“Clean” energy retail marketer GreenMountain.com cleaned houselast week, attracting a $100 million investment from BP Amoco andothers, striking a marketing and energy supply alliance with BPAmoco and forming a marketing arrangement with Web powerhouseLycos.

“This investment, along with the online marketing agreement withLycos, is a major step forward for GreenMountain.com,” saidGreenMountain.com CEO Dennis Kelly. “By making these significantcommitments, BP Amoco, Lycos and the others have recognized thetremendous U.S. market opportunity for selling cleaner andrenewable energy to both households and business customers. BPAmoco is a global leader in the development of solar energy and akey leader within the energy community in addressing globalwarming..”

In addition to the investment in GreenMountain, BP Amoco signeda multifaceted supply and marketing agreement with the company.They agreed to enter into strategic supply arrangements forelectricity and natural gas. BP Amoco will provide GreenMountainwith wholesale supply services, and GreenMountain will market itscleaner electricity products to BP Amoco service stations. BP Amocoalso will supply GreenMountain with risk management products andtechnical assistance. The two companies will cooperate onleveraging each other’s e-business and Web presence. BP Amoco alsowill market and promote GreenMountain’s solar energy offeringsusing BP Solarex’s solar technology, products and services. And itwill market the GreenMountain Energy(SM) brand of cleaner andrenewable electricity under a multi-year licensing agreement tolarge business customers.

“We are greatly extending product availability and marketpresence by including large industrial customers and offering thema distinctive green choice to meet their energy needs,” said BPAmoco’s Anne Quinn, group vice president of gas and power businessin the Americas. “They will be able to buy greener, cleaner energyclose to the same cost as electricity fueled by other sources,thereby increasing the demand for renewable and environmentallyresponsible power – while enhancing their green credentials. Webelieve this can serve as a model for marketing cleaner energy inother, international markets.”

BP Amoco is the global solar electricity volume leader in salesof components and systems as well as the leading natural gasproducer in North America. It is also a leading trader in wholesalemarkets for natural gas together with power.

BP Solarex CEO Harry Shimp said green electricity is a “bigpotential market in the U.S. GreenMountain is a leading developerof green energy and we are very pleased to have this connection towhat we believe will be a significant growth market segment forsolar energy.”

The Lycos deal gives GreenMountain marketing access to one ofthe Internet’s leading multi-brand networks. Lycos has agreed toprovide online marketing venues to GreenMountain.com, enabling theenergy company to deliver its unique message to geographicallytargeted Lycos users. Lycos will launch an energy center within itsreal estate channel where GreenMountain.com will become theexclusive provider of cleaner energy content. Under the terms ofthe agreement, GreenMountain.com will pay Lycos in cash and stockfor online contextual integration across the Lycos Network.

Formed in 1997, GreenMountain serves more than 100,000households in California, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It sellselectricity generated by renewable sources — solar, wind, wateror geothermal — as well as natural gas. It plans to expandrapidly as full energy deregulation spreads across America anddemand for green and clean power grows.

Rocco Canonica

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