DARLINGTON, Md., June 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As summer officially gets underway, Exelon Hydro's newly refurbished Conowingo Visitor Center is open and ready to welcome and educate visitors in northern Maryland. This year, over 1,000 travelers have visited the Center and earlier this month, 300 people attended an Open House and barbecue at the facility.
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"Our refurbishments to the Center have been designed to create a memorable experience for visitors by educating them about the Conowingo Dam and the Watershed and reinforcing our commitment to clean energy," said Sonny Garg, president of Exelon Power. Open all year, the Center now boasts an exhibit area where visitors can learn about the history of Conowingo Hydroelectric Generating Station, the importance of hydroelectricity as a renewable clean energy source and the ecology, wildlife and recreational activities that exist in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed in Maryland.
Several enhancements, including the installation of solar panels on the roof, the addition of a high-efficiency lighting and HVAC system and the development of a system to capture rainwater for reuse with the building's green roof, have allowed the Conowingo Visitor Center to be recognized with a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Existing Building Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
"The environmentally-friendly renovation of the Conowingo Visitor Center is one of many efforts Exelon has undertaken to green our operations as part of our Exelon 2020 initiative to reduce our company's carbon footprint," added Garg. The LEED-certification of the Center helped Exelon to achieve its Energy Reduction Challenge goal to cut energy consumption in commercial buildings by 25% in 2010, two years ahead of plan.
Owned and operated by Exelon Hydro, a division of Exelon Power, Conowingo Hydroelectric Generating Station is an 11 unit run-of-the-river power plant capable of generating 572 megawatts of clean electricity, located along Route 1 in Darlington, Md. The Visitor Center, located just south of the Dam on Route 1, is open year-round on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., on weekends from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas and New Year's Day. To learn more about Conowingo, please visit www.exeloncorp.com/conowingo.
Exelon Corporation is one of the nation's largest electric utilities with more than $18 billion in annual revenues. The company has one of the industry's largest portfolios of electricity generation capacity, with a nationwide reach and strong positions in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Exelon distributes electricity to approximately 5.4 million customers in northern Illinois and southeastern Pennsylvania and natural gas to approximately 490,000 customers in the Philadelphia area. Exelon is headquartered in Chicago and trades on the NYSE under the ticker EXC.
SOURCE Exelon Hydro
