• The New York Times, Tuesday, March 18, 2008 11:15 AM

Steelcase is paying to name a new wind farm in Panhandle, Texas, after the son of the company's founder. Besides buying the farm's entire output of renewable energy credits for its first five years of operation, it is paying a premium for the right to name it the Wege (pronounced WEGG-ee) Wind Energy Farm, after Peter Wege, who is a prominent environmentalist.

The Wege name is strongly associated with environmentalism, says Nancy W. Hickey, the chief administrative officer of Steelcase, so the naming fits well with the Web-based "Green Giants Campaign" that the company initiated in January to draw attention to prominent environmentalists.

Even without the naming rights thrown in, it is unusual for a company other than a utility to buy the energy credits of a project before it is built. But experts say such deals may become commonplace. "This is a new business model, and it could attract any brand that wants to be linked with sustainability," says Bradley W. Johnson, John Deere's director for business development,

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