Salt Lake City's fair trade retailer, Ten Thousand Villages, spread its good works to the environment by becoming a champion-level partner in Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky renewable energy program.

Ten Thousand Villages is a nonprofit organization, run by volunteers, that buys hand-crafted products from artisans in third world countries and sells them here in North America. The extra money made goes to the purchase of more products from the artisans to help improve lives and communities.

Ten Thousand Villages’ purchase has nudged Salt Lake City closer to Mayor Anderson’s challenge goal of doubling the number of participants in Rocky Mountain Power’s voluntary renewable energy program.

Last year, Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson launched Salt Lake City’s Blue Sky Community Challenge, which aims to make Salt Lake City "Twice as Nice," by doubling the city's Blue Sky participation rate. Enrollments have increased by 65 percent since the start of the Twice As Nice challenge. However, in the business sector sign-ups have nearly doubled.

“Our employees and volunteers came to our board with a proposal to buy Blue Sky,” said Georgia Baddley, Ten Thousand Villages board chair. “We have a very strong environmental vision in our organization and it’s important that we walk the walk.”

More and more businesses are finding it pays to go "green."  Socially responsible businesses are realizing environmental, social and economic benefits.

Blue Sky is sold in 100-kilowatt-hour block increments for $1.95 each, in addition to a customer’s regular monthly electric bill. 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.

While Rocky Mountain Power already buys renewable energy for its customers, Blue Sky brings even more wind power into the system and encourages wind farm development.

Most of 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. Blue Sky helps spur renewable power development and brings additional amounts of clean, renewable energy into the power system.

Business customers have two renewable options: Rocky Mountain Power’s standard Blue Sky Block offering and Blue Sky QS (Quantity Savings). Blue Sky QS allows large business customers to buy renewable energy from Rocky Mountain Power for less, providing they purchase at least 101 blocks of Blue Sky per month for a year.

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

About Ten Thousand Villages

Ten Thousand Villages in Salt Lake City has three employees and 85 volunteers. It is one of more than 150 stores across North America that sells fairly traded international handicrafts. Through fair trade, artisans, farmers and textile workers receive a fair price for their quality, handcrafted products and crops. When artisans and farmers receive fair prices for their work, they find dignity and hope for the future. Fair trade helps alleviate poverty for small-scale producers, providing markets for their goods and developing their financial independence. Ten Thousand Villages, Utah is located at 2186 S. Highland Dr. Salt Lake City. Call 801-485-8827 or log on to www.tenthousandvillages.org

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, more than 13,917 residential and business customers participate. More than 38,500 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.