worth forwarding widely i'd say... http://www.wri.org/newsroom/newsrelease_text.cfm?nid=370 "NEWS RELEASE: WRI introduces five easy steps for offices and stores to acquire renewable energy English Related publications: Switching to Green: A renewable energy guide for office and retail companies. (2006 - 26 pages) A practical resource for companies that want to "green" their energy supply but don't know how. Samantha Putt del Pino. Online resources >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON, D.C., October 18, 2006 -- What is renewable energy? Should my office switch? Does my office need to be located near a wind farm? Is it simple to buy? What are my options? Many office- and retail-based companies are switching to renewable energy and "greening" their energy supply. While this is often not difficult to do, the overwhelming amount of information available can make it a confusing process, especially for newcomers. The World Resources Institute (WRI) today cuts through the clutter with essential information â in just 26 pages â for financial institutions; real estate, retail, law, and publishing firms; universities; non-profit organizations; and many others to understand the basics of how they can go green. Switching to Green provides a five-step outline for acquiring renewable energy (see Figure). It also includes links to essential resources and brief examples of how companies have diversified their energy supply and supported the growth of clean energy technologies by incorporating renewable energy into their operations. Download larger version (986 x 456) "Depending on your office's goals, you could have multiple renewable energy options, from local green power to a nationally-sourced product," said Samantha Putt del Pino, author of the how-to guide. Renewable energy can be used to generate heat and electricity, from sources such as solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, geothermal, and some types of certified hydropower. Unlike fossil fuels, these resources do not contribute to emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes global warming. Many office- and retail-based companies and organizations -- including Whole Foods Market, Starbucks, FedEx Kinko's, Staples, and the World Bank Group -- have made the switch to renewable energy. These companies have purchased green power to help meet their climate or energy goals. For others that want to do the same, Switching to Green can help. The guideâs five-step process includes: a discussion of the business case for buying renewable energy an overview of delivery options, including some of the advantages and disadvantages of going green cost-saving strategies that companies use a breakdown of how to buy renewable energy, from understanding the data you need to signing a contract, and a description of how the carbon benefit of your officeâs renewable energy purchase is calculated. Switching to Green draws heavily on the lessons and publications of the Green Power Market Development Group, whose members include many of the largest corporate users of renewable energy. Convened in 2000, the Green Power Market Development Group (http://www.thegreenpowergroup.org/) is a unique partnership between WRI and over a dozen commercial and industrial companies dedicated to building corporate markets for green power. The Group seeks to develop 1,000 MW of new, cost-competitive green power -- enough capacity to power 750,000 homes -- by 2010. Group members include Alcoa Inc., The Dow Chemical Company, DuPont, FedEx Kinkoâs, General Motors, Georgia-Pacific, IBM, Interface, Johnson & Johnson, NatureWorks LLC, Pitney Bowes, Staples, and Starbucks. For more information, contact: World Resources Institute Nate Kommers, media officer, +1(202)729-7736, nkommers@wri.org Paul Mackie, senior media officer, +1(202)729-7684, pmackie@wri.org The World Resources Institute (http://www.wri.org/) is an environmental think tank that goes beyond research to create practical ways to protect the Earth and improve people's lives. For information on WRI events, publications, research projects and experts, contact: Nate Kommers, Media Officer, +1(202)729-7736, nkommers@wri.org."
Staples, Home Depot, Fed'Ex & Whole Foods have a few locations that installed a Photovoltaic system. That's it. Some of these are big, some are small. It was mostly one company that did it and financed the project, that's what they do. Only reason any of these even went through is because of the financing and the corporate shmoozing ability of this particular company. It's no big deal and not exactly news. To get one of these projects through takes years thanks to corporate buearocracy. Whole Foods was originally approached about this 5 years ago, they chose to pay more and spend more time by giving the runaround to the first few individuals. They are a corporation after all, hence you gotta be in that circle to get anything done.
cheers, i'll defer to your knowledge on this... been living in asia too long now to know how the west is handling this... tokyo / japan's pretty good overall at energy / resources savings, ppl awareness and cooperation at all levels of society... makes a big difference!
The real intiatives are being made by the states, not the federal. Quite some paperwork & run around, standard government BS. A lot of politics and a little bit of embezzlement on the state government side. Sometimes it makes you wonder what their goal really is. But that's mostly from the shmucks that are put in charge of administering the programs. Federal focus is on lining Big business pockets, hence corn & wheat ethanol. All they did for real renewable energy was triple the tax credit incentive, which is quite significant at the large corporates level. But getting someone like Whole Foods to commit is a hell of a task that is reserved for those who rub elbows with the corporate higher ups. There is high growth in NJ and CA on the residential & small business level. Large scale commercial & industrial is random but growing. A few large scale municipal projects also. But in general, it's very insignificant and there are serious flaws in how this was executed. The big problem is that the state programs differ a lot and there is no serious federal involvement (like U.K.). This goes into net metering, utility deregulation and other issues. I think the biggest problem is government buerocracy that has not at all be addressed. The process is much more streamlined in Japan, Germany & U.K. which is why they are leading US by a wide margin. First time I have to agree with you 100%. Japan was the frontier in adapting renewables, especially solar. Still is #2 or #3 in PV sales.