WHAT: The World Resources Institute (WRI) will hold a press conference to announce that its Green Power Market Development Group has reached its goal of developing 1,000 megawatts of new, cost-competitive power generated from renewable-energy sources.
WHEN: Tuesday, April 28, 2009, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. (Dessert and beverages will be served.)
WHERE: World Resources Institute, 10 G St., NE, 8th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20002 (Metro: Red Line to Union Station)
WHO: Mark Buckley, vice president, Environmental Affairs, Staples
Dan Usas, global energy manager, Worldwide Energy Management, Johnson & Johnson
Kamesh Gupta, manager, Planning and Programs, General Motors
Alex Perera, director, WRI’s Green Power Market Development Group
RSVP: Paul Mackie, WRI director of media relations, +1(202) 729-7684, pmackie@wri.org
WHY: WRI’s Green Power Market Development Group (GPMDG) was founded in 2000 to help some of the largest energy consumers in the U.S. purchase and support 1,000 megawatts of clean, renewable energy - enough power to displace a large coal-fired power plant. The Group reached what was an ambitious 10-year goal in nine years.
The GPMDG consists of 15 companies: Alcoa Inc., Dow Chemical, DuPont, FedEx, General Motors, Georgia-Pacific, Google, IBM, Interface Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Michelin NA, Natureworks LLC, Pitney Bowes Inc., Staples and Starbucks.
WRI also worked with Apple, BT Americas, HP, Intel, J.P. Morgan, Toyota Motor Sales, Wal-mart, Wells Fargo and Whole Foods to complete renewable energy projects that contributed to meeting the goal.
“Around the country, the legacy of passive energy consumption is being replaced with smarter, proactive energy management,” said Jonathan Lash, WRI president. “Energy, environment, and financial managers are focusing on cost and performance, and at the same time, they’re harnessing nature’s power.”
Speakers at the press conference will discuss their motivations for forming the Group and seeking renewable energy, the resulting major projects they have developed, and the “green job” impacts of their solar and wind projects.
As the Group reaches its goal, WRI is also releasing a new report, Harnessing Nature’s Power: Deploying and Financing On-Site Renewable Power. The report offers strategies and approaches that can be valuable to a wide range of firms looking at potential investments, contracts, and facility operations regarding use of renewable energy. It provides guidance on financing or purchasing renewable technologies for use at corporate facilities and advice on where to go for further information.
“New markets for renewable energy, emerging under state leadership, are already available, and energy prices are expected soon to incorporate the costs of emitting greenhouse gases,” said Alex Perera, a WRI senior associate and director of the GPMDG. “Forward-thinking business managers are taking advantage of these opportunities to bring clean technologies to scale and take a lead in renewable energy deployment.”
The Group’s initiative is beginning to be replicated widely by a wide variety of entities, including large corporations as well as smaller firms such as dairy farms, hotels, restaurants, wineries and ski resorts. And the policies adopted and investments made by the U.S. Congress and the Obama administration over the next several years will shape the country’s infrastructure for decades to come.
Perera added, “Transforming our energy system is a journey that will require continued new learning and policy innovation.”
Some of the report’s highlights include:
- A listing of federal incentives for renewable energy
- A comparison of renewable energy costs and the 2008 average U.S. commercial electricity price (see the above chart)
- U.S. maps highlighting wind resources, solar radiation and state metering regulations
- Case studies on how companies have reduced costs with renewable energy
- New models - such as a “solar loan program” to commercial and industrial customers - that utilities have implemented to encourage renewables in their service territories
- Illustrations of the importance of allocating capital budgets to greenhouse gas reduction projects
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