NEWS RELEASE
Consumers Energy
2075 Marshalltown Blvd.
Marshalltown, IA 50158
800-696-6552
Release Date: Immediate
Contact: Deb Borton @ 641-752-2296, ext. 103
Consumers Energy Cooperative Held Grand Opening
July 1, 2004, Marshalltown, IA – Consumers Energy held its Grand
Opening on Tuesday, June 29, 2004, at its new facility located
at the intersection of highways 30 & 330 from 3:00 to 7:00
p.m.
The Grand Opening began with a Ribbon Cutting and Time Capsule
Ceremony at 3:00 p.m. and a short presentation from CEO/General
Manager, Brian Heithoff and Board President, Mark Tinnermeier.
The hors d'oeuvres and meal were catered by We 3 Catering
of Belmond. Volunteers from the East Marshall Community School
District assisted the cooperative with various activities during
the event.
Key speakers present for the short program that began at 5:00
p.m. included Mr. Michael Blouin, Director of the Iowa Department
of Economic Development; Dr. Dan Brown, State Director of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's Rural Development for the State
of Iowa; Mr. Brian Tormey, Chief of the Department of Natural Resource's
Energy and Waste Management Bureau; and Ms. Patty Judge, Iowa Secretary
of Agriculture.
"You need to be energy efficient before you can use renewable
energy – and Consumers Energy has done it right. You have
made your cooperative's vision and mission come alive here," said
Tormey.
"The outcome of the work accomplished over the past 15 months – covering
the purchase, design, remodeling and moving – is something
we can all be proud of. It's an asset owned by the membership
of Consumers Energy, and portrays our commitment to Central Iowa
and to our future," said Heithoff. Mr. Blouin thanked Consumers
Energy for its imagination and creativity in doing its part in
putting a stake in Iowa's future.
Over 1,000 people attended the event including Marshalltown's
Mayor Floyd Harthun; Ken Anderson, President of the Marshalltown
Area Chamber of Commerce/MEDIC; Representatives Mark Smith, District
43, and Polly Granzow, District 44; and Mike Espeset of Story Construction
Company.
Many people were given tours by employees during the afternoon
showing all of the energy technologies incorporated throughout
the state-of-the-art facility. A highlight of the tour for many
was viewing the parts of the wind turbines soon to be erected on
the grounds of the energy cooperative. Energy technologies incorporated
in the facility include: Fluorescent lighting with automatic sensors
that adjust light levels based on the amount of light needed to
supplement the daylighting system, a ground source heat pump was
installed to heat and cool a large portion of the warehouse, as
well as a radiant floor heat system in the lower warehouse area.
Icynene insulation was sprayed in the warehouse building along
with the installation of heavy insulated steel doors.
Consumers Energy plans to use renewable energy sources, wind and
solar, to provide all of its electrical power for the facility.
A photovoltaic system is currently being built on the southeast
side of the warehouse in addition to the erection of two wind turbines
west of the facility.
Consumers Energy is a local, member-owned energy solutions cooperative
that specializes in energy delivery and energy management. The
Marshalltown cooperative serves nearly 5,000 members and customers
throughout five counties in Central Iowa; Marshall, Story, Jasper,
Polk and Tama.
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