The winners for each of four award categories are:
Green Power Partner of the Year
• City of Houston, Texas purchased wind renewable energy certificates equal to 80 percent of the city’s annual power use in 2016, and also entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) that will supply the city with the output from 50 megawatts (MW) of solar power generated at a facility in Alpine, Texas, with anticipated savings to consumers of more than $1.9 million per year over the 20-year term.
• L'Oréal USA’s manufacturing operation has, since 2016, increased its use of green power from 33 percent up to 100 percent, and installed on-site solar panel arrays at its factories in Florence, Kentucky and North Little Rock, Arkansas, bring L’Oréal's total number of solar energy installations to 16 across the United States.
Green Power Community of the Year
• Bainbridge Island, Washington holds one of the highest community participation rates in the Puget Sound Energy’s green power program, and all city facilities use 100 percent green power.
Direct Project Engagement
• Amphitheater Public Schools entered into a 25-year power purchase agreement for installed solar across 24 school sites and support facilities in 2016, supplying more than 65 percent of the school district’s electricity demand.
• Apple Inc. generates more than 228 million kWh at its facilities and has built or contracted for 580 megawatts (MW) of solar PV and 200 MW of wind power to support its data centers and corporate offices in California, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona and North Carolina.
• Intel Corporation uses more than 3.8 billion KWh or green power annually in the U.S., through on-site projects, utility programs, and renewable energy certificates, and in 2016 added a 6.5 megawatt (MW) solar carport at its Folsom campus to its green portfolio.
• Iron Mountain Information Management, LLC’s green power use accounts for 40 percent of its power requirements and is encouraging the development of new green power generation in the Mid-Atlantic region.
• Lockheed Martin Corporation procured green power for 20 percent of its total U.S. operations’ electricity needs, and has 11 operational on-site green power installations.
• Stanford University’s cutting-edge energy supply facility has district-level heat-recover and 72 megawatts of solar capacity, meeting more than 50 percent of the university’s electricity needs.
• University of Missouri currently combines on-site generation and an innovative wind power purchase agreement (PPA) to purchase more than 90 million kilowatt-hours of green power, representing 36 percent of the university’s campus electricity.
• Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority produced nearly 7.5 million kilowatt hours on-site, representing 74 percent of its own electricity, through an innovative Biogas-to-Energy Program.
Excellence in Green Power Use
• Capital One achieved its corporate energy goals three years early, including powering the company 100 percent with green power.
• Clif Bar & Company has sourced 100 percent green power for all its owned and operated facilities since 2003, and has developed innovative programs to support green power for its supply chain and employees.
• Equinix, Inc. was the first interconnection and data center to announce a goal of using 100 percent green power across its global footprint and has signed financial power purchase agreements for wind power that will, as of 2016, cover 80 percent of its U.S. load.
• Google Inc. procures more than 1.7 billion kilowatt-hours of green power for its operation, and is on track to achieve its commitment to power all of its operations with green power in 2017.
• Microsoft Corporation procured more than 3.3 billion kilowatt hours of green power last year for its domestic operations to expand its ongoing investment in building a cleaner, more responsible cloud.
• TOTO USA / Morrow, Georgia Facility uses green power for 100 percent of its facility electricity use, and was the first large-volume participant in Georgia Power’s Simple Solar Program to meet 100 percent of its use through the purchase of RECs from certified solar power.
• University of California has made numerous large-scale investments in green power, including long-term power purchase agreements for 80 megawatts of with solar energy projects in California’s Central Valley that began to come online in 2016 and represent the largest solar purchase ever made by a university in the United States.
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville became the largest college or university green power user in the partnership as of 2016, purchasing more than 250 million kilowatt hours of green power annually.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the Green Power Partnership (GPP) in 2001 to protect human health and the environment by increasing organizations’ voluntary green power use to advance the American market for green power and development of those resources. The program provides a framework that includes credible usage benchmarks, market information, technical assistance, and public recognition to companies and other organizations that use green power.
Full list of 2017 Green Power Leadership Award winners: https://www.epa.gov/greenpower/green-power-leadership-awards
Photo courtesy of Bainbridge Island website
