Patagonia’s Energy Budget to Be Spent on Wind Power

Patagonia Inc., the Ventura manufacturer of outdoor clothing, said Monday that it will invest in new renewable energy--specifically wind power--to run its California facilities.

Patagonia said it is the first company in California to commit to 100% wind energy in its electricity purchasing. The supplier is Enron Energy Services, a subsidiary of Houston-based Enron Corp., which is building a wind farm near Palm Springs for Patagonia and others.

Most California customers can choose among a variety of electricity providers, including the more expensive marketers of “green” electricity generated by nonpolluting sources such as wind, solar and geothermal.

When opting to pay a premium for green electricity, customers don’t get a special transmission of clean energy to their home or office. Instead, those customers pay to have green electricity produced and added to the power grid.

So far, few big California customers have opted for green electricity. In the largest deal announced thus far, Toyota Motor Sales will buy an estimated 38 million kilowatt-hours a year in renewable energy from Edison Source.

Patagonia will buy about 1 million kilowatt-hours a year for 14 buildings, a spokeswoman said. Terms of the deal were not announced.