January 14, 2005—The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a “green power” transaction involving biomass resources (paper pulp) in Georgia and the Agency’s Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, facilities. Nationwide, this is the biggest EPA green power procurement to date. EPA finalized a three-year contract with Unicoi Energy Services of Marietta, Georgia, to provide RTP with 100 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of renewable energy certificates (RECs) annually—equivalent to the energy consumed by 3,680 homes each year.
Currently, EPA purchases more than 220 million kWh of green power annually for 26 of its facilities, laboratories, and offices across the nation, accounting for 77 percent of EPA’s estimated national electricity consumption. EPA defines green power as electric power derived from renewable resources such as wind, sun, and biomass (including burning of wood waste, plant materials, and landfill gas).
EPA purchases green power through a process utilizing RECs (green tags), which are both cheaper and easier to procure than delivered power. For a more detailed explanation of green tags, visit EPA.
