WASHINGTON, DC, January 5, 2004 (ENS) – The World Bank will purchase renewable energy for all of its electricity usage at its Washington, DC office from WindCurrent, a Maryland based company that sells wind power to the mid-Atlantic power grid.
This purchase will represent enough electricity to power almost 8,000 average homes for a year, and is equivalent to eliminating the carbon dioxide emissions of more than 10,000 cars for a year or planting roughly 15,000 acres of trees, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) figures.
Produced using conventional electricity sources, including coal and gas, this would have generated an estimated almost 60,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
The Bank will purchase 85,000,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) annually of renewable energy certificates (RECs) which are allocated for each unit of power from a renewable energy power plant such as a wind farm.
“Wind power creates none of the hazardous emissions or mercury pollution that is associated with producing electricity from burning coal,” said Jim Maguire, the founder of WindCurrent, a Baltimore company. “The World Bank is serving as a role model for other organizations who want to be environmentally responsible.”
As a result of this investment, wind power from the mid-Atlantic region and the Midwest will be supplied to the power grid, replacing electricity generated from less environmentally friendly sources.
This commitment to renewable energy is part of an overall Greening Program by the Bank’s General Services Department to focus on sustainable development within the organization, promoting waste management, environmentally and socially responsible procurement practices and energy conservation.
“Using renewable power will reduce our office’s environmental footprint, increase demand locally, and set an example for other institutions in the Washington area and globally that using alternative energy is a sound and important choice,” said General Services Department Director Van Pulley.
The move qualifies the Bank for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Leadership Club, a voluntary program that supports and recognizes outstanding green power purchasers. The Bank becomes the fourth largest purchaser in the program.
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2005. All Rights Reserved.
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