Thursday, September 29, 2005

plug

A buddy of mine is kicking off his new ad-revenue generating website in style... check out greenportal.ca and click on some of the google ads to help him out.

I've borrowed the peakoil.greenportal.ca subdomain and also have ads that you could help me out with, but I need to do a lot more work on my part, he's done a lot on his. I need to find some time to do some catch up.

4 comments:

tmfrt said...

It's funny, I was just reading the business section of The Star today, and there's an article on a new company providing "green energy" for those who wish to pay for it. It made me smile. This website also makes me smile, and I'll refer people to it.

Sep. 29, 2005. 06:59 AM
CP FILE
Wind turbines are just part of Toronto-based Bullfrog Power Inc.’s plans to make it easy for Ontario consumers to buy green power and support renewable energy. Bullfrog opened for business yesterday.

Bullfrog puts new spin on power business
Service debuts with turbine deal announcement
Customers to pay extra to support cleaner electricity

TYLER HAMILTON
TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

Bullfrog Power Inc., which dubs itself the first electricity retailer in the province dedicated to selling green power, opened for business yesterday by announcing an agreement to build two new wind turbines on the Bruce Peninsula with partner Sky Generation Inc.

As first reported earlier this month in the Toronto Star, Bullfrog is trying to make it easy for energy consumers in the province to buy green power and at the same time assure that more renewable energy is added to the grid, initially in the form of wind and low-impact hydro.

"With the flick of a switch, consumers can stop supporting coal and nuclear and start supporting renewables," said Tom Heintzman, Bullfrog's co-founder and president.

Toronto-based Bullfrog is promising households and businesses that the bill they pay each month, representing on average a 30 per cent premium to their current electricity bill, will go toward new green energy production.

The two wind turbines Bullfrog is co-developing with Sky Generation will generate enough electricity to power up to 1,000 homes. Bullfrog has also signed an agreement with Brascan Power, a subsidiary of Brascan Corp., which operates EcoLogo-certified hydropower sites across Ontario.

Currently, about 80 per cent of Bullfrog's electricity mix comes from low-impact hydro and the remaining 20 per cent from wind. Customers who sign up can expect to pay 8.3 cents per kilowatt-hour for their electricity over the next 12 months, compared with the local utility rate of 5 cents — increasing to 5.8 cents if consumption exceeds 750 kWh per month.

Consumers who switch will get a bill from Bullfrog but still get their electricity from the provincial grid, meaning no change in reliability. What Bullfrog does is make sure the money its customers pay goes toward green power production that over time displaces dirty power on the grid.

"As our customer base grows, so too will the production of new green energy," said Heintzman, adding that contracts are open and customers can leave any time. "Even before launch, the support and demand has been impressive."

Bullfrog believes many households will pay the premium to support the move toward cleaner air, while businesses have the added benefit of marketing themselves as eco-friendly.

"It's a big step financially, but I think it's a step in the right direction," said Theresa Albert, a cookbook author who lives in the Beaches and is one of the first 100 customers to sign up with Bullfrog.

Businesses have also stepped up, including GTA car-share company AutoShare, high-end travel company Butterfield & Robinson and Upper Canada Forest Products, which is using Bullfrog to power a 100,000-square-foot warehouse, its Toronto office and its North American data centre. RBC Financial Group is also a customer, with seven of its GTA branches now "Bullfrogpowered."

Gemma Grace said...

Thanks for the links to Green Portal and Peak Oil :) Have you seen the documentary, "End of Suburbia" ~ all about our looming oil crisis? Excellent film. Here's a link: www.endofsuburbia.com

Phil Plasma said...

Yes, I've seen end of suburbia, I'm also an avid reader and semi-often poster in the runningonempty2 yahoo group.

MikeE said...

Thanks for the plug man. I have lots more work to do on that site, but it's been a good start.

Please, everyone feel free to email me comments (good and bad) through the site email. I'm always looking for ideas to make it better.

Thanks again PP.