RUTLAND -- CVPS Cow Power is on the moooove.

Four Vermont farms received CVPS Renewable Development Fund grant offers totaling $666,000 to
defray the cost of building new farm-based electric generating systems to support the state s largest
renewable energy program, Central Vermont Public Service announced today.

Farms in Sheldon, Fairlee, West Pawlet and St. Albans will receive the grants from the CVPS Renewable
Development Fund, set up in 2004 to encourage farm owners to develop new renewable generation and
provide new manure management options through CVPS Cow Power™.

"These grants will help develop 8,400 megawatt-hours of clean renewable energy right here in Vermont,"
CVPS President Bob Young said. "That's enough energy to supply 1,395 average homes using 500 kWh
per month."

CVPS Cow Power is the nation s only direct farm-to-consumer renewable energy program, working
with dairy farmers who want to process their cow manure and other farm waste to generate electricity.
More than 2,500 CVPS customers have enrolled in the program so far, which provides farms with new
manure management options, environmental benefits and income. The process reduces emissions of
methane, which is roughly 20 times more effective than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas trapping heat
in the atmosphere.

"We are very pleased about the continued growth of Cow Power. This is a terrific triple play additional
renewable power sources, environmental benefits and generating additional revenue for our vital farming
community," said Public Service Department Commissioner David O Brien. "These projects are small
steps in resolving our energy future."

The four farms include:

- Green Mountain Dairy Farm in Sheldon, owned by Brian and Bill Rowell, with 1,250 cows expected to produce 1.7 million kilowatt-hours per year;

- Montagne Farms in St. Albans, two farms owned by Dave Montagne, with 1,200 cows expected to produce 1.7 million kilowatt-hours of energy per year;

- Newmont Farms LLC in Fairlee, owned by Walter and Margaret Gladstone, with 1,020 cows expected to produce 1.4 million kilowatt-hours per year;

- and Deer Flats Farm in West Pawlet, owned by Dick and Rich Hulett, who plan to use surplus crops and 210 cows to produce 3.6 million kilowatt-hours per year.

The farms need Vermont Public Service Board approval to interconnect the generators, but all hope to be
on-line later this year.

CVPS s first Cow Power producer, Blue Spruce Farm in Bridport, has been generating energy for over a
year, serving as an example to other farms. The Audet family, which operates Blue Spruce, says they
have a new revenue stream, eliminated over $60,000 in bedding costs annually by using dry solids left
over from the digestion process, and substantially cut fuel bills by using waste heat from the generator to
heat the office, the milking parlor, and hot water used for washing the milking equipment.

"Cow Power has done everything we d hoped it would do for us, and more," Earl Audet said. "It's given
us a new income stream, reduced our costs, provided us options for handling our manure, and virtually
eliminated the odor of manure spreading."

CVPS customers can sign up to get all, half or a quarter of their electrical energy through CVPS Cow
Power . Customers pay a premium of 4 cents per kilowatt hour for CVPS Cow Power , which goes to
participating farm-producers, to purchase renewable energy credits when enough farm energy isn t
available, or to the CVPS Renewable Development Fund. Farm-producers are also paid 95 percent of the
market price for the electricity sold to CVPS.

To generate the biogas fuel, manure is held in a sealed concrete tank at the same temperature as a cow s
stomach, 101 degrees. Bacteria digest the volatile components of the manure, creating biogas while
killing pathogens and weed seeds. The biogas, which is part methane, fuels an engine/generator, and the
energy is put onto CVPS s power lines for delivery to customers.

"The Cow Power program is a great example of Vermonters working together to reduce pollution and
help the Vermont economy," said Sandra Levine of the Conservation Law Foundation, a member of the
CVPS Renewable Development Fund s executive committee. "The ingenuity of many Vermonters has
made this a success, and it shows how promising renewable energy is for our future."

Contact: Steve Costello (802) 747-5427 For Immediate Release: June 15, 2006