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New England Companies Named To EPA's Green Power Top 25 List

Five companies based in New England or with significant business operations in New England were named to EPA's 2006 "Green Power Top 25" list. The list includes companies, organizations and government institutions that have voluntarily bought the most renewable energy and are part of EPA's Green Power Partnership.

Last year, EPA's Green Power Partners bought more than 4 million megawatt hours of renewable energy, which is nearly double the amount they purchased by the end of 2004. These purchasers are buying enough energy to power more than 300,000 homes a year, or the equivalent of removing the emissions of nearly 400,000 cars from the road annually. More than half of EPA's Top 25 green power purchasers are comprised of U.S. corporations, a number that continues to increase every year.

Businesses on the list that have major presences in New England included: Staples; Whole Foods Market; Starbucks; Johnson & Johnson, and Fedex Kinkos, Inc.

"These EPA partners help diversify this country's energy supply by promoting alternative and renewable energy sources," said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator of EPA's New England office. "These companies voluntarily use green power - helping reduce dependence on foreign sources of power."

The U.S. Air Force led the green power Top 25 list, buying more than 1 million megawatt hours a year for bases across the country. Whole Foods Market surpassed both Safeway, Inc., and Johnson & Johnson to lead all corporate purchasers after increasing their purchase to more than 450 thousand MWh a year of renewable energy. EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy follow the U.S. Air Force in purchase size for government institutions.

Green power is electricity generated from environmentally-preferable renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, and low-impact biomass and hydro resources. Green power accounts for nearly two percent of America's electricity supply, but voluntary purchasing of renewable energy by leading organizations is helping to accelerate renewable energy development.

The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary EPA program that seeks to increase the use of green power among leading U.S. organizations. Partners in the program switch to green power for a portion of their electricity needs in return for EPA technical assistance and recognition. EPA's Green Power Partnership currently has more than 600 Partners, including Fortune 500 companies, states, federal agencies, trade associations and universities.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency