Intel goes on green-tag buying spree

In an effort to fuel the growth of the clean-energy market, Intel today announced plans to spend an undisclosed sum purchasing more than 1.3 billion kilowatt hours per year in renewable energy credits (RECs). According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this move makes Intel the single-largest corporate purchaser of green power in the United States.

As explained by the EPA, “RECs (also known as green tags, green energy certificates, or tradable renewable certificates) represent the technology and environmental attributes of electricity generated from renewable sources. Renewable energy certificates are usually sold in 1 megawatt-hour (MWh) units; a certificate can be sold separately from the MWh of generic electricity it is associated with. This flexibility enables customers to offset a percentage of their annual electricity use with certificates generated elsewhere.”

Sterling Planet, a national supplier of renewable energy, energy efficiency and low-carbon solutions, will handle Intel’s REC purchase, which includes a portfolio of wind, solar, small hydro-electric and biomass sources.

“The EPA estimates that Intel’s REC purchase has the equivalent environmental impact of taking more than 185,000 passenger cars off the road each year, or avoiding the amount of electricity needed to power more than 130,000 average American homes annually,” according to Intel’s announcement.

These green tags/RECs shouldn’t be confused with white tags, or energy efficiency credits, which represent megawatt hours saved through power-saving projects such as server consolidation.

I commend Intel here for its move. In an ideal world, of course, companies seeking to run their operations on clean technology would be able to draw on clean energy straight from the grid, rather than having to buy RECs. Given the momentum of the clean-tech movement, that should become feasible in coming years.