REYNOLDS/WARNER ROBINS/UPATOI – To celebrate Earth Day 2007, Flint Energies dedicated a one-kilowatt solar panel at Huntington Middle School in Warner Robins today. The installation of the demonstration project is part of Green Power EMC’s “SunPower for Schools Program.” Flint Energies is a charter member of Green Power EMC.

“Green Power EMC's new initiative, SunPower for Schools, educates students about renewable energy and its impact on the environment,” said Flint CEO Bob Ray. “We are partnering with Huntington Middle School to install this grid-connected photovoltaic system to harness the energy from the sun and provide on-line data monitoring to the classroom.”

The installation at Huntington will be monitored by science teacher Gwenever McDade. Huntington Principal Dr. Gwendolyn Taylor sponsored the installation along with Ronny Hutto and Cliff Hutto, who provide energy management services to the Houston County Board of Education.

McDade and other teachers will learn about the solar system’s operation, how to use the data collection system, and be provided with curriculum and classroom activities related to solar power, electricity, and energy.

This installation at Huntington is the only demonstration project on the Flint Energies system, but a total of 16 systems will be installed across Georgia.

“The solar panel project is important for three reasons,” according to Ray. “Flint installed this panel for energy, environment and education,” he said. “We are actively seeking other means of electric power generation like solar. All of our renewable resource initiatives through Green Power EMC are focused on our concern for the environment.”

“Finally, this project provides valuable education,” Ray added. “Maybe there will be one student who is inspired to find new energy solutions for our future world based on their experience in this project.”

Solar is considered one of the new “green power” initiatives. Green power is electric energy produced by renewable, more environmentally friendly sources, leading to less negative air, water and natural resource impacts. Typical technologies used to create green power are solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and low-impact hydropower. Biomass includes landfill gas and agriculture wastes. In Georgia, potential green power sources are primarily biomass and solar.

The mission of Green Power EMC www.greenpoweremc.com , a nonprofit corporation, is to facilitate procurement and marketing of electricity from cleaner, greener Georgia sources, add it to the member-cooperative's power mix, and build member-owner loyalty by generating awareness about our environmental product offerings and services. Green Power EMC’s generation first began in the Flint Energies service territory, when methane landfill gas from the Taylor County landfill began to generate electricity for our members.

The SunPower for Schools projects began in 2005. The first installation was at Irwin County High School, a member of Irwin EMC, and was completed on August 18, 2005.

Members who want to do something to support Flint’s environment and renewable initiatives can buy blocks of green power for a small premium of $4 per 150 kilowatt-hour blocks per month. (800-342-3616).

Incorporated in 1937, Flint Energies www.flintenergies.com is an electric membership cooperative that provides energy services to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural members in parts of 17 central Georgia counties. Flint has 230 employees and serves more than 250,000 Georgians through more than 78,800 meters. Flint's physical plant consists of nearly 6,100 miles of distribution line and 49 substations located within Bibb, Chattahoochee, Crawford, Dooly, Harris, Houston, Macon, Marion, Monroe, Muscogee, Peach, Schley, Sumter, Taylor, Talbot, Twiggs and Upson Counties. The system also includes the Fort Benning military post. Flint is the seventh largest of Georgia's 42 EMCs and the 34th largest of the nation's nearly 1,000 rural electric cooperatives.

Flint Energies is also a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, part of a nationwide family of electric cooperatives exhibiting the core values of integrity, accountability, innovation and commitment to community. Flint’s American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) score of 82 rates higher than most investor-owned utilities in the country.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is a uniform and independent measure of household consumption experience. As an economic indicator, the ACSI tracks trends in customer satisfaction and provides benchmarking insights of the consumer economy for companies, industry trade associations and government agencies.” The ACSI is produced by the Stephen M. Ross Business School at the University of Michigan, in partnership with the American Society for Quality (ASQ) and the international consulting firm, CFI Group.