Intel: Largest Corporate Purchaser of Green Energy in US
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008In December 2006, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) challenged Fortune 500 Corporations to collectively exceed 5 billion kilowatt-hours green power purchasing by the end of 2007. EPA has announced that 53 companies have collectively exceeded the goal by 130%
Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker tops the list. They plan to purchase 1.3 billion kilowatt hours per year of renewable energy certificates (RECs). That will make them the largest corporate purchaser of green energy in the US. Intel’s green purchase represents enough energy to power around 130,000 homes per year.
RECs (also known as green tags, green energy certificates, or tradable renewable certificates) are a way for companies to indirectly purchase green energy. Companies can’t always tell if the power they’re using came from a green source or not. This is because, energy is fed into the grid from multiple sources - some of which could be green, some of which isn’t.
By purchasing renewable energy certificates, companies can maintain their existing providers, whilst fulfilling their green energy targets. In cases like this, purchasing renewable energy certificates could very well work out to be cheaper than switching energy providers.
Intel’s purchase is equivalent to 46% of it’s total energy use in the US.
The next biggest green purchase goes to PepsiCo Inc. PepsiCo is not far behind Intel, agreeing to purchase 1.1 billion kilowatt hours per year. The impressive thing about PepsiCo’s purchase is that it reportedly represents 100% of it’s energy use.
Third biggest purchaser is Wells Fargo & Company, followed by Whole Foods Market. Whole Foods Market’s purchase also represents 100% of it’s energy usage.
