The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced its 18th annual Green Power Leadership Awards, recognizing 10 green power partners across the country, including Anheuser-Busch Companies in St. Louis, for excellence in green power use.
The award winners were honored for their efforts in advancing the nation’s voluntary green power market. From using enough green power to meet 100 percent of electricity needs to signing long-term contracts that enable new green power project development, these organizations demonstrated leadership by furthering the case for accessible, affordable green power use.
The winners of the Excellence in Green Power Use Award were Anheuser-Busch; Equinix in Redwood City, California; Google in Mountain View, California; and Starbucks Coffee Co. in Seattle, Washington.
Anheuser-Busch procures more than 727 million kilowatt-hours of green power for 55 percent of its annual electricity use, which includes a 15-year financial power purchase agreement (PPA) with a wind farm that generates nearly 603 million kilowatt-hours annually.
Equinix was the first data center company to publicly commit to a goal of 100 percent renewable energy use across its global footprint. It achieved a 42 percent green power use growth rate year-over-year.
Google expanded its green power procurement to 53 percent of its electric load in the United States utilizing varied green power products and supply types, ranging from onsite landfill gas and solar-to-utility green power products to long-term PPAs.
Starbucks increased its green power use more than 81 million kilowatt-hours last year and by more than 474 million kilowatt-hours since 2014.
Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, Washington, was named the Green Power Partner of the Year for increasing its green power use by 36 percent in the past year. The company is also on track to reach its goal to increase the number of data centers powered by renewable generation facilities up to 50 percent by the end of 2018.
The winners of the Direct Project Engagement Award were Jackson Family Wines in Santa Rosa, California; Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan; the Procter & Gamble Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio; T-Mobile US Inc. in Bellevue, Washington; and the University of California in Oakland, California.
Jackson Family Wines procures nearly 37 million kilowatt-hours of green power, 9 million of which is onsite solar generation, for 100 percent of its annual electricity usage.
Michigan State University hosts the largest solar photovoltaic carport system in the United States through a long-term PPA and operates an anaerobic digestion system that turns dairy farm and dining-hall food waste into renewable energy.
The Procter & Gamble Co. procures 743 million kilowatt-hours of green power annually utilizing multiple supply options, including an onsite biomass PPA, a financial wind PPA, wind renewable energy certificate (REC) contracts and onsite solar generation.
T-Mobile is the first major U.S. telecommunications company to commit to 100 percent green power by 2021. The company also signed a financial PPA for 625 million kilowatt-hours annually, the largest wind power investment to date by a wireless company.
The University of California increased its voluntary green power use by 40 percent system-wide and completed 12 new onsite solar projects. The university also hosts more than 40 megawatts of onsite solar capacity with photovoltaic systems at every campus and has a goal to be the first major research university system to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025.
"The 2018 Green Power Leadership Award winners have proven real leadership, demonstrating to American businesses that through their investments they can together not only grow America’s renewable energy market but also reduce air emissions and protect the environment," said Bill Wehrum, EPA assistant administrator for air and radiation.
The EPA established the Green Power Partnership in 2001 to protect human health and the environment by increasing organizations’ voluntary green power use to advance the American market for green power and development of those resources. 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. For a full list of the 2018 Green Power Leadership Award winners, visit www.epa.gov/greenpower/green-power-leadership-awards.
