Whole Foods Market(R) Helps Fund New Wind Farm, Makes Landmark Purchase of Wind Energy...

Whole Foods Market(R) Helps Fund New Wind Farm, Makes Landmark Purchase of
Wind Energy Credits
Top Retail Purchaser of Wind Power Partners with Renewable Choice Energy to
support E.ON Climate & Renewables' Panther Creek Wind Farm, Others

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq:
WFMI) today announced the completion of its 2009 landmark 776
million-kilowatt-hour purchase of renewable energy credits (RECs) from wind
farms. The RECs are equal to 100 percent of the Company's electricity use in
its North American locations, and nearly 90 percent of this year's purchase is
helping to fund E.ON Climate & Renewables' (EC&R) recently-completed
Texas-based Panther Creek wind farm.

"Whole Foods Market is working hard to be a leader in environmental
stewardship and to make sure that our investment drives new wind power growth
for the country. Buying nearly all of our 2009 renewable energy credits from
Panther Creek to help bring new power from the wind farm to the grid is a
great example of that," said Lee Matecko, Whole Foods Market global vice
president of Construction and Store Development. "And as a Texas-based
company, it also feels great to support a Texas-based wind farm. We appreciate
Renewable Choice Energy for bringing this partnership together."

Continuing its commitment to clean energy, nearly 90 percent of the RECs Whole
Foods Market has purchased for 2009 came from a Big Spring, Texas-based wind
farm, which is 50 miles east of Midland. The project is built and operated by
EC&R North America, a renewable energy developer headquartered in Chicago,
with development offices in Austin and Denver. The remaining RECs come from a
number of different wind farms in locations across the U.S. and Canada. The
total purchase of 776,115,000 kilowatt hours, the largest to date by a U.S.
retailer, was made in partnership with Boulder, Colo.-based Renewable Choice
Energy.

The Panther Creek wind farm began operating in its first phase in 2008, and
its final phase of construction was recently completed. Whole Foods Market's
purchase of RECs from Panther Creek wind farm has provided valuable additional
financing to the project to support its 2009 completion.

"Support from companies like Whole Foods Market with partners like Renewable
Choice Energy creates a valuable revenue stream for us that helps make new
wind farms like Panther Creek possible," said Dean Tuel, vice president of
Energy Marketing for E.ON Climate & Renewables North America. "EC&R is
developing a number of large scale wind projects in the U.S. over the coming
years. Extra funding from renewable energy credit sales will play a crucial
role in this growth."

Whole Foods Market has been a leading supporter of renewable energy
development since 2006, when it became the first Fortune 500 Company to offset
100 percent of its electricity use with RECs from wind farms provided by
Renewable Choice Energy. The continued purchase of RECs is part of the
Company's comprehensive energy commitment, which also includes plans to more
than triple the number of stores with solar panels and to invest in
energy-reduction opportunities while retrofitting existing stores with
energy-efficient lighting, equipment and mechanical components.

"The Environmental Protection Agency commends Whole Foods Market for their
continued commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing green
power," said Kathleen Hogan, director of the Climate Protection Partnerships
Division at EPA. "As a partner in EPA's Green Power Partnership, and by
supporting renewable energy, Whole Foods Market is helping to move our nation
into a clean energy future."

The 2009 Whole Foods Market wind power purchase will help avoid up to 868
million pounds of carbon dioxide pollution. This has an environmental benefit
that's similar to taking more than 72,000 cars off of the roads for a year, or
planting nearly 3.6 million mature trees.

"Our work with Whole Foods Market and E.ON Climate & Renewables North America
is an example of how corporate responsibility initiatives are directly driving
clean solutions to today's energy and environmental challenges," said Quayle
Hodek, CEO of Renewable Choice Energy. "We're excited to connect our
forward-thinking customers with meaningful renewable energy projects across
the country to help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and create a new
energy economy in the U.S."

Learn more about environmental initiatives at Whole Foods Market at
blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/category/green-action or download high resolution
photos from the press room: wholefoodsmarket.com/pressroom/photo-gallery. Read
more about how RECs work at
renewablechoice.com/business-about-renewable-energy.

Contact: Ashley Hawkins, Whole Foods Market
512.542.0381, Ashley.Hawkins@wholefoods.com

Heather Philipp, Renewable Choice Energy
303.551.7606, hphilipp@renewablechoice.com

Lindsay Curran McGarity, EC&R
202.350.6663, Lindsay.McGarity@edelman.com

SOURCE Whole Foods Market; Renewable Choice Energy; E.ON Climate & Renewables

Ashley Hawkins of Whole Foods Market, +1-512-542-0381,
Ashley.Hawkins@wholefoods.com; or Heather Philipp of Renewable Choice Energy,
+1-303-551-7606, hphilipp@renewablechoice.com; or Lindsay Curran McGarity,
+1-202-350-6663, Lindsay.McGarity@edelman.com, for EC&R