CAPE WIND POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH NATIONAL GRID MEANS BETTER PRICES FOR FAMILIES AND BUSINESSES, AND CLEAN ENERGY, JOB CREATION ALL TOGETHER

The era of putting Renewable Energy at the center of our economy has begun.

The power purchase agreement between National Grid and the Cape Wind Project means significant benefits for the region in renewable energy production, job creation, stable (and decreasing) pricing and long-term economic development.

For the cost of a cup of coffee a month, families receiving this clean energy will be part of making history and inventing a more sustainable, competitive economy. Businesses will begin benefitting from stable and ultimately lower energy prices right away. We believe any objections on pricing to be shortsighted for the following reasons:

• Increased energy supply will have a stabilizing and downward impact on overall prices in the energy market over time. A Comprehensive Wind/Pricing Study in Germany shows this effect indicating that wind power reduced German wholesale energy costs by $5 billion Euros. Existing energy prices in New England may seem low right now but have been anything but low or stable in recent years.
• As the global economy recovers, demand for energy will rise and the price too – this will substantially close the gap between existing and renewable energy prices.
• When Washington puts a price on carbon emissions (likely before 2013 when the Cape Wind/National Grid contract starts, the price gap between existing and renewable energy will shrink even more.
• With the price gap disappearing and demand for renewable energy rising over the coming years, Cape Wind positions Massachusetts to be a hub for the off-shore wind industry. As the Boston Globe writes, citing numerous credible sources, this means jobs, tax revenue and higher quality of living.
• When the benefits of American clean energy and energy independence are truly accounted for, renewable energy and Cape Wind in particular will emerge as a bargain.

No-one knows exactly what will happen with this change - but we can predict the disastrous results of defending the status quo on energy. The well-studied evidence for Cape Wind comes from a 9 year effort to get to this point. We offer congratulations to the Cape Wind Project team, National Grid, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Secretary of Energy and Environmental Policy Ian Bowles, as well as the many stakeholders including public, private, non-profit, and labor organizations that have brought this project to this meaningful point.

PBLN is a non-profit education network of more than 100 CEOs and other top business leaders develop dedicated to inventing a more sustainable and competitive economy. For more information about our leadership, our policy agenda and our program of activities, see www.pbln.org or call Executive Director Andrew Tarsy at 617 515-9004.

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Diane Hessan, President & CEO - Communispace
According to Advertising Age Communispace is one of the fastest growing marketing and technology companies in the country, with a Blue Chip client list that would make a Madison Avenue giant jealous. A pioneer in creating online communities to help marketers deeply engage customers, Diane helped found Communispace in 1999 and hasn't looked back.