Intel Becomes Largest Purchaser of Green Power in the U.S.

[malware]

Intel Corporation said today it will purchase more than 1.3 billion kilowatt hours a year of renewable energy certificates as part of a multi-faceted approach to reduce its impact on the environment, making Intel the single-largest corporate purchaser of green power in the United States, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The company said it hoped the record-setting purchase would help stimulate the market for green power, which should lead to additional generating capacity and ultimately, lower costs.


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.

"EPA applauds our Fortune 500 partners for protecting our environment by purchasing green power," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. "By voluntarily shifting to renewable energy, Intel is proving you don't need to wait for a signal in order to go green."

"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," said 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 UN Environmental Summit in Copenhagen. "Our renewable purchase is just one part of a multi-faceted approach to protect the environment, and one that we hope spurs additional development and demand for renewable energy."

Renewable Energy Certificates
Renewable energy certificates, or RECs, are the "currency" of the renewable energy market and are widely recognized as a having credible and tangible environmental benefits. The EPA estimates that Intel's REC purchase has the equivalent environmental impact of taking more than 185,000 passenger cars off the road each year, or avoiding the amount of electricity needed to power more than 130,000 average American homes annually.

Intel's REC purchase, which includes a portfolio of wind, solar, small hydro-electric and biomass sources, will be handled by Sterling Planet, a leading national supplier of renewable energy, energy efficiency and low-carbon solutions. The purchase will be certified by the non-profit Center for Resource Solutions' Green-e program which certifies and verifies green power products.

"Intel's outstanding commitment to renewable energy provides significant support for market-based mechanisms for renewable energy technologies of all types," said Mel Jones, Sterling Planet president and CEO. "We commend Intel for their vision and leadership in all aspects of corporate responsibility. Intel's support for renewable energy technologies echoes its mission to deliver advancements that become essential to the way we work and live."

Intel, EPA, and the Environment
Intel and EPA have worked together for several years on a variety of fronts, from Energy Star to Climate Leader and Performance Track programs, to broad industry efforts such as the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. The Agency recently recognized Intel with a 2007 Water Efficiency Leader award for its efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle water in its Chandler, Ariz. manufacturing facility. Intel was also recognized by the EPA as the most commute-friendly employer in the nation in 2006.

In addition to promoting and funding ideas for greater energy efficiency in its facilities, Intel has consistently specified high-energy-efficiency equipment in its manufacturing facilities with a view to ensuring greater energy efficiency and environmental benefit. Over the last 7 years, the company invested over $20 million in more than 250 energy conservation projects that saved in excess of 500 million kilowatt hours, enough energy to power about 50,000 U.S. homes.

To learn more, visit the press kit at www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/green/rec.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[candle_86]

good for them, but green power still isnt near as compact or powerful as say coal, oil, or nuclear.

 

[Dangle]

For sure. But if they want to build a bunch of wind farms, whatever I don't care. I wish our country would just switch to nuclear, but we can't because too many people bought into the 1979 movie, The China Syndrome, and fought to keep our country primitive (and polluting) on coal and oil. It's now those same people who fought to keep us on coal and oil who are fighting to stop fossil fuels, but they all live in a fantasy world and think we can power our country on solar and wind without nuclear...

If those same people knew that france got 80% of it's power from Nuclear technology, maybe they'd have a chance of heart. Too bad people get all of their knowledge from pop-culture movies and TV shows, rather than actually researching and developing their own opinions about the things they oppose.

 

[candle_86]

oh we could, if we covered all uninhabbited lands with turbines or solar power plants, but then they would be in an uproar we are destroying wildlife.

I say we get Fussion power soon and use that.


Edit.

Not to mention what it would do to our economy. Think about this, there are thousands of coal miners, and oil drillers to feed the US power demand, if we switched to green we would put hundreds of thousands out of work overnight, not to mention power plant employees themselves, as Turbines need oil once a month and a crew of 5 do that and solar needs 1 or 2 operators. Going green cripples the economy

 

[WhiteLotus]

In the UK we have people campaigning for more renewable energy to be used so then the government plans a huge wind farm in a place that gets loads of wind, but no not good enough, they're an eye sore to the campaigners. so then plan B is produced use wave technology, but no the campaigners complain about environmental concerns.

just cant win here



its good to see this thing though

 

[Ravenas]

If they built a solar farm in neveda that was 10,000 sq ft by 10,000 sq ft it would power every home in the US (with current solar technology).

 

[Kreij]

If they built a solar farm in neveda that was 10,000 sq ft by 10,000 sq ft it would power every home in the US (with current solar technology).

I thought I remember it saying 10,000 sq miles (or 100 miles x 100 miles).
There is plenty of room in Nevada to put up wind and solar to power the whole country.
The problem is that it is not a good idea to put all of your power generation in a sinlge area.

That being said, there is ample room in most states to put up wind farms.
We have been kicking around the idea of getting one for our house.

 

[moto666]

A small step!
But right direction...

 

[Morgoth]

wind and water and light is not enough to feed this Hungry planet..

 

[TUngsten]

If they built a solar farm in neveda that was 10,000 sq ft by 10,000 sq ft it would power every home in the US (with current solar technology).

hehe nice try on the math there

 

[Kreij]

wind and water and light is not enough to feed this ungry planet..

Sure it is.

From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ....

The Sun is an average star, similar to millions of others in the Universe. It is a prodigious energy machine, manufacturing about 3.8 x 1023 kiloWatts (or kiloJoules/sec). In other words, if the total output of the Sun was gathered for one second it would provide the U.S. with enough energy, at its current usage rate, for the next 9,000,000 years.

... and that's not including wind or hydro power.

 

[captainskyhawk]

Okay, #1: Who is Intel buying these "Renewable Energy Credits" from? Last I checked, the EPA in the US isn't exactly friendly with the idea of energy credits, be they carbon or other (to say the least).

 

[OrbitzXT]

If those same people knew that france got 80% of it's power from Nuclear technology, maybe they'd have a chance of heart.

Err...I doubt that. They're probably the same ignorant/stupid people who hate the French for no reason at all. I'm sure if you told them France was powered mostly by Nuclear energy, they'd cite that as the reason for the French "being a bunch of....", whatever bad thing people usually say of the French.

 

[Kreij]

Okay, #1: Who is Intel buying these "Renewable Energy Credits" from? Last I checked, the EPA in the US isn't exactly friendly with the idea of energy credits, be they carbon or other (to say the least).

Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) are a tradable commodity that accomplish two things here in the US. 1) they are a private industry subsidy for the renewable energy people (something that is still abit lacking coming from the gov) and 2) they are a feel good way of pretending you are doing something to help the environment.

Any compnay that produces RE can get a REC from producing 1MWhr of RE from solar or winds, etc. There is nothing to gaurantee that the power Intel will use will come from these people, but they are more-or-less buying into the program. This is the good part.

The tentative part is that if all the power that Intel requires is not available from a RE source, it will come from whatever is available (coal, nuclear, burning old gym socks, etc.)
This is not bad as if it was not for the RE companies, all the power would be generated this way, but the problem still exists in that the government is not giving equal subsidies to the RE providers in the same way it is to the fossil burning companies.

I personally think that regardless of any global warming, save the whales, free the dolphins studies that are done, we should be trying to eliminate as much pollution as we can just so we have clean air to breath.

 

[Dangle]

As far as I'm concerned, I couldn't give a flying fun about what kind of power we use for our homes. Our Coal and Natural gas is domestic.

I'm mainly concerned with how we power our transportation. We NEED to stop using foreign oil. Beacause of all of the environmentalist nutjobs, our country relies on Arab oil. What happens when we buy Arab oil? The Arabs use our money to fund terrorists that attack us, Plus, they use our money to buy large amounts of our economy and businesses. We need Hydrogen, Ethanol, or we need to drill our own oil in ANWR or off-shore florida or cali. If we do this, we will stop funding our own demise!!!

 

[candle_86]

I thought I remember it saying 10,000 sq miles (or 100 miles x 100 miles).
There is plenty of room in Nevada to put up wind and solar to power the whole country.
The problem is that it is not a good idea to put all of your power generation in a sinlge area.

That being said, there is ample room in most states to put up wind farms.
We have been kicking around the idea of getting one for our house.

where would you want to put them, in a farmers field, remember most land is privitly owned, would you wish to take grazing space and growing space for green peace? Also who is going to make these farmers loose there livlyhood just so a bunch of enviro freaks can cuddle themselves at night?

 

[Dangle]

The answer to all of our problems is Nuclear.

 

[hacker111]

So proud! More and more companies are stepping up to support and save the planet!

 

[btarunr]

One thing that pisses me off is that nobody care about how the Taiwanese companies pollute. On one hand we have a cleaner/greener USA thanks to moving all the factories off to Taiwan, and polluting Asia. On the other, we have Intel trying to show off its 'angel's gown' to the public. :shadedshu ...just for publicity.

Not only have they cut costs by employing cheap labour from Taiwan, but they have both 1. brought down quality 2. Polluted Asia while keeping the lawns in USA greener. ROHS is a big eyewash. Come to Asia and see the truth.

 

[candle_86]

Well I dont agree with sending our industry there in the first place, not because of pollution but becase of economy, I may sound rude, but I really dont care much about the rest of the planet, just little part of it.

Also the semicondoctor plants are a clean industry

 

[btarunr]

Quantitatively yes, semiconductor plants do pollute. Besides neucleating everything in one place is a bad idea. Forget semiconductors for a change, a gazillion other industries were moved to Asia just for greedy manufacturers to save money, thousands of Americans lost jobs, the development and rapid production of technology fell into cheap hands, and the neucleation of everything here has caused lots of pollution. EPA's job is to keep America clean, at the cost of Americans polluting the rest of the world.

My cousin brought me an authentic free-size NY Yankees cap. The label read: "Made in Bangladesh"

 

[Kreij]

where would you want to put them, in a farmers field, remember most land is privitly owned, would you wish to take grazing space and growing space for green peace? Also who is going to make these farmers loose there livlyhood just so a bunch of enviro freaks can cuddle themselves at night?

Not in Nevada.

Nevada's borders enclose about 70,745,600 acres, making it the seventh largest state. The federal government controls 60,863,345 acres, or 86.1 percent of the land. Of the remaining 13.9 percent (or 9,882,250 acres), 11.5 percent is privately owned, 1.6 percent tribal, 0.4 percent local, and 0.4 percent state government owned.

@Btarunr : Yes, it is the job of the EPA to keep America clean because the EPA is an American department. They have no say in what happens in the rest of the world.
If Intel wants to build a plant in Tiawan, it's Tiawan's job to keep their country clean, not the EPA's.

That being said, I think countries should work together to keep the world cleaner, but in the end it's up to the leaders of a sovereign country to set policy and police their own area.

 

[btarunr]

Sure it's not EPA's job. But Intel cannot use their Green Power purchase in the US as a marketing gimmick or something to up their reputation because on a larger picture, they're polluting elsewhere but they are polluting like the thousands of other American companies that manufacture in Asia.

 

[candle_86]

Not in Nevada.


@Btarunr : Yes, it is the job of the EPA to keep America clean because the EPA is an American department. They have no say in what happens in the rest of the world.
If Intel wants to build a plant in Tiawan, it's Tiawan's job to keep their country clean, not the EPA's.

That being said, I think countries should work together to keep the world cleaner, but in the end it's up to the leaders of a sovereign country to set policy and police their own area.

go ahead build in Navada, but ask the Air Force to move first, they quite enjoy white sands you know.

 

[Dangle]

Sure it's not EPA's job. But Intel cannot use their Green Power purchase in the US as a marketing gimmick or something to up their reputation because on a larger picture, they're polluting elsewhere but they are polluting like the thousands of other American companies that manufacture in Asia.

The whole reason Intel is doing this crap in the first place is because too many of you gullible ignoramuses bought into Algore's political propaganda flick. Intel knows that you'll buy more of their products when you hear this news. Of course it's marketing. Intel is not a non-profit organization. As far as polluting Asia is concerned, don't bitch to Intel. It's not Intel's, nor America's job to create environmental policies for Taiwan, China, or India.