Wrightstown company commits to wind and landfill gas electricity

From an article by Ed Byrne in the Appleton Post-Crescent:

WRIGHTSTOWN — Beginning Monday, Wrightstown-based Coating Excellence International will purchase electricity from Wisconsin Public Service Corp.'s NatureWise program.

The program sells power generated through wind generation and combustion of gas produced by local landfills and waste manure.

"We could have purchased renewable energy outside of Wisconsin, but we wanted to stay with a local provider," said George Fickau, CEI's manager of sustainable packaging.

"It is an option for customers who want to support more green energy," said Chip Bircher, WPS renewable energy product manager. "Our goal is to provide customers with a choice … and make it real simple and affordable."

The idea of NatureWise is to make maximum use of renewable and carbon-free energy.

When wood or coal is burned, carbon is consumed.

"That carbon now is floating up in the air somewhere, creating a warmer blanket which makes our Earth warmer," Fickau said. "Wind, hydro (and) solar really are not adding carbon to the air."

Under the NatureWise program, CEI and other participating WPS customers agree to pay a higher price to purchase power from a renewable source. WPS buys the power from producers or generates it by itself, then sells it to CEI and other NatureWise customers.