Moving a quarter of the town of Boone’s operations to a carbon neutral energy source, the contract will begin Jan. 1, 2022, and cover all 1,650,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy the town purchases from NRLP. Residents and business owners will have the option to buy into NRLP’s hydroelectric power at $5 per 250 kilowatt hours when the program starts. The town of Boone uses a total of seven million kWh of energy per year to power its municipal operations, an amount equivalent to powering around 778 residences based on NRLP’s estimate of average monthly energy usage, according to Ed Miller, general manager of NRLP.
Miller announced the contract along with other community members at the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce’s Lunch and Learn series on Aug. 31. NRLP, the not-forprofit public power electric utility service from Appalachian State University, gained access to this hydroelectric power through a new contract with Carolina Power Partners. The hydroelectric power comes from four existing hydropower facilities located along the Little Tennessee and Cheoah rivers in Tennessee and North Carolina, according to the NRLP website
To learn more, please read the full article, Boone Municipal Operations will Transition to 25% Renewable Energy in 2022 with NRLP Green Power Program (PDF)