Greentech Lead America: Technology majors such as Intel
and Microsoft are in the top list of companies for using renewable energy.
Chip major Intel has been ranked first in the U.S. for
using renewable energy.
Intel used 2.5 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean energy in 2011
– 88 percent of its electricity use – up from 1.4 billion kWh the
previous year.
The company gets renewables from biomass, geothermal,
small-hydro, solar and wind by buying certificates and from on-site generation.
Kohl’s Department Stores is second position. Technology major Microsoft is in
third rank. Combined, the top 50 EPA Green Power Partners use more
than 15 billion kWh of clean energy a year, preventing carbon
emissions equal to produced by 1.3 million American homes.
Kohl’s runs on 100 percent renewable energy (solar and wind), but still uses
less than Intel at 1.5 kWh, because it’s a smaller company. Kohl’s leads the
retail industry in renewable energy use and buys certificates as well as
generating on-site. All new stores are LEED-certified and plans
to have 300 stores certified by the end of this year
and over 500 by 2015.
Microsoft is new to the list, ramping up to 1.1
kWh, taking third place through buying certificates, and McDonald’s
USA, also new to the list, ranks 11th.
The City of Houston gets top ranking on the Top 20 Local
Governments list.
This is the first year that every Top 50 partner is
using more than 100 million kWh of clean energy a year.
EPA’s Green Power Partnership works with 1,300
organizations, over half of which are small businesses and nonprofits, to
voluntarily use green power.
Close to 700 partners use clean energy for 100 percent of
their electricity.
The EPA measures corporate renewable energy use only for
operations within the US.