This Flash presentation features animated slides and a narrated voice-over.
Slide 1: Green Power Brochure Cover
Description: Opening slide features line drawings and the words "Green
Power"
Slide 2: Photo Montage of Energy Sources
Description: This slide depicts conventional power sources including an image
of an oil drill and refinery, an oil spill, coal mining, a power plant, and
a coal barge. These images fade into a slide showing a sunny mountain lake scene
upon which images of green power sources including a windmill farm, solar panels,
and a geothermal geyser appear.
Narrator: Green power, or renewable energy, is electricity generated from a
variety of naturally replenished sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal, and
landfill gas.
Slide 3: EPA - A Leader in Green Power
Description: Three energy related images (photovoltaic cells, power lines, and
a landfill gas plant) along with five EPA facilities are featured in this slide.
The five laboratories are Richmond, California, Golden, Colorado, Manchester
and Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and Cincinnati, Ohio.
Narrator: In 1999, EPA was the first federal agency to obtain 100 percent green
power for one of its own facilities, Region 9's Richmond, California laboratory.
On a percentage basis, EPA is the federal leader in green power purchases. Our
estimates show that we receive approximately 9 percent of our electric power
from green sources. EPA, in partnership with the DOE and GSA, developed a mechanism
for federal agencies to purchase green power. This helped create a viable market
for green power and paved the way for other federal agencies to make green power
purchases.
Slide 4: Delivery of Green Power to the Power Pool
Description: A truck filled with coal pulls up to a power plant and energy (represented
by gold circles) is delivered over the power lines to buildings in the background.
Coinciding with this energy generation smoke appears from the power plant. Then
windmills appear on the landscape and start delivering power (represented by
green circles) to the power lines as well, allowing more buildings to receive
electricity (represented by lights turning on in the windows).
Narrator: Electric power is delivered to consumers through a regional power
pool. The pool is supplied by a number of generating stations using natural
gas, coal, oil, nuclear, and other conventional sources. Power users then obtain
electricity from the power pool. Under this program, EPA contracts with a green
power producer to deliver power to the pool. For example, in Cincinnati, our
largest purchase, we contracted to have 15 million kilowatt hours of green power
delivered to the pool each year. Cincinnati then uses the same amount of power
from the pool. As you can see, the green power does not necessarily go to our
facility.
Slide 5: Cost and Verification
Description: Base power costs are presented as a stack of dollar bills, upon
which a smaller stack of bills (representing the 10 percent green power premium)
is added. An arrow points from this new pile to a drawing of an electric grid.
A man holding a clipboard looks up at the grid and down on his clipboard signifying
third party certification.
Narrator: There is a moderate premium for green power, which is approximately
10 percent on a kilowatt-hour basis. In our contracts, we require certification
by an impartial third party, which verifies that the green power is produced,
delivered to the power pool, and not sold twice. We believe the cost of green
power is offset by the environmental benefits associated with the avoided emissions.
Slide 6: Environmental Benefits of Green Power
Description: A picture of heavy highway traffic is slowly replaced by a highway
picture with many less cars on the road.
Narrator: In FY 2002, EPA's green power purchases will produce carbon dioxed
reductions that are equivalent to 2,900 fewer cars on the road.
Slide 7: Progress to Date and Looking to Tomorrow
Description: This slide has two components. The first is a chart showing the
increasing percentage of EPA's green power purchases coinciding with a decrease
in emissions. The second part of the slide is a map showing all the EPA facilities
nationwide, and specifying which locations currently purchase green power, and
which are scheduled to procure green power in the near future.
Narrator: With each procurement, EPA reduces the air emissions and environmental
footprint associated with its facilities. After our initial purchase in Richmond,
we purchased 100 percent green power for four more of our facilities: Golden,
Colorado, Manchester, Washington, Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and Cincinnati,
Ohio. We are currently working on green power purchases in Houston, Narragansett,
and Fort Meade, with deliveries starting in October, 2002. When completed, our
share of green power should to approximately 16 percent. Our goal for FY 2004
is to begin green power deliveries at our largest facility, Research Triangle
Park. We will continue our efforts until all of our major facilities including
our regional offices are receiving green power.
Slide 8: Environmental Scenes
Description: The final slide features a boy fishing as the background. On top
of this image appears a picture of a sunrise, forest, wheat field, and cloud
covered mountain.
Narrator: In closing, the environmental benefits of our green power purchase
program are obvious: helping to reduce the effects of global climate change,
ground level ozone, acid rain, and childhood asthma. In addition, by reducing
power plant emissions and cutting greenhouse gases, this program supports the
goals of the recently announced Clear Skies Initiative. Finally, our efforts
have led us to become a founding partner and an active participate in the Office
of Air and Radiation's green power Partnership. Looking to the future, we are
working with EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response and their Brownfield's
initiative to establish and create green power parks at Brownfield sites nationwide.