Steelcase to buy all of a Texas wind farm's RECs

By Chelsea Emery

NEW YORK, March 18 (Reuters) - Steelcase Inc. (SCS.N), a maker of office furniture, said on Tuesday it had pledged to buy all the renewable energy credits generated by a Texas wind farm for at least five years, as part of its plan to reduce its carbon impact by 25 percent.

This is the first time a U.S. company has agreed to purchase all the RECs from a wind farm in the financing stage, according to Steelcase, and represents a growing effort by corporations to develop alternative ways of either powering their operations or offsetting their environmental impact.

RECs are tradable commodities that represent green energy that has been fed into the electrical grid. They can be bought or sold and are becoming a popular way for companies and individuals to say they have purchased renewable power amid concerns of global warming and other environmental problems.

Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Steelcase, which makes office chairs, tables and cubicles, has set a goal of cutting its carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent by 2012.

A Deere & Co (DE.N) unit and a local landowner developed the Panhandle, Texas, eight-turbine wind farm, which is expected to generate enough electricity to power almost 3000 homes, Steelcase said.

Steelcase won't use the power itself. Instead, the electricity will flow into the Panhandle-area power grid for businesses and homes in the region. Steelcase will use its RECs to help achieve some of its environmental certifications for products and buildings.

Steelcase spokeswoman Jeanine Holquist declined to give any financial details on the transaction, saying only that the wind farm's output is expected to be equal to 20 percent of the company's U.S. electric needs.

"Typically, green power is more expensive and unless there are people willing to help subsidize renewable energy, it makes it difficult for others to make that choice," said Holquist.

The Wege wind energy farm, named after a Michigan environmentalist, is expected to generate 35,000 megawatt hours of electricity each year. That's enough to power 2,925 homes, the company said.

"This investment makes renewable energy more affordable," Holquist said. "It's a way to make green power have more impact."

Steelcase shares closed up 68 cents, or 5.1 percent, at $14.08 on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares have declined 12 percent so far this year on worries that the U.S. economic slowdown and job losses would hurt sales of office equipment. (Editing by Gary Hill)