Green Mountain Dairy Farm Joins CVPS Cow Power(TM).

CVPS Named Finalist for Edison Award, Industry's Highest Honor

SHELDON, Vt. -- Green Mountain Dairy, a family farm owned and operated by brothers Brian and Bill Rowell, has joined CVPS Cow Power[TM] (NYSE:CV) as the program's third manure-to-energy producer - just as the program has earned national accolades.

"Dairy farming is in crisis all across this country. Milk prices are far too low, around what farmers were paid 30 years ago," Brian Rowell said. "We view Cow Power as an opportunity to diversify our farm business, which is critical to our long-term success and keeping our land in productive agriculture.

"The Cow Power program could prove to be a crucial link to survival for many farms, and will help sustain agriculture in Vermont as we know it. Without it, we fear for the family farm."

Bill Rowell said the environmental benefits of Cow Power were also critical to their decision to join the program.

"We face serious environmental challenges in the farm industry, but Cow Power will help us, and Vermont, address many of them," Bill Rowell said. "This will improve our manure management, reduce greenhouse gases, and provide a renewable energy choice to CVPS customers.

"We feel that Cow Power will vastly improve our economic outlook, while significantly improving the environment that is so critical to Vermont," he said.

Green Mountain Dairy's 1,050 cows are expected to produce 1.8 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, enough to power 300 to 400 CVPS Cow Power[TM] customers. Customers who enroll pay a premium of 4 cents per kilowatt-hour.

To generate electricity, manure is held in a sealed concrete tank at the same temperature as a cow's stomach. Bacteria digest the volatile components, creating methane while killing pathogens and weed seeds. The methane fuels a generator, and the energy is put onto CVPS's power lines for delivery to customers. The remaining waste can be separated into solids and liquid. The solids can be used as cow bedding or composted for home and garden use, while the liquid, which is virtually odorless, will be spread as fertilizer on the farm as it has been for hundreds of years.

The environmental benefits are significant. They include:

* Improved manure management, and air and water quality.

* The destruction of methane, which is roughly 20 times worse than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.

* Significant reduction of pathogens, including e coli, and weed seeds, which may reduce the need for herbicides.

* Reduced fossil fuel use through the use of generator waste heat to produce hot water.

* Replacement of sawdust bedding with dry solids, and reduced fossil fuels for hauling sawdust from as far away as Canada.

* Virtual elimination of odor when spreading liquid manure on fields.

EEI honors CVPS, Cow Power

Green Mountain Dairy's first generation coincides with a major CVPS Cow Power[TM] honor. The Edison Electric Institute has named Central Vermont and the Cow Power program a finalist for the industry's highest honor, the Edison Award, along with Great Plains Energy, ITC Holdings Corp., and Northeast Utilities. The winner will be announced June 17 at EEI's annual convention in Denver.

"These companies have demonstrated leadership by addressing some of the important issues our industry faces, including emissions reduction, new fuel development, infrastructure improvements and demand growth," EEI President Tom Kuhn said. "Their efforts reflect the dedication to service and innovative spirit that embody our industry."

"Central Vermont Public Service has developed its trademarked CVPS Cow Power[TM], the nation's first farm-to-consumer renewable energy choice based on biogas fuel derived from cow manure," EEI said in a statement. "The renewable energy program is one of the fastest-growing in the U.S. and offers a win-win solution for farmers, customers, the environment, the utility and the industry. Benefits include helping to resolve the significant environmental challenges relating to manure disposal, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving the financial outlook for Vermont family farms, and generating extensive, positive national and international media coverage for the process and the industry."

CVPS President Bob Young said he was pleased with the honor, but said it was the result of a cooperative spirit that touched everyone involved.

"CVPS Cow Power[TM] would not be a success without an incredible collaboration between CVPS employees, state and federal agriculture officials and utility regulators, farm owners, environmental groups, and more than 3,800 CVPS customers so far," Young said. "Our hope is that Cow Power continues to be an example for other states, other utilities and other customers who want to do something for the environment and the farm economy."

Skimmer Hellier, who co-owns Stark Mountain Woodworking with Louis Dupont in New Haven, Vt., recently enrolled his business in Cow Power to support the environment, renewable energy and farming. With more than 60,000 kilowatt-hours of energy use annually, enrollment will cost Stark Mountain about $2,400 per year.

Stark Mountain produces one-of-a-kind furniture pieces, museum displays, interior millwork and historic restorations, and is closely tied to the Vermont landscape and environment.

"When we take on a job, we focus on every detail, whether it's in our workmanship or how we interact with the environment," Hellier said. "We pride ourselves on the work we do, and our relationship with the customer, the state of Vermont and the environment.

"Enrolling in Cow Power ties all those things together. By enrolling, we feel we're doing the right thing for the company, for the customer and for Vermont."