Air Force, Whole Foods top EPA list of green power purchasers
The 2006 Green Power Top 25 list, released late last month, includes a diverse set of U.S. companies, organizations and government institutions that have voluntarily bought the most renewable energy and are part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Green Power Partnership. EPA also announced its Green Power Partners are now purchasing more than 4 million megawatt hours of renewable energy, an increase of nearly 100 percent since the end of 2004. The 2006 Top 25 green power purchasers are buying enough energy to power more than 300,000 homes a year, which is also comparable to removing the emissions of nearly 400,000 cars from the road annually. More than half of the Top 25 EPA green power purchasers are comprised of U.S. corporations, a number that continues to increase every year.
“EPA’s partners continue to meet President Bush’s call to diversify our nation’s energy supply by promoting alternative and renewable energy sources,” said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. “These leaders in environmental stewardship are making the voluntary decisions to switch to green power – helping to decrease our nation’s overall dependence on foreign sources of power.”
The U.S. Air Force once again leads the green power Top 25 list, purchasing more than 1 million MWh annually for Air Force bases across the country. The Air Force has held the No. 1 spot since the Top 25 list started in September 2004. Whole Foods Market surpassed both Safeway, Inc., and Johnson & Johnson to lead all corporate purchasers after increasing their purchase to more than 450 thousand MWh annually of renewable energy. EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy follow the U.S. Air Force in purchase size for government institutions in the Top 25.
Green power is electricity generated from environmentally-preferable renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, and low-impact biomass and hydro resources. Green power accounts for nearly two percent of America’s electricity supply, but voluntary purchasing of renewable energy is accelerating renewable energy development.
The complete list of Top 25 EPA Green Power Partners is as follows, listed in order of purchase size:
1. U.S. Air Force
2. Whole Foods Market
3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
4. Johnson & Johnson
5. U.S Department of Energy
6. Starbucks
7. The World Bank
8. Safeway, Inc.
9. U.S. General Services Administration (Region 2)
10. HSBC North America
11. City of Sand Diego, Calif.
12. New Jersey Consolidated Energy Savings Program
13. Advanced Micro Devices/Austin, Texas Facilities
14. WhiteWave Foods
15. Staples
16. Austin (Texas) Independent School District
17. Mohawk Fine Papers, Inc.
18. The Tower Companies
19. FedEx Kinko’s
20. U.S. Amry/Fort Carson
21. University of Pennsylvania
22. Montgomery County, Md.
23. Hyatt Regency/Reunion & DFW Airport Hotels
24. Western Washington University
25. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary EPA program that seeks to increase the use of green power among leading U.S. organizations. Partners in the program switch to green power for a portion of their electricity needs in return for EPA technical assistance and recognition. The Green Power Partnership currently has more than 600 Partners, including Fortune 500 companies, states, federal agencies, trade associations and universities.
EPA updates the list of green power purchasers quarterly. For more information on green power, visit: http://www.epa.gov/greenpower. For more information on EPA’s Top 25 list, visit: http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/partners/top25.htm