Green Power Leadership Awards
The 2019 Green Power Leadership Awards application period has closed.
EPA presented the awards in conjunction with the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) Exit during the which took place in San Diego, California from September 4-6. The awards serve to recognize the leading actions of organizations, programs, and individuals that significantly advance the development of green power sources.
See below for more information about award categories, , and the Renewable Energy Markets Conference.
| U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | Center for Resource Solutions |
|---|---|
| Green Power Partner of the Year | Green Power Market Development |
| Excellence in Green Power Use | International Green Power Market Development |
| Direct Project Engagement | Leadership in Green Power Education |
| Sustained Excellence in Green Power | Green Power Leader of the Year |
| Green Power Community of the Year |
EPA Partner Award Categories
- Green Power Partner of the Year Award: Recognizes Partners that distinguish themselves through their green power use, leadership, overall strategy, and impact on the green power market. Winners represent a beacon for other organizations to follow, represent best in class in terms of market impact, and have a compelling story that is both unique and replicable to a wider set of market participants. This category is the highest organizational honor in EPA's Green Power Leadership Awards and the activities are commensurate with this level of recognition.
- Excellence in Green Power Use Award: Recognizes Partners that distinguish themselves by using green power in amounts that exceed the minimum benchmark requirements, or where the partner can demonstrate a distinct market impact through innovation, communications and stakeholder engagement. Winners in this category perform better than what is minimally required and offer a compelling example to their sector peers.
- Direct Project Engagement Award: Recognizes Partners that distinguish themselves through direct project engagement using a variety of financing structures to access green power. Eligible direct project engagements include on- and off-site self-generation, on- and off-site physical power purchase agreements (PPAs), on- and off-site financial power purchase agreements, shared renewable projects, and utility green tariffs. Direct project engagement activities will be evaluated based on their direct impact and contribution to the transformation of the market, such as development of new projects, long-term commitments with eligible projects, etc. An applicant’s contractual relationship to the project shall be for no fewer than five (5) years. Self-generation shall be considered a 20-year contract term.
- Sustained Excellence in Green Power Award: Recognizes continual leadership in advancing green power development. This award category recognizes a combination of “sustained” green power use coupled with “excellence” in procurement size and diversity of supply. Successful applicants shall also demonstrate a similar level of sustained excellence in terms of communications and market engagement related to their use of green power. To qualify, applicants must have won at least three (3) previous Green Power Leadership Awards—including:
- one “Direct Project Engagement” (previously known as On-site Generation) Award, and
- one “Partner of the Year” Award.
Applicants shall demonstrate excellence by using at least 100 percent green power for their organization-wide electricity use. Partners must also have maintained 100 percent green power use for at least three years prior to applying for this award. Organizations can only receive a Sustained Excellence award once every three years, over which time applicants must maintain continued sustained excellence activities. - Green Power Community of the Year Award: Recognizes EPA Green Power Communities that distinguish themselves through their green power usage, leadership, citizen engagement, renewable energy strategy, and impact on the green power market. Winners coordinate successful community campaigns to buy green power in amounts that exceed the minimum GPC requirements. Both the success of the GPC campaign as well as the leadership of the local government will be evaluated under this category.
Center for Resource Solutions Award Categories
- Green Power Market Development: Recognizes organizations and individuals building and growing the voluntary market for green power. This may include organizations using renewable energy, electricity suppliers and REC providers, policy advocates, leaders in project development, and others influential in driving green power. The award honors industry leaders that are innovators and champions of renewable energy and whose actions are supporting the accelerated development of green power markets.
- International Green Power Market Development: Recognizes organizations and individuals who are building markets or demonstrating leadership in green power procurement outside North America. This may include organizations using renewable energy, project developers, policy advocates, certificate providers, electricity suppliers, or others influential in developing and growing green power markets.
- Leadership in Green Power Education: Recognizes effective and unique programs and organizations focusing on green power education. This award honors work that spreads the word about the environmental benefits of green power, and efforts to boost public interest in renewable energy.
- Green Power Leader of the Year: Recognizes outstanding leadership by an individual who is leveraging his or her influence, power, position, or purchasing power to increase the prevalence of renewable energy. Evaluation criteria include: efforts and achievements of an individual, contributions to building the green power market, and dedication to and vision for renewable energy.
What does winning an EPA Green Power Leadership Award mean to an organization?
An EPA Green Power Leadership Award offers significant opportunities for recipients:
- Demonstrate your environmental leadership
"Green power purchases are an effective and important way we can implement renewable energy sources as we work to reduce our carbon footprint. As an EPA Sustained Excellence Award winner, we have increased our purchases that are applied company-wide, achieving 100 percent green power in 2010, 2011 and 2012. We are pleased to have extended this commitment through 2015." - Ken Bonning, Senior Executive Vice President, Kohl's - Become part of a prestigious group
"Pearson is proud to receive this prestigious award from the US EPA for a second time. Green power is an important tool in helping combat climate change and we are honored to stand alongside the many US schools and universities that also choose clean sources of electricity as part of their sustainability strategies." - Rich Glicini, SVP Corporate Social Responsibility, Pearson - Promote participation in the Green Power Partnership
"We're thrilled to be part of the EPA's Green Power Partnership. It's an unprecedented opportunity for us to integrate this meaningful and long-lasting environmental initiative into our operations." - Brad Haeberle, Vice President and Sustainability Council Chair, Siemens Industry, Inc.'s Building Technologies Division - Be featured at the
Award winners will be recognized at the industry's paramount annual gathering attended by leading renewable energy and green power industry stakeholders.
Green Power Leadership Award Application Process
The 2019 Green Power Leadership Awards application period is now closed. EPA will present the awards in conjunction with the Renewable Energy Markets Conference, which will be held September 4-6 in San Diego, California.
EPA's Green Power Leadership Awards recognize exceptional achievement and leading actions of organizations, programs, and individuals that significantly advance the development of green power sources.
Learn more about the , or winners from previous years.
| U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | Center for Resource Solutions |
|---|---|
| Green Power Partner of the Year | Green Power Market Development |
| Excellence in Green Power Use | International Green Power Market Development |
| Direct Project Engagement | Leadership in Green Power Education |
| Sustained Excellence in Green Power | Green Power Leader of the Year |
| Green Power Community of the Year |
Visit the web page for information about last year's winners.
Please contact us if you would like information on eligibility requirements and evaluation criteria for the 2019 Green Power Leadership Awards.
Eligibility Requirements for the Partner Awards
- Applicants are either currently or will become an EPA Green Power Partner by March 15, 2019.
- Only U.S.-based operations and facilities are eligible.
- Only eligible green power generated from U.S.-based renewable energy resources will be considered. Please review the Partnership Requirements for more information.
- Only green power purchases made and activities conducted since the applicant's last award are eligible. If the Applicant has never won an award, the history of green power procurement is eligible for consideration.
- Applicants must have completed a green power purchase or have an operational on-site green power generator by March 15, 2019. The green power purchase is considered complete when delivery is executed or commercial operation has commenced.
- Previous winners and applicants are eligible, but will be judged based on their activities since the last award cycle.
- Applicants will be evaluated on the green power use they have reported to the Green Power Partnership as of March 15, 2019. GPLA application process is not a replacement for reporting of official green power use data to EPA. Partners will be evaluated based on data reported through the annual reporting process.
- Please note: Eligibility will be verified during the review process, and finalists will need to pass an EPA compliance screen in order to be selected.
Things to Remember
- EPA considers eligible renewable energy sources to be solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, and low-impact hydroelectric sources.
- Partners must retain the associated renewable energy certificates (RECs) for all purchases, particularly for on-site renewable energy systems.
- To be considered for GPP, any renewable energy use must be "incremental" and above and beyond the "standard mix" provided by utilities (i.e., come from the voluntary market and not the compliance market).
Evaluation Criteria
Applications are evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Green Power Use Information:
- Total annual size of green power procurement (including qualifying on-site generation)
- Scope of green power commitment (facility, organization-wide)
- Green power use as a percent of annual baseload electricity use, given the Green Power Partnership's required minimum purchase level
- Contract duration (i.e., term of commitment)
- Impact on new supply
- If previous award winner, change in level of procurement since last award
- Innovation and creativity of green power procurement and impact on market
- Organizational strategy for investing in green power (past, present, future)
- Leadership in using green power within a region or business sector
- Communications efforts to promote green power usage both internally and externally, including media outreach and use of Green Power Partner mark (past, present, and future), as well as plans to promote the EPA Green Power Leadership Award, should the applicant be selected
Selection Process
An EPA evaluation panel reviews and evaluates all applications submitted by the deadline. Applications must be accurate and complete. EPA reviews all applicants to ensure that they are in good standing with EPA. Finalists will need to pass an EPA compliance screen in order to be selected. EPA will notify award winners and applicants in late summer.
Awards Ceremony
Each fall, award winners are recognized at the Green Power Leadership Awards Ceremony held during the Renewable Energy Markets (REM) Conference. This year's REM Conference was held in San Diego, California from September 4-6, 2019. Visit the Renewable Energy Markets Conference website Exit for more information.
Questions?
To learn more about the awards and the conference, visit the Green Power Leadership Awards web page and the Renewable Energy Markets Conference website Exit.
Green Power Leadership Award Winners
Partner of the Year
Sustained Excellence in Green Power Use
Excellence in Green Power Use
- Bank of America
- The City of Dallas
- Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
- Kohler Co.
- Northampton Community College
- Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
- Switch
Direct Project Engagement
- Blue Lake Rancheria
- Equinix Inc
- General Motors LLC
- Johnson & Johnson
- Kaiser Permanente
- Microsoft Corporation
- Santa Clara County
Green Power Community
Partner of the Year
Google LLC
Google LLC is an American multinational technology company that creates and provides Internet-related services and products. Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.
Google is currently #1 on EPA’s Green Power Partnership National Top 100 Partner rankings list. They are a longstanding Green Power Partner, and have been recognized five times previously. This year, Google LLC received a 2019 Partner of the Year award for:
- Collaborating with industry peers and the state of Georgia on the approval of a new program to allow large purchasers to buy green power directly through Georgia Power. Through this program, Google will procure 78.8 megawatts (MW) of solar energy for their Douglas County, Georgia data center.
- Partnering with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to bring new wind and solar projects onto TVA’s electrical grid. Google committed to purchasing the output of several of these solar farms, totaling 413 MW from 1.6 million panels.
- As of December 2017, signing 26 long-term agreements totaling nearly 3 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar energy that is new to the grid around the world.
- Increasing their green power usage by 3.5 billion kWh in 2018
- Committing to invest nearly $2.5 billion in renewable energy projects, supporting a total capacity of 3.7 GW.
Sustained Excellence in Green Power Use
Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and a leader in the semiconductor industry that is shaping the data-centric future with computing and communications technology that is the foundation of the world’s innovations. They have a 2020 goal to reduce direct greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions by 10% on a per-unit basis from 2010 levels, while expanding manufacturing capacity; they are on track to achieve this goal. Intel has been a Green Power Partner since 2004 and has been recognized many times previously for their leadership in the green power market. Intel is currently #3 on EPA’s Green Power Partnership National Top 100 Partner rankings list. Intel Corporation received the 2019 Sustained Excellence in Green Power award for:
- Using more than 3.8 billion kWh of green power annually in the U.S. supplied by a diverse portfolio including on-site projects, utility programs, and Green-e® certified renewable energy certificates (RECs) sourced from a spectrum of technologies, including solar, wind, geo-thermal and low-impact hydro.
- Purchasing 100% green power for its U.S. operations since 2013. In total, Intel has purchased more than 30 billion kWh of green power since 2008 in the US. Intel is also purchasing 100% of its electric use as green power in Ireland/ EMEA locations and 50% in Israel.
- Installed more than 100 on-site projects, including a 7.8 megawatt (MW) solar carport at its Folsom campus, A 7.7 MW solar car port at the Chandler Ocotillo Campus, a 60 unit micro wind turbine array at its Santa Clara headquarters, and over 150 EV charging stations at nine different office locations nationally. Intel’s portfolio of green power includes more than 20 different technology applications in more than a dozen states and countries.
- Implementing a robust communication strategy to advance green power adoption with internal and external audiences, including engagement in cross-sectoral collaborations and promoting their numerous EPA Green Power Partnership awards and industry recognitions via press releases, social media channels, and their corporate website CSR hub. Intel continues to sponsor lunch events for employees to understand the strategies, goals and efforts and invite participation.
Excellence in Green Power
Bank of America is a global financial institutions seeking to make financial lives better, through the power of every connection. Bank of America has been an EPA Green Power Partner since 2017 and is currently ranked sixth on the EPA's Green Power Partnership National Top 100. Bank of America is receiving a 2019 Excellence in Green Power award for:
- Increasing its green power purchases from 69% in 2016 to 99% in 2018, more than a 40% increase in only two years. In 2018, Bank of America procured over 1.7 billion kWh of renewable electricity.
- Purchasing from a portfolio of green power supplies including 354,000 kWh of on-site solar and 1,717 billion kWh of retail RECs.
- In partnership with Juhl Energy and 3 Degrees, contracting for long-term RECs from the first commercial integrated solar-wind hybrid power generation project in the U.S. This project is located in an underserved community and provides discounts on electricity to the local coop members.
- Entering into two long-term REC purchase agreements. The first includes two wind projects in Texas, of which the bank is the tax equity owner. The second deal supports two new solar projects in South Carolina. These projects include creating pollinator habitats and cover the banks electricity load in the state.
- Installing solar panels on more than 60 bank locations, including Financial Centers, ATMs, and offices over the next three years and beyond. This program is expected to generate more than 25 megawatts of renewable electricity.
- In 2016, Bank of America set a new environmental operations goals plans to become carbon neutral and purchase 100% renewable electricity, reduce their location-based greenhouse gas emissions by 50%, and water use by 45% in its operations across the globe by 2020.
Dallas is the third largest city in Texas and within the 7th largest metropolitan area in the USA. City of Dallas has partnered with the Green Power Partnership since 2007 and is committed long term to continue using renewable energy. The City of Dallas is the second largest local government user of green power on EPA’s Green Power Partnership Top 30 Local Government’s list. The City of Dallas is receiving a 2019 Excellence in Green Power award for:
- Sustained growth in renewable energy use - the City began using 40% in 2008, increased to 50% in 2015, and in since 2017 the City has used 100% renewable (wind and solar) energy through its retail electricity service contract with TXU Energy. This represented 745 million kWh of green power in 2018.
- City Council adoption of an official Green Energy Policy that formalized its commitment to the use of 100% renewable energy and support for future on- and off-site renewable energy development.
- Diverse communication activities including a website (greendallas.net) and blog that communicate its various green power and initiatives supporting the development of a Comprehensive Climate and Environmental Action Plan underway.
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is the primary international airport serving the North Texas region and is the largest hub for American Airlines. DFW welcomes more than 69 million customers along their journey every year, making it one of the most frequently visited superhub airports in the world. In 2019, DFW Airport earned the prestigious Airport of the Year award from Air Transport World. DFW is the first airport in North America and the largest in the world to achieve “Carbon Neutrality,” the highest level of certification available to airports in the Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) program. DFW has been a Green Power Partner since 2009. DFW is receiving a 2019 Excellence in Green Power award for:
- Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport now uses 100% green power. Most of its green power is via a competitive supply from Texas General Land Office with a 215,000 kWh generated from on-site solar.
- Since 2010, DFW has achieved a 27% reduction in electricity costs as well as an 83% reduction in carbon emissions on a per passenger basis, even while total passengers at the airport increased by 22% over the same period.
- Implementing social media and outreach campaigns highlighting the airport’s commitment to sustainability and carbon neutrality to the public, resulting in 2,404 engagements and 319,756 impressions.
Kohler Co., founded in 1873, is a privately held American manufacturing company based in Kohler, WI. Kohler is a global leader in the manufacture of kitchen and bath products; engines and power systems; premier cabinetry and tile; hospitality and golf resort destinations; with more than 50 manufacturing locations worldwide. Kohler is receiving a 2019 Excellence in Green Power award for:
- A large financial PPA with Enel Green Power’s Diamond Vista Wind LLC for 425,149,000 kWh of green power which covers 100% of their electrical load.
- Kohler's sustainability team kicked off its robust communications strategy promoting Kohler’s broad sustainable efforts and successes.
Northampton Community College (NCC), located in Bethlehem, PA, serves more than 30,000 students a year in credit and non-credit programs. Northampton Community College has been a Green Power Partner since 2014. Northampton Community College received a 2019 Excellence in Green Power award for:
- Increasing their green power purchase by 82% in the past two years, to a total of 86% (as of June 2019 we have increased to 100% renewable), and one of the country’s largest community college consumers of green power.
- Owning and operating an on-site PV system and wind turbine at their Monroe Campus, which together provide 40% of the campus’s electricity needs, and which NCC integrates into their curriculum, creating experiential learning experiences in building and erecting green power systems.
- Communicating effectively with students, staff, alumni, local communities, state officials, and federal officials about the benefits of green power.
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (“Samsung”) is a global technology company; several Samsung companies, based in the United States, have been Green Power Partners since 2010. Currently, Samsung ranks #8 on EPA’s Green Power Partnership National Top 100 list.
Samsung received the 2019 Excellence in Green Power award for:
- Purchasing from a portfolio of green power supply options including 1.2 Billion kWh of Texas wind RECs and a 968 MWh new roof-top solar array in San Jose, CA.
- Actively communicating its green power use and Green Power Partnership to all stakeholders through the company's website, annual sustainability reports, and several press releases.
Switch is a global technology infrastructure corporation that develops hyperscale data center ecosystems for elite colocation, enterprise hybrid cloud, and connectivity solutions. Since January 1, 2016, all of Switch’s SUPERNAP data centers were powered by 100% renewable energy. Switch became a Green Power Partner in 2018. Switch is receiving a 2019 Excellence in Green Power award for:
- Working with NV Energy to create Nevada’s first green tariff in 2015 to allow businesses to purchase renewable energy through the utility
- In 2017, Switch Station 1 and Switch Station 2 solar power plants, with a combined generation capacity of 179 MW were fully commissioned.
- In 2018, Switch worked with Consumers Energy to develop a green tariff in Michigan with the operation of Cross Winds Energy Park II which generates 44 MW of renewable energy from which they receive 12,569,219 kWh of green power annually.
Direct Project Engagement
The Blue Lake Rancheria is a tribal government and community in Humboldt County, California, federally recognized in 1908, within the aboriginal territory of the Wiyot people. The Tribe has government operations, economic enterprises (event center, hotel, casino, three restaurants), a resilience training and innovation campus (open 2022), a community park, and critical infrastructure that serve the tribal community and larger region and host over 2,000 visitors a day. Blue Lake Rancheria has been a Green Power Partner since 2017 and received a 2019 Direct Project Engagement award for:
- Powering their community activities through onsite solar photovoltaic (PV) with battery storage in a community microgrid—combining the use of established and emerging technologies-- to provide 23% of their electricity from green power.
- Cultivating strong public-private partnerships to develop green power and related local expertise, thus achieving cost savings, economic growth, and carbon reductions of approximately 195 tons per year.
- Regularly conducting tours of their microgrid and presenting on strategies for transitions to green power at conferences across the U.S. to help advance understanding of green power markets.
Equinix, Inc. is a, U.S. headquartered, global data center and interconnection REIT that operates more than 200 data centers spanning across 24 countries on five continents. With environmental sustainability as a key corporate objective, Equinix has made a firm commitment to reach 100% clean and renewable energy across their global platform and is transforming their energy supply and decoupling their carbon footprint from their growth. In 2015 the company became a Green Power Partner and has received two previous Green Power Leadership Awards. They are currently #4 on EPA’s Green Power Partnership National Top 100 Partner rankings list. Equinix received a Direct Project Engagement award in 2019 for:
- Reaching 100% green power use across all U.S. sites and offices in 2018, with a total of 2,200 GWh procured, representing a 46% increase over 2017 volume.
- Generating half of their green power use (approximately 225 MW), under long-term Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) contracts, which delivered new wind power to the grid in the middle of the country.
- The remainder of Equinix’s U.S. renewables procurement comes from a mix of Green-e wind RECs and community choice aggregation or utility-green tariff programs.
- Taking an active approach to communication and transparency and documenting their sustainability progress in their annual Corporate Sustainability Report.
General Motors LLC (GM) is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Detroit that designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes vehicles and vehicle parts, and sells financial services. GM is an organization-wide EPA partner and is currently # 6 on EPA’s Green Power Partnership Top 30 On-site generation list, # 14 on EPA’s list of Green Power Partners from the Fortune 500®, and is ranked # 29 on EPA’s National Top 100 List of the largest green power users. GM is the only automotive company on this list. It also ranks GM has previously been recognized for its landfill gas on-site generation project at its Orion, Michigan assembly plant and received a 2019 Direct Project Engagement award for:
- Helping to develop a diverse green power supply portfolio in 2018 including:
- 3 new VPPAs totaling 255 million kWh in green power.
- Executing the first green tariff in Michigan with Consumers Energy.
- Meeting its original renewable energy goal of 125MW.
- Setting a new goal to become 100% supplied by renewables by 2050 as an early signatory of RE100, a collaborative global initiative uniting influential businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity.
Johnson & Johnson is the largest healthcare company in the world with over 135,100 employees with more than 260 operating companies conducting business in virtually all countries of the world. As part of a science-based goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020 and 80% by 2050, Johnson & Johnson has committed to consuming 35% of its electricity from renewable sources globally by 2020, and 100% by 2050. Currently more than 65% of their power in the U.S. comes from green power, with a baseload of 655 million kWh/year. Johnson & Johnson is a founding Green Power Partner and have been recognized six times in the past for their engagement in the green power market. Johnson & Johnson received a 2019 Direct Project Engagement award for:
- Investing in on-site generation at its facilities and acquiring off-site renewable energy, including a virtual power purchase agreement for 100 MW of wind energy in Texas
- Worked with a public utility to execute a green tariff for their Georgia manufacturing facility
- Investments in on-site renewable energy at its facilities worldwide and generation of nearly 18 million kWh’s of electricity from 23 on-site solar arrays at its United States facilities
Kaiser Permanente (KP) is the largest integrated health provider in the country, providing quality, affordable health care to its 12.3 million members across the country. The organization operates more than 1,000 hospitals, medical and administrative office buildings, data centers, and other facilities. As part of a commitment to being 100% carbon neutral (both Scope 1 and Scope 2) by 2020, Kaiser Permanente has been a Green Power Partner since 2013 and has been recognized twice for their green power engagement. Kaiser Permanente received a 2019 Direct Project Engagement award for:
- Building 153 MW of new, utility-scale wind (43 MW) and 131 MW solar/110 MW battery storage capacity in California that delivers almost 500 million kWh annually.
- Contracting with utility green tariff programs for 43 million kWh of green power in Washington State and Colorado.
- Deploying more than 35 MW of on-site solar arrays at more than 50 sites across California, Hawaii, Colorado and Oregon.
- Creating the first microgrid at a hospital in California, combining large-scale solar and storage within a microgrid at the Kaiser Permanente Richmond Medical Center.
- Partnering with a commercial bank to create a special purpose company that leverages incentives and low capital costs to decrease costs for solar projects.
Microsoft Corporation, headquartered in Redmond, Washington, is one of the world’s largest technology and software companies. As part of its commitment to operating sustainably, Microsoft has been powered by 100% renewable electricity since 2014 by purchasing more than 3 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually. Microsoft’s global operations have been 100 percent carbon neutral since June 2012. Microsoft’s green power purchasing is driven by corporate goals for carbon neutrality and greener datacenters. Microsoft has been a Green Power Partner since 2012 and has received numerous awards for their green power leadership. Microsoft is receiving a 2019 Direct Project Engagement award for:
- Increased purchases of green power by 780 million kWh since their last award. Microsoft’s diverse portfolio of green power supplies, including
- Proxy generation PPA and Volume Firming Agreements from the 178-MW Bloom Wind project in Kansas
- Wind power contracts of 237 MW, 110 MW, and 175MW to power data centers in Cheyenne, Wyoming, San Antonio, Texas, and Chicago, Illinois, respectively. These contracts bring Microsoft’s total U.S. wind energy project investments to more than 500 MW.
- On-site solar of 400,000 kWh annually
- Microsoft’s green power purchases are funded through an internal sustainability fee model. Since the program began six years ago, Microsoft has purchased more than 28.7 million MWh of green power.
Located in Northern California’s Bay Area, Santa Clara County, the sixth-largest county in California by population, is committed to using green power and to accelerating green power adoption by the public sector and the community. Santa Clara County has been a Green Power Partner since 2013. They received a 2019 Direct Project Engagement award for:
- Completing construction of the “Renewables for Revenue Project,” which consists of five solar farms with a combined capacity of 10.8 MWs and one 440 kW on-site solar system, which generates approximately 19 million kWh annually.
- Helping to form the Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) Community Choice Aggregator (CCA), which offers 100% carbon-free and renewable power to thirteen communities in the South Bay. Thus far, Santa Clara County has enrolled 51 million kilowatt-hours, or 38% of its own facilities’ total electrical usage, in SVCE service.
Green Power Community
Lancaster is a city in northern Los Angeles County. Situated in the high-desert region of the Mojave Desert’s Antelope Valley, where there is plenty of sunlight and open space, Lancaster leverages these resources to bring widespread solar energy benefits to its community of 160,000 residents and abroad. Lancaster became an EPA Local Government Green Power Partner in 2016 and received a 2019 Green Power Community award for:
- Becoming the first city in California to pass an ordinance requiring solar on all new residential developments in 2013.
- Expanding its solar reach by approving the Zero Net Energy (ZNE) ordinance in 2017 requiring that all new homes are built to net zero standard three years before the State’s net zero mandate is enacted.
- Creating its own utility, Lancaster Choice Energy (LCE), in 2014. LCE was the first municipal CCA in California. Saving customers over $1 million on their generation costs in the first three years of LCE’s operation.
- Signing a twenty-year PPA with sPower to build a utility-scale solar power project within city limits, which added 10 MW of green power to LCE’S green energy portfolio.
- Partnering with local school districts to bring solar panels to all 25 school sites, effectively reducing district costs and supporting a greener energy grid.
- Issuing 6,339 single family solar permits by March 2019. As a community Lancaster has 526 MW of solar in operational development and more planned.
- By 2017, becoming the first net-zero city in the nation and developing more green power than it consumes.
Renewable Energy Markets Conference
About the Conference
Renewable Energy Markets Exit is the industry's paramount annual gathering attended by leading renewable energy and green power stakeholders, and is held in a different major city each year. This year’s Renewable Energy Markets Conference will be held September 4-6, 2019 in San Diego, California. Visit the Renewable Energy Markets Conference website Exit for more information.
At the REM conference, attendees:
- Network with the industry's key players, including power marketers, renewable energy developers, retail and wholesale green power suppliers, electric utilities, equipment manufacturers, government agencies, energy consultants, and nonprofit experts
- Gain new insights about the major issues facing voluntary renewable energy and carbon markets
- Learn about profitable strategies for industry growth and current renewable energy supply and demand trends
- Attend the Green Power Leadership Awards Banquet, which is held in conjunction with the conference
About the Awards Ceremony
EPA co-sponsors the Green Power Leadership Awards in conjunction with the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS). The awards recognize the leading actions of organizations, programs, and individuals that significantly advance the development of the voluntary green power market. This year’s Green Power Leadership Awards Ceremony will take place at the Renewable Energy Markets Conference.
To receive Partnership and awards updates, please contact us and indicate your interest in receiving updates from the Green Power Partnership.