The annual awards recognize the country's leading green power purchasers for their commitment to renewable energy and contribution to helping advance the development of the nation's voluntary green power market. EPA presented the Empire State Building with the award at an event held in conjunction with the 2011 Renewable Energy Markets Conference in San Francisco today.
The Empire State Building, believed to be New York City's largest commercial purchaser of 100% renewable energy, is purchasing 55 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of wind power annually from Green Mountain Energy Company, the nation's leading competitive retail provider of cleaner energy and carbon offset solutions. According to the U.S. EPA, as of April 2011, the purchase is the largest green power purchase of any EPA Green Power Partner in New York City.
The building's renewable purchase is enough green power to meet 100 percent of the building's purchased electricity use. The contract with Green Mountain is for two years.
The 2.85 million square-foot office building was one of only five organizations nationwide to be chosen as a Green Power Partner of the Year. The award recognizes EPA Green Power Partners who distinguish themselves through their purchase, leadership, overall strategy, and impact on the green power market.
"Receiving a Green Power Leadership Award is a significant accomplishment in the Empire State Building's ongoing commitment to challenge business as usual when it comes to energy efficiency and energy consumption," stated Anthony E. Malkin, Empire State Building Company. "This is only part of our continuing efforts to reduce our environmental impact and we hope to encourage other buildings globally to consider purchasing clean energy."
The Empire State Building's renewable energy purchase also has a significant environmental impact -- it avoids nearly 100 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions each year.
The Empire State Building currently ranks number 22 on EPA's 100% Green Power Purchaser list that highlights EPA Green Power Partners that are buying green power to meet 100 percent of their U.S. organization-wide electricity use.(1) U.S. EPA updates its Top Partner lists quarterly at http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists/ .
The renewable energy that supplies the Empire State Building is being purchased in the form of wind Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from NRG Energy, Green Mountain's parent company. Purchasing RECs is a widely accepted way to address the greenhouse gas emissions of electricity consumption. Purchasing RECs in the same quantity as the Empire State Building's electricity consumption ensures that the amount of energy used by the building is added to the U.S. power grid from renewable sources and supports the further development of these projects.
The Empire State Building's green power purchase further reinforces the building's sustainability strategy. In July, the Empire State Building unveiled a $2 million interactive, multi-media sustainability exhibit at the second floor visitor's center, which showcases a $20 million energy retrofit project that was announced with President Bill Clinton and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The installation aims to educate the millions of people who visit the building every year on the positive global impact of both energy efficient building and sustainable living practices.
