The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced its 19th annual Green Power Leadership Awards, recognizing 17 Green Power Partners across the country, including Bank of America, Equinix, Google, Intel, and Johnson & Johnson.
“The 2019 GPLA winners are leading innovators, demonstrating not only that American businesses are investing in renewable energy, but that doing so helps protect the environment and improve air quality,” said Anne Idsal, EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
The award winners are being recognized for their efforts in advancing the nation’s voluntary green power market. From using enough green power to meet 100% of electricity needs to signing long-term contracts that enable new green power project development, these organizations are demonstrating leadership by furthering the case for accessible, affordable green power use.
The winners for each of the five award categories are:
Green Power Partner of the Year
Google Inc. increased green power use by 3.5 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) in 2018 and worked with the State of Georgia, Georgia Power, and Tennessee Valley Authority to establish a green tariff program offering new wind and solar energy. They also signed 26 long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) for nearly 3 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar.
Sustained Excellence in Green Power
Intel Corporation uses more than 3.8 billion kWh of green power annually from more than 70 on-site projects, utility programs, and Green-e® certified renewable energy certificates (RECs).
Direct Project Engagement
Blue Lake Rancheria is a tribal community in Humboldt County, California, that uses on-site solar photovoltaic with battery storage on a community microgrid to provide 23% of its electricity from green power.
Equinix, Inc. is a data center business that now uses 100% green power for U.S. sites (a 45% increase from 2017). Its portfolio includes a virtual PPA, wind RECs, community choice aggregation (CCA), and green tariffs.
General Motors LLC is receiving recognition for their diverse green power supply portfolio that includes three financial PPAs providing 800 million kWh of green power and the first green tariff in Michigan.
Johnson & Johnson is investing in on-site generation at its facilities and purchasing green power via PPAs, including nearly 18 million kWh from 23 on-site solar at U.S. facilities and a PPA for 400 megawatts (MW) of wind energy.
Kaiser Permanente expanded its green power portfolio to include a new 153 MW wind project; utility green tariff programs in Washington State and Colorado; 35 MW of on-site solar at 50 sites; and a microgrid with solar and storage.
Microsoft Corporation increased green power use by 780 million kWh and uses over 3 billion kWh annually. Their portfolio includes over 500 MW of wind, novel PPA structures, and 400,000 kWh from on-site solar.
Santa Clara County installed a 11 MW solar array, the first of 5 solar farms, and helped form the Silicon Valley Clean Energy Community Choice Aggregation, which offers 100% green power to 12 communities.
Excellence in Green Power Use
Bank of America has increased their green power use to 96% in 2018 with over 1.7 billion kWh of renewable electricity with a nationwide portfolio that includes 350 megawatt hours (MWh) of on-site solar and a financial PPA.
The City of Dallas is the second largest local government user of green power in the Green Power Partnership and uses 745 million kWh of green power. The city now uses 100% green power via a contract with TXU Energy.
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport now uses 100% green power. Most of its green power is via a competitive supply from Texas General Land Office and 5% is from on-site solar.
Kohler Co., a privately held American kitchen and bath products manufacturing company, recently completed a financial PPA for 425 million kWh of green power, increasing green power use to 100%.
Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, now uses 85% green power by generating 600,000 kWh green power from a solar array and wind turbine and purchasing 11 million kWh from competitive suppliers.
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. increased green power usage by 56%. Their green power portfolio includes 1 million kWh from a utility, a new roof-top solar array, and 1.2 billion kWh of Texas wind power.
Switch is a data center business that is now 100% green-powered. They helped create Nevada’s first green tariff in 2015 and a green tariff in Michigan in 2018 to allow businesses to purchase renewable energy.
Green Power Community
The City of Lancaster, California, produced more green power than it consumed in 2017. They were the first city in California to require solar on all new residential developments and issued over 6,000 residential permits. They were the first California city to create a municipal CCA and built a 10 MW solar project. They also partnered with local school districts to install solar at 25 school sites.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the Green Power Partnership in 2001 to protect human health and the environment and to advance the American market for green power by increasing organizations’ voluntary green power use. 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.
The Green Power Leadership Awards are sponsored by EPA’s Green Power Partnership Program in collaboration with the Center for Resource Solutions.
See full list of EPA 2019 Green Power Leadership Award winners: https://www.epa.gov/greenpower/green-power-leadership-awards
Learn about Green Power: https://www.epa.gov/greenpower/what-green-power
Learn more about EPA’s Green Power Partnership Program: https://www.epa.gov/greenpower
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