Green Mountain Energy Announces Wind Energy Contract with Lord and Taylor

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6/13/2012

Retailer becomes first Green Mountain commercial customer in New Jersey market.

Austin, TX, June 13, 2012 -- Green Mountain Energy Company, the nation’s leading competitive retail provider of cleaner energy and carbon offset solutions, is proud to announce that Lord & Taylor is purchasing 100 percent wind energy for seven of its retail stores in New Jersey. With this purchase, Lord & Taylor becomes the first commercial customer in New Jersey for Green Mountain, which recently began selling to businesses in the Garden State.

Lord & Taylor signed an 18 month contract with Green Mountain to purchase over 21 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of 100 percent wind energy for the seven New Jersey locations. The retailer’s purchase of clean energy is expected to avoid over 23 million pounds of CO2 (carbon dioxide) over the term of the contract, which is like taking 763,000 cars off the road for one day, or as much as 1.4 million trees can absorb in one year. In 2011, Lord & Taylor also partnered with Green Mountain to purchase 100 percent wind energy for its flagship store in Manhattan, as well as its Eastchester, NY, store.

“With this purchase, Lord & Taylor is demonstrating an impressive commitment to renewable energy and we are proud to work with them on this effort,” said Scott Hart, president, Commercial Services, Green Mountain Energy Company. “This partnership is also a great way to announce our entrance into the New Jersey market; we look forward to helping other commercial customers further their commitment to sustainable business practices.”

Lord & Taylor’s green power purchase exceeds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Green Power Partnership requirements. The EPA Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that encourages organizations to purchase green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with electricity use. In April 2012, Lord & Taylor ranked 17th on the EPA’s Top 20 Retail list; based on this purchase for its New Jersey stores, the company would move up two spots to No. 15 on the current version of the list.

The wind energy to supply the seven Lord & Taylor stores will be purchased by Green Mountain in the form of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), which is a widely accepted way to address the greenhouse gas emissions of electricity consumption. Purchasing RECs in the same quantity as Lord & Taylor’s electricity consumption ensures that the amount of energy used by each of the stores is added to the U.S. power grid from renewable sources and supports the further development of these projects.

“Green Mountain was awarded the electricity contract after a comprehensive bid process with multiple energy suppliers,” said Charles De Casteja, managing partner of Good Energy, Lord & Taylor’s energy consulting firm. “Green Mountain was selected as a result of its winning competitive electricity rate, favorable contract terms and leadership in the renewable energy industry.” Good Energy is a New York City-based energy management consulting firm, focused on saving customers money and increasing the value of their assets.

Listed below are the Lord & Taylor locations in New Jersey that are now powered by 100 percent renewable energy: -400 RTE 38 D400, Moorestown, NJ -400 Commons Way, Bridgewater, NJ -609 West North Ave., Westfield, NJ -Quaker Bridge Road, Lawrence Township, NJ -Willowbrook Mall, Wayne, NJ -Woodbridge Center Drive, Woodbridge, NJ -1 Garden State Plaza, Paramus, NJ