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Article: Has your electric bill been greenwashed?; Some Minnesotans have been given the chance to pay more for electricity that comes from wind machines instead of nuclear or coal-fired plants. But some call the offer fraudulent, saying it repackages what's already on the market.(NEWS)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- June 9, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Star Tribune Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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When they opened their electric bills last month, about 160,000 Minnesotans received a surprise: an offer for them to voluntarily pay more for their electricity.
The reason? A guarantee that the higher-priced power would come from new wind machines rather than from nuclear or coal-fired power plants.
Just as other companies have used environmentally friendly claims to sell everything from deodorant to coffee filters, utilities and electric cooperatives are rapidly adopting "green" marketing techniques to sell power. It's a prelude to the future, when new laws are expected to give consumers more freedom to choose their power suppliers, much as they now ...