February 2007 - O'Dell Corporation Becomes a Green Power Partner

Ware Shoals, SC—Laurens Electric Cooperative's members are number one in the state when it comes to participating in the South Carolina electric cooperatives' Green Power program. Now that participation has begun expanding to the co-op's commercial members.

The O'Dell Corporation, located in Ware Shoals, will begin purchasing 5 "blocks" or 1,000 kWh of Green Power per month in March.

"We have a strong commitment to Laurens County and South Carolina," said O'Dell Corporation President John Stroud. "They've been good to us, and the land has been good to us as well."

The 61-year old cleaning products manufacturer is Laurens County's oldest, as well as the largest privately owned company of its kind in the country; but that's not the only thing that sets the O'Dell Corporation apart. The 150,000 sq. ft. business is quickly earning a reputation as a "green" company.

"I can see us going 100% green power eventually," said Stroud.

According to Stroud, he first began to contemplate the company's participation in Laurens Electric's Green Power program while on vacation with his family in Charleston. "My son," said Stroud "who's a senior in high school saw a Green Power sticker in a store in Charleston. These days a lot of the younger generation is interested in environmental issues. He suggested we start using Green Power at O'Dell."

The company has a history of giving back to their community and environment. The O'Dell Corporation is surrounded by 1,000 acres off Highway 252 that had been clear-cut years ago. According to Stroud, the consensus of O'Dell's staff, some of whom are direct descendants of the company's original founder, was to "buy the land, improve it, and it'll give back to us."

So the company planted trees, created wetlands and incorporated hiking trails, and gained the status of certified tree farm.

"Our children enjoy it," said Stroud, "and we like to take our customers out there."

The business extends its attitude of environmental friendliness to its product line as well. One such product is the EchoMop, made from recycled plastic bottles. More specifically, the mop uses "engineered fibers produced entirely from recycled materials, which include reclaimed components such as cotton and PET plastic bottles. By incorporating recycled PET plastics into new, usable goods we can effectively diminish waste going into our landfills...," reads the product description.

"We all enjoy clean water and air," said Stroud. "If it reduces greenhouse gases, we're in."

The Green Power program, sponsored by Laurens Electric and other cooperatives around South Carolina in conjunction with the co-ops' chief power supplier, the state-owned utility Santee Cooper, uses electricity generated from used renewable resources, such as solar energy and methane gas from decomposing garbage or fuel.

The program now includes three methane-fueled power plants at landfills in Horry, Lee and Richland counties. A fourth landfill facility is planned for Anderson County. According to Santee Cooper, at full capacity, any one of the 3.3-megawatt plants has the same positive environmental impact as planting nearly 21,000 acres of trees, enough to cover an area of almost 33 square miles.

Marketed under the name Green Power, the program allows consumers to purchase blocks of renewable energy with proceeds dedicated to funding the development of additional green power projects.

Laurie Riser, CCC
Communications Specialist
Laurens Electric Cooperative
1.800.942.3141
www.laurenselectric.com