Intel Corp. will purchase more than 1.3 billion kWh of renewable energy certificates (RECs) annually as part of an approach to reduce its impact on the environment, making the company the single-largest corporate purchaser of green power in the U.S., according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The purchase placed Intel at the top of EPA's latest Green Power Partners Top 25 list and also at the No. 1 spot on EPA's Fortune 500 Green Power Partners list. The EPA's Green Power Partnership program encourages and recognizes voluntary green power purchases as a way to reduce the impact of conventional electricity use.
Intel's REC purchase, which includes a portfolio of wind, solar, small hydroelectric and biomass sources, will be handled by Sterling Planet, a national supplier of renewable energy, energy efficiency and low-carbon solutions. The purchase will be certified by the nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions' Green-e program.
‘We have a long history of commitment to the environment, and energy efficiency is an important consideration in everything we do, from building transistors to designing microprocessors and running our factories,’ says Intel president and CEO Paul Otellini, who is also a member of the Copenhagen Climate Council, a global group of leaders working to achieve an effective global climate treaty at next year's U.N. Environmental Summit in Copenhagen. ‘Our renewable purchase is just one part of a multifaceted approach to protect the environment and one that we hope spurs additional development and demand for renewable energy.’
