FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

CONTACT:      Tom Weirich, 202.393.0001 x 7582, weirichacore.org

                        Adam McDaniel, 240-533-1929, adam@renewcomm.com

 

WIREC Draws Pledges from Over 100 Nations, Cities and Organizations

To Scale-Up Renewable Energy Production and Usage

                                                                                                                      

WASHINGTON, March 6 –More than 100 countries, cities, businesses and other organizations from around the world have pledged to increase either their production or usage of renewable sources of energy as one result of the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC), the co-located Trade Show at WIREC and the more 80 Official Side Events.

 

“We at ACORE are very excited to see all levels of the global society – from individual businesses and organizations up to cities and entire countries – recognizing the economic, environmental and energy security benefits of adopting more renewable energy for electric generation and transportation fuels,” said Michael Eckhart, president of the American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE), the government’s partner in producing the WIREC events.

 

“Setting goals for everything we aspire to do helps us accomplish them, and scaling up renewable energy in the U.S. and around the world is no exception. These pledges will help usher in a cleaner, more sustainable energy future,” Eckhart added.

 

The full list of verified pledges is available online at the web site of the international Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) at http://ren21.net/wiap/wirec.asp.

 

Among the nations attending WIREC, pledges covered a variety of timeframes and levels according to each country’s progress in incorporating renewables. Norway aims to attain carbon neutrality by 2050. New Zealand has pledged to get 90 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2025, with Madagascar pledging to gain 75 percent of its electricity from renewables, primarily hydropower, by 2025.

 

Australia committed to procuring 20 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020, with Jamaica pledging to increase to 15 percent and Jordan to 10 percent by the same year.

 

Businesses and organizations also took the opportunity to show their support. My Organic Market (MOM’s) pledged to offset 100 percent of its energy usage by purchasing wind energy. Forrester Partners Ltd. will financially support their employees in switching their electricity supplies to 100 percent renewable sources.

 

A number of cities were also represented by pledges at WIREC. Warrenton, Va., pledged to reduce its carbon footprint by 25 percent by 2012 and provide electricity for every home and building in the town from a new waste-to-energy plant. The city of Bellingham, Wash., said it will purchase 100 percent green power for all municipal facilities.

 

Through Thursday afternoon, 52 of the more than 100 pledges had been verified and posted on the REN21 web site, with many more expected in the coming days and weeks.

 

###

 

About WIREC 2008

To view official national and other pledges being made at WIREC, visit: http://ren21.net/wiap/wirec.asp.

 

To view ACORE President Mike Eckhart’s welcoming message to WIREC attendees, visit: www.acore.org.

 

To view President Bush’s address to WIREC, visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/03/20080305.html.

 

About ACORE

ACORE, a 501(c)(3) membership nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., is dedicated to bringing renewable energy into the mainstream of the US economy and lifestyle through information and communications programs. ACORE provides a common platform for the wide range of interests in the renewable energy community including renewable energy industries, associations, utilities, end users, professional service firms, financial institutions and government agencies. ACORE serves as a forum through which these parties work together on common interests. Membership information is available at: http://www.acore.org/.