20 biggest on-site ‘green power’ generators

Technology giant Intel still leads the nation in its purchases of green power, using more than 2.5 billion kilowatt-hours of energy generated by renewable sources, predominantly solar and wind.

That is according to the latest edition of the Green Power Purchasing list, which is published quarterly by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The company’s percentage of green power as a total of all electricity consumed remained about the same from the second quarter to the third quarter, if you glance at the most recent past list.

The ranking is based on data reported to the EPA’s Green Power Partnership program. It reflects electricity generated by renewable sources, and it only focuses on U.S.-based operations. Companies or organizations get credit for buying renewable energy certificates, for investing in on-site generation, or for using utility green power services.

Here are all the latest list leaders:

• National 50: Intel, with 88 percent of its total electricity use
• Top 20 Retailers: Kohl’s Department Stores (101 percent), also No. 2 on the overall list
• Top 10 Federal Government: Department of Energy (6 percent)
• Top 20 College & University: University of Pennsylvania (48 percent)
• Top 20 On-site Generation: Kimberly Clark (8 percent)
• 100 Percent Purchasers: Kohl’s
• Fortune 500: Intel
• Top 20 Local Government: Houston (34 percent)
• Top 20 Printers: Deluxe Corp. (63 percent)
• Top 20 K-12 Schools: Chicago Public Schools

Personally, I spent the most time looking at the on-site generation list, because that reflects the organizations that are actually taking a chance on green energy technologies. Here’s that Top 20 list in its entirety:

1. Kimberly-Clark (8 percent, or 193.3 million kilowatt-hours) - Biomass
2. U.S. Air Force (1 percent, or 62 million kilowatt-hours) - Biogas, solar and wind
3. BMW Manufacturing (37 percent, or 61.8 million kilowatt-hours) - Biogas
4. Wal-Mart Stores (1 percent, or 37 million kilowatt-hours) - Biogas, solar
5. City of San Jose, Calif. (16 percent, or 31.8 million kilowatt-hours) - Biogas
6. City of San Francisco (4 percent, or 31.6 million kilowatt-hours) - Biogas, solar
7. Nassau County, New York (15 percent, or 29.1 million kilowatt-hours) - Biogas
8. SC Johnson & Son (14 percent, or 26.8 million kilowatt-hours) - Biogas
9. City of San Diego (8 percent, or 20.3 million kilowatt-hours) - Biogas, small-hydro and solar
10. Kohl’s Department Stores (1 percent, or 20.1 million kilowatt-hours) - Solar
11. City of Portland, Ore. (9 percent, or 15.9 million kilowatt-hours) - Biogas, small-hydro, solar and wind
12. City of Ann Arbor, Mich. (29 percent, or 12.9 million kilowatt-hours) - Biogas, small-hydro, solar
13. Adobe Systems (17 percent, or 11.7 million kilowatt-hours) - Biogas
14. City of Tulare, Calif./Wastewater Treatment Plant (45 percent, or 11.3 million kilowatt-hours) - Biogas, solar
15. Encina Wastewater Authority (45 percent, or 10.9 million kilowatt-hours) - Biogas
16. Google (< 1 percent, or 10.6 million kilowatt-hours) - Biogas and solar
17. Safeway (< 1 percent, or 9.2 million kilowatt-hours) - Biogas, solar and wind
18. University of Iowa/Main Campus Building (3 percent, or 8.7 million kilowatt-hours) - Biomass
19. Zotos International (50 percent, or 6.5 million kilowatt-hours) - Wind
20. Macy’s (26 percent, or 5.2 million kilowatt-hours) - Solar