Intel, Kohl’s Lead U.S. in Purchasing Clean Energy
Computer-chip manufacturer Intel Corp. and Kohl’s Corp. department stores lead the U.S. in purchasing electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar energy, the Environmental Protection Agency said.
Intel, for the third year in a row, is the biggest buyer of renewable power by volume, the EPA said in a statement today. The company, based in Santa Clara, California, is buying clean and low-carbon energy equal to 51 percent of total consumption, up from 46 percent a year earlier.
Using power generated from wind, solar, geothermal and other renewable sources reduces greenhouse-gas emissions associated with fossil fuels such as coal. The top 50 buyers are purchasing more than 12 billion kilowatt-hours of green power a year, which equals the carbon-dioxide emissions from electricity use of more than 1 million average U.S. homes, the EPA said.
Intel, the world’s biggest chipmaker, is purchasing more than 1.43 billion kilowatt-hours of green power. Kohl’s ranks second, with 1.37 billion kilowatt-hours, or 100 percent of the Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based company’s energy use. Natural- food store chain Whole Foods Market Inc., with 817 million kilowatt-hours, was the third-biggest buyer. The Austin, Texas- based company also gets all of its electricity from renewable sources.
Starbucks Corp., the world’s largest coffee-shop chain, was among the top five for the first time at No. 4. The Seattle- based company more than doubled its annual green-power purchase to more than 573 million kilowatt-hours, or 55 percent of its total electricity use, according to the EPA.
Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, ranked 29th among the top 50 buyers, getting 59 percent of its electricity from renewable sources.
To contact the reporters on this story: Christopher Martin in New York at cmartin11@bloomberg.net; Kim Chipman in Washington, at kchipman@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net; Larry Liebert at lliebert@bloomberg.net.
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