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EPA Honors Southeast Green Power purchasers

Release Date: 05/03/2005
Contact Information:

For Imediate Release
May 3, 2005

Contact: Laura Niles, niles.laura@epa.gov, Phone: (404) 562-8353

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) praised Southeast companies for switching to green power during a recognition ceremony held in conjunction with the Southeast Green Energy Summit today in Orlando.

Green power is a marketing term for electricity products that are partially or entirely generated from environmentally preferable renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, and low-impact biomass and hydro resources.

At today’s awards ceremony in Orlando, EPA Green Power Partners BMW Manufacturing (Spartanburg, SC) and Duke University (Raleigh, NC) were recipients of the “Green Star” Award for serving as a role model for other green power purchasers in the Southeast.  At the BMW plant, 25% of the plant’s power comes from captured methane gas drawn from the Palmetto Landfill.  BMW’s Spartanburg facility is currently listed as number 18 on EPA’s Top 25 Green Power Purchasers list that identifies the nation’s largest purchasers.  Duke University is purchasing 10 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually through nationally-sourced Renewable Energy Certificates.  EPA also honored several other Southeast organizations for their commitment to green power.  Additional details about all of the green power purchasers can be found on the EPA Web site at https://www.epa.gov/greenpower/partners/gpp_partners.htm.

The EPA’s Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program to encourage the use of renewable energy as a way to reduce the risk of climate change. The Green Power Partnership works to reduce the environmental effects of conventional electricity generation by supporting and recognizing organizations that pledge to switch to green power for a specified minimum percentage of their electricity needs.  Nationwide, there are currently more than 550 Green Power Partners. The total annual green power commitment by these Partners is 2.5 billion kWh, which is enough electricity to power 230,000 homes.  

The Southeast Green Energy Summit is sponsored by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, the Florida Solar Energy Center, the United States Department of Energy, state energy offices in the Southeast and various regional utilities in the Southeast.  It brings together an audience of energy policy-makers, utility companies, environmental organizations, government representatives, renewable industry suppliers and consultants, and green power purchasers.

For more information about green power, visit https://www.epa.gov/greenpower.