Other Resources

What Can You Do?

Planet Bluegrass is committed to producing the finest musical experiences in exquisite natural venues in the most sustainable manner possible.  There are a lot of simple ways we can all reduce our impact on Telluride’s fragile ecosystem.

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Leave-No-Trace Campers Guide

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Energy FAQ’s

How is energy produced in our country?

Most energy produced today in the United States, as in the rest of the industrialized world, comes from fossil fuels--coal, natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas plant. Although U.S. energy production takes many forms, fossil fuels together far exceed all other sources of energy.

 Emissions U.S. power plants emit:

This pollution leads to:

Why wind power?

How does buying wind power work?

It’s actually impossible to pipe wind power directly to the festival.  Planet Bluegrass drains electricity from the national power grid and uses the same mix of energy as everybody else.  But that doesn’t mean we don’t have a choice. Planet Bluegrass is purchasing renewable energy credits from wind farms around the country to offset 100% of the projected carbon emissions festival energy AND TRAVEL (based on the previous year’s travel and energy use).

Why does wind power cost more?

The "fuel" is free, but there is still a lot of investment to be made in building wind farm capacity across the U.S. - which makes the current price for wind a bit more expensive than continuing to burn fossil fuels in plants that were built and paid for long ago. Our investment in wind energy credits ensures a cheap, clean, inexhaustible source of energy now, and for future generations.

Bear Creek in Telluride's Town Park
Telluride, Colorado

What’s a REC (Renewable energy Credit)?

A certificate that represents the environmental attributes of 1 MWh of electricity from a renewable energy source. Learn more...

How many states have wind farms?

There are already wind farms in 30 states!

Is there enough wind power potential for it to be a realistic source of electricity?

We have enough wind potential in North Dakota, Kansas and Texas alone to produce enough electricity for the entire U.S.

Do wind turbines kill birds?

Once in a while, a bird hits a wind turbine - but new technology allows for longer blades that turn more slowly and there is now more sensitivity to placing turbines outside migratory paths. The Audubon society estimates that 2.2 birds died for each wind turbine last year, as compared to over 800 million birds killed by collisions with other man-made items like windows, wind shields and power lines.

What is biomass?

Biomass is organic material that releases energy as heat when burned. Examples of biomass fuels include wood, wood waste, straw, manure, and agricultural crops.  Biomass obtains its energy from the sun while plants are growing. Plants convert solar energy into chemical energy during the process of photosynthesis. This energy is released as heat energy when the plant material is burned. Biomass power plants burn biomass fuels in boilers. The heat released from this process is used to heat water into steam to turn a steam turbine to create electricity.

What is low impact hydropower?

Low-impact (small) hydropower is created when the flow of water spins a turbine in a setting that has reduced environmental impacts. Eligible facilities meet criteria such as minimum impact on river flows, water quality, fish passage, and watershed protection. In the absence of information on these environmental criteria, a minimum generating capacity (30MW) determines eligibility.  Eligible hydropower facilities often operate in a “run of the river” mode, in which little or no water is stored behind a dam.

Bear Creek in Telluride's Town Park
Bear Creek in Telluride's Town Park

How can I sign up for wind power?

There are about three dozen companies nationally (and growing), each with different products. In Colorado, you can sign-up for wind power with Renewable Choice Energy by visiting their website, www.renewablechoice.com, or you can sign-up over the phone toll-free at 1-877-810-8670. Renewable Choice Energy will also be at all of our events throughout the summer.

Carbon Neutral

The idea of helping consumers, organizations and businesses neutralize their personal or corporate greenhouse gas emissions by offsetting emissions associated with their lives and activities.

Carbon Offset

The act of reducing or avoiding GHG emissions in one place in order to “offset” GHG emissions occurring somewhere else.

Want more information?

For more information on REC’s (Renewable Energy Credits) and the mechanics of the power grid and renewable energy programs, try Googling REC’s and refer to the following webpages:

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Life Cycle of a Renewable Energy Credit.

Most of us don't realize that most electricity we consume is generated by burning coal and gas. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) electricity production is the largest industrial air polluter in our nation. Emissions from fossil fuel power plants are responsible for one-third of our nation's nitrogen oxide emissions (smog), one-third of carbon dioxide emissions (global warming), and two-thirds of sulfur dioxide emissions (acid rain).

No one (not even your local utility) can pipe wind powered electricity to your house. Every home and business that uses electricity is attached to the national power grid. This grid is kind of like a big bathtub of free-floating electricity, maintained by local utilities around the country.

When you purchase wind power you actually purchasing renewable energy credits. These credits include the additional value of clean power. By selling them, wind farms are better positioned to compete economically with fossil fuel energy producers. Every time a renewable energy producer adds electricity to the grid, it also generates a renewable energy credit. Sometimes the electricity and the renewable energy credit are sold together, sometimes they are sold separately. Our partner, Renewable Choice Energy, obtains credits from renewable energy producers around the country and delivers them to businesses, individuals and Planet Bluegrass. Renewable energy credits from Renewable Choice Energy were generated from large and small scale projects around the country.

LIfecycle of a REC

Everyone has a different reason for buying credits. Some businesses purchase credits to satisfy regulations, others simply want to do their part for the environment. Purchasing credits equal to the amount of electricity you draw of the grid ensures that the electricity you use is replaced on the grid with clean power. Every one of these transactions is audited and verified by the Center for Resource Solutions, a non-profit organization based in San Francisco. This is also known as being Green E certified.

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Other Sustainability Organizations

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