GoMacro worked with the Viola Municipal Electric Utility, the Upper Midwest Municipal Energy Group (UMMEG), and renewable energy advisors to design and ratify a program to replace all traditional energy sources in the community with wind power, the press release says. GoMacro will cover the additional costs of purchasing renewable energy credits (RECs) for the entire municipality, so that Viola residents won’t see any difference on their energy bills.
The initiative is going into effect beginning with the August 2020 billing cycle.
GoMacro has been using 100% renewable energy in its production facility since December 2018, according to the press release. The company has 844 solar panels installed on the roof of the production facility; to cover the drop in energy on cloudy days, GoMacro purchases RECs from the Rugby Wind Farm in North Dakota.
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Viola now purchases wind RECs from UMMEG, which obtains these RECs from wind turbines located in Rugby, North Dakota, as well as a small percentage from nearby Cashton Greens Wind Farm. The purchase of these RECs helps to displace the use of non-renewable power sources and supports the demand for renewable energy in the region."With the infrastructure in place for our needs, we saw an opportunity to reach beyond the walls of our facility and make wind power available to everyone in the community that we're proud to call home," said Jola Sonkin, Co-founder and CEO of GoMacro, in the press release.
"We're very grateful for the collaborative effort of everyone involved, and for the opportunity to share the benefits of 100% renewable energy with our neighbors," Sonkin continued. "This project is really a testament to the power of companies, communities, and public services coming together to create a more sustainable future for everyone involved. Though it was the first of its kind in our state, we hope this project will encourage other companies to think creatively and use their resources in a way that creates large-scale change both inside and outside their doors."
