U.S. Top 10 Green Business and Organization Consume Nearly 9 Billion Kilowatt-Hours of Green Power per Year

---

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently ranked the top Green Power Partnership organizations in the nation. These companies and government institutions use their own on-site generation, utilize renewable energy certificates, or purchase renewable-sourced power from generators to make them leaders in the consumption of renewable energy.

The total amount of green power consumed by these top 10 organizations accounts for more than 8.9 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year.

Telecom giant Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) (Santa Clara, California) tops the list with more than 2.5 billion kWh of green power used per year, which includes on-site generation, biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar and wind sources. Intel facilities in Arizona, California, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Oregon all have some form of green energy sources.

Kohl's Corporation (NYSE:KSS) (Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin) ranks second with its 1.5 billion kWh per year of green energy obtained from solar and wind power generation.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) (Redmond, Washington) ranks third, with 1.12 billion kWh of green energy usage per year. The company sources its green power from renewable energy marketer Sterling Planet Incorporated (Norcross, Georgia).

Wal-Mart Stores Incorporated's (NYSE:WMT) (Bentonville, Arkansas) California and Texas facilities purchase in the neighborhood of 872 million kWh, sourced from biogas, solar and wind energy.

Whole Foods Market Incorporated (NASDAQ:WFM) (Austin, Texas) gets 800 million KWh of electricity from some on-site generation, although most comes in the form of renewable energy certificates from 3Degrees Group Incorporated (San Francisco, California), which buys, sells and markets renewable commodities .

Staples Incorporated (NASDAQ:SPLS) (Framingham, Massachusetts) ranks No. 6 on the list, with 516 million kWh per year sourced from biogas, solar and wind, and works with Sterling Planet, 3Degrees and various utility companies.

The City of Houston, the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the U.S., purchases some 438 million kWh of wind power from Reliant Energy (Houston). Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) (Seattle, Washington) utilizes green energy from 3Degrees, Nexant (San Francisco), Seattle Light and cooperative electricity getting 421.5 million kWh per year from sources like biogas, geothermal, hydro and wind sources.

The 14th largest city in the U.S., Austin, Texas, sources 100% of its energy (about 406 million kWh per year) from wind power provided by Austin Energy.

Rounding out the top 10 list is Hilton Worldwide Incorporated (McLean, Virginia), which obtains some 315 million kWh per year from renewable energy credit provider Renewable Choice Energy (Boulder, Colorado).

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.