APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – Friday is Earth Day, and to mark the occasion Appleton’s Stone Cellar Brewpub has announced they will switch to wind energy to power its brewery and restaurant.
“We decided to do this a few months ago, we had a lot of pieces to put together to make it happen and we thought it would be a great day to announce it,” says Steve Lonsway, president and brew master for Stone Cellar Brewpub, Inc. and its Stone Arch Brew House. “It’s a big change for us.”
Stone Cellar finalized that plan to buy all of the power from wind farms through a partnership with national clean energy provider Arcadia Power.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve our community and our footprint on the environment while growing our business, so moving to wind power and becoming a leader in the clean energy movement is news we’re very proud to announce,” Lonsway says.
By making the switch, Stone Cellar now meets the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership requirements, joining national brands such as Whole Foods, Google and Starbucks that also purchase clean energy.
“It’s a little bit more expensive for us on our end, we’re not going to turn that cost over to the customer,” explains Lonsway. “It’s a cost that we’ll absorb because we feel it’s the right thing to do.”
Arcadia will source power from wind farms and send “energy certificates” to WE Energies on Stone Cellar’s behalf. Lonsway notes the transition will be seamless and completed on April 30.
