 100% American wind.

   Vulnerability of our powerplants: By generating electricity in large, centralized powerplants in each state, our country's electricity supply is especially vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Since September 11, all major electricity generating powerplants have had their security improved, reflecting this vulnerability.

   Renewable power projects are typically smaller, so they can be distributed across the state and across the country.

   Utility companies appreciate this de-centralization for another reason: It puts the power generation closer to the end-user, which reduces the need for expensive transmission lines required by large centralized powerplants. By adding several wind projects across our local power grid, we can distribute the risk by distributing the electrical generation.

2. Price increases will probably result from our reliance on too few sources of electricity.

   Utility companies have to obtain coal or oil or natural gas to generate electricity the old-fashioned way. Almost all the new powerplants scheduled to come online in the next few years will be powered by natural gas. While most of this natural gas will come from the US and Canada, these thousands of new gas-fired powerplants will put price pressure on natural gas in the North American market. Higher prices for natural gas will inevitably drive up the cost of electricity, as well as the cost of heating our homes.

   Wind power can create electricity without using America's natural gas supplies.

3. Our existing energy sources create high levels of pollution which causes health complications for people in our region.

   The Washington-Baltimore area has some of the worst air quality in the US. While the increasing number of Code Red ozone days are merely unhealthy for most people, they are life-threatening for many residents, especially these 750,000 people:

   	Pediatric Asthma	Adult Asthma	Bronchitis	Emphysema
   MD	50,719	208,639	126,029	38,277
   VA	33,336	135,606	82,165	22,197
   DC	5,022	33,157	18,823	6,071

   
   Source: American Lung Association

   This year, it's estimated that Marylanders will suffer approximately 180,000 asthma attacks and will have an estimated 3900 emergency room visits because of our air quality.

   Electricity generation is the largest industrial polluter in the country. Electricity generation currently produces…

   • about two-thirds of the annual US emissions of sulfur dioxide, the main cause of acid rain and the particulates which cause smog.
   • about 30 percent of the nitrogen oxides, which combine with organic compounds in sunlight to form smog. This leads to our Code Red Ozone days. High smog levels can trigger heart and respiratory problems and contribute to air pollution deaths.
   • about one-third of the carbon dioxide.
   • toxic metal emissions (such as mercury and lead). The presence of these metals in our lakes and the Bay has triggered the EPA to warn area residents to limit the quantity of fish that we consume.

   Wind power produces electricity without creating large quantities of toxic emissons.

Our efforts dovetail with some of the strategies in President Bush's National Energy Plan. The president's main concerns, as outlined in his plan, include reducing America's dependence on foreign oil, and diversifying our energy sources. Wind power will help achieve both goals. President Bush's energy plan includes incentives for renewable power.

Electricity from a wind turbine looks no different and acts the same as electricity generated from any other source. Once the energy leaves the generator and goes into the grid (the "power pool"), it is all mixed together.
However, the generation and the sale of renewable energy is tracked by unique Renewable Energy Certificates (also called "Green Tags"). When a renewable powerplant (such as a windfarm) creates a unit of power, it also generates a unique, corresponding certificate, the Green Tag, for that unit of power. Therefore, one of these certificates corresponds to one unit of power generated at a renewable powerplant.

This gives a lot of flexibility to the whole process: Generators and users of power can be some distance from each other, and the clean attributes of the power can be shipped using a 37-cent stamp. These certificates have a clear audit trail from the generator to the end-user, and this audit trail is tracked by an independent third-party non-profit.

So now, each of us can help to diversify the national energy portfolio with wind power, which will add stability to our energy future, and will produce less air pollution. The important goal is to change the mix of the electricity sources that go into the electrical grid. WindCurrent is committed to doing just that.

WindCurrent's "renewable energy certificate" or "Green Tag" represents the environmental attributes associated with electricity generation from new renewable technologies like wind energy.

A renewable energy facility produces two distinct "products." The first is the electricity commodity. The second is the package of environmental benefits resulting from not generating this electricity -- and emissions -- from a conventional gas or coal-fired power plant. The renewable electricity displaces the dirtier power that would otherwise have been generated and delivered to the power pool. These environmental benefits are delivered to the customer as a "renewable energy certificate" or Green Tag.

For example, 12 megawatt hours (MWh) generated at an average fossil fuel power plant in the Mid-Atlantic (that's about as much as 1 home uses in a year) will result in the release of approximately 7 tons of carbon dioxide, over a hundred pounds of sulfur dioxide, over 33 pounds of nitrous oxides, and additional amounts of mercury and other pollutants that affect air, water and the earth's climate.

The same electricity generated from wind power produces none of these pollutants. The Green Tags that you purchase reflect the avoided pollution that results from using new sources of wind power, instead of traditional sources like coal or gas. WindCurrent applies part of the net revenues realized by selling Green Tags to help develop the next generation of renewable energy facilities.

YES. For Commercial buyers, WindCurrent's renewable energy certificate products are independently verified and certified by the "Green-e Program". This is a nationally-recognized certification program run by the Center for Resource Solutions, a San Francisco non-profit. For more information on Green-e, call 1-888-63-GREEN or visit www.green-e.org.

No. When you buy Green Tags from WindCurrent, your relationship with your local utility company will remain the same as it is today. You will continue to buy your electric commodity from your local electric company. The Green Tags reflect the environmental benefits of new renewable energy coming into the Mid-Atlantic power pool, displacing power from fossil fuel plants. So the money you pay to WindCurrent goes first to cover the higher costs of generating the cleaner, renewable power. A portion of the remaining net revenues are then reinvested into the next generation of renewable energy.

Purchasing Green Tags from WindCurrent will not alter or complicate the quality, quantity, reliability or terms of service for your electricity service. Your relationship with your local electric utility remains unaffected by a purchase of Green Tags.

We lease our office space and don’t have utility service in our name. Can we still sign up?

American Energy Independence - WindCurrent's power is generated strictly from wind located within the United States, not from imported fossil fuels.

Environmental Benefits - Revenues from Green Tags are invested in new renewable resource development.

Simplicity - If you're buying for your business, only one transaction is required to purchase Green Tags for all company facilities, however widely distributed. This significantly reduces transaction costs.

Reliability - With a Green Tag purchase, the relationship between your home or business and its serving utility does not change. Purchasing Green Tags will not alter or complicate the quality, quantity, or reliability of your present electrical services.

Availability - WindCurrent's Green Tags can be purchased for any location in the US.

Product Integrity - All WindCurrent Green Tag sales are audited by a third-party non-profit who verifies the movement of the certificates' attributes.

On the 'supply' side, General Electric has started making wind turbines at their new factory in California. Shell Oil and British Petroleum are putting up their own windfarms.

On the 'demand' side, many large companies are buying renewable power, as part of their voluntary commitment to be environmentally responsible. General Motors, Johnson & Johnson, and Kinko's are just a few of the companies who are buying renewable energy products.

And on the 'policy' side, President Bush wants our national energy policy to encourage the creation of additional windfarms across the US.

The health reason: This will create electricity that produces no air pollution.

The economic reason: Building wind turbine generating plants will create jobs in rural areas which suffer from high unemployment.

The religious reason: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." -Genesis 1:1
Renewable electricity makes the best use of the resources that God gave us. On the sixth day, God created man. Man harnessed electricity, and then we had utility companies, and wind turbines - and the rest is history.