June 14, 2002—Four leading U.S. companies announced clean energy projects today as part of the Green Power Market Development Group, a commercial and industrial partnership dedicated to building corporate markets for green power.
The Group is convened by the World Resources Institute (WRI), and its members include Alcoa Inc, Cargill Dow LLC, Delphi Corporation, DuPont, General Motors, IBM, Interface, Johnson & Johnson, Kinkos, and Pitney Bowes.
The Green Power Market Development Group projects encompass 50 different corporate facilities in 12 states generating a total of 15 megawatts of green power—enough energy to power over 11,000 homes. Projects enacted since January 2001 include:
General Motors Corporation is utilizing gas from a landfill and will use gas from another landfill as fuel for powerhouse boilers. GM also will purchase 8 million kWh or more of electricity generated from landfill gas in Michigan. IBM facilities in Minnesota and Texas are purchasing wind-generated electricity through utility green pricing programs. These facilities now buy over 5.4 million kWh of green electricity per year.
Johnson & Johnson has installed solar photovoltaic systems totaling nearly 350 kilowatts on the rooftops of three buildings. Kinkos has added renewable power purchases at 42 branches, for a total of 80 nationwide. New commitments are expected to add 4.2 million kWh per year in green power purchases, including electricity from wind farms, landfill gas, geothermal sources, “green tags,” and a mix of landfill gas and small hydroelectric power.
The Green Power Market Development Group was launched by WRI and Business for Social Responsibility in August 2000. The Groups goal is to create 1,000 megawatts of new cost-competitive green power for corporate markets by 2010. Over the last two years, WRI and the Green Power Group have conducted research and developed tools that help address the environmental impacts of their energy use and that evaluate the business case for green power procurement.
The group has also identified policies that would accelerate the growth and investment in green power including tax incentives, emissions markets and public-private partnerships.
For more information, contact the Green Power Market Development Group.
