Ecologue

This Wednesday, February 18th, will be the first community meeting to discuss Corvallis’ entry in the Georgetown University Energy Prize. The meeting will be at 7pm at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library (645 NW Monroe Ave).

The city of Corvallis is currently a quarterfinalist for the Prize, a $5 million incentive to reduce energy consumption. But now that we’ve made it this far, we need everyone’s help to save more energy than the 49 other American cities in the competition. At the upcoming meeting, attendees will learn how they can save energy at home with local programs and incentives and how they can help Corvallis win the $5 million Energy Prize.

The $5 million GUEP prize will be awarded to the community that reduces its residential and municipal use of metered electricity and natural gas more than any other contest entrant.The winning city will be judged based on reductions in energy use, innovation of approach, quality of community outreach, sustainability, and replicability. The Corvallis application was submitted  in June, including letters of support from numerous local businesses and non-profits, Mayor Julie Manning, the Corvallis City Council, and all three utilities: Pacific Power, Consumers Power and Northwest Natural. Members of the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition’s Energy Action Team (EAT) and Energize Corvallis – a project of the Corvallis Environmental Center – spent months assembling the town’s application.

The goals of the GUEP are to foster innovative approaches to energy efficiency, educate the public and engage students in energy issues, and to grow markets for products & services that facilitate energy efficiency.

The final stage of the two-year competition began on January 1st, and now it’s time for us to put our best foot forward to help make Corvallis a national leader in sustainability! Together with help from volunteers, the City, and community, Corvallis will have a good chance of becoming a finalist.