Secretary Abraham Announces DOE’s Largest-ever Purchase of Renewable Energy At Earth Day Ceremony
WASHINGTON, DC -- At a Department of Energy (DOE) ceremony today with employees to mark the 32nd anniversary of Earth Day, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced the largest ever purchase of electricity generated from renewable energy for DOE headquarters facilities in Washington, D.C. and Germantown, Md. and challenged its other sites to take similar action. This green power purchase will allow the Energy Department headquarters to become a partner in the Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership, a voluntary program that encourages public and private organizations to purchase renewable power.
Secretary Abraham made remarks to employees in the Forrestal Building. The ceremony included Dr. Edward Mayberry, President and CEO of Pepco Energy Services; General Services Administrator Stephen Perry; and DOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy David Garman.
“Today I am pleased to announce that the Department of Energy will purchase electricity generated from renewable resources to power roughly 17 percent of our electricity needs at DOE Headquarters, including our Germantown facilities,” announced Energy Secretary Abraham.
“Our new contract calls for an annual purchase of 6 million kilowatt hours, roughly the amount of electricity needed to power 600 homes each year.”
Earth Day, established in 1970, is a commemorative effort that a healthy environment is the underpinning of a healthy economy. It launched a popular environmental movement that inspired landmark legislation to protect America’s air and water, and led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Dr. Edward Mayberry, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pepco Energy Services said, “We are proud to support our nation’s government facilities -- the U.S. Department of Energy and the General Services Administration -- with electricity generated by renewable sources in an affordable and flexible manner. Our ability to offer customers affordable alternative energy resources has become more important today than ever before. To date, Pepco Energy Services is providing green power to more than 25 percent of its customers in the mid-Atlantic region.”
The DOE Headquarters Engineering and Facilities Management Group in the Office of Administration arranged for renewable energy to be supplied by Pepco Energy Services as part of a competitively awarded contract for electricity. The contract was awarded and administered by GSA’s Energy Center of Expertise. DOE funded the premium for the renewable portion of the contract using the savings it realized through the competitive procurement process, resulting in no net increase in the department’s utility bill.
Additionally, the department insisted on purchasing a blended renewable power product comprised of 25 percent wind power, supplied by Community Energy Inc., and 75 percent landfill gas-fired generation to demonstrate the importance of supporting a diversified domestic energy resource base.
