WASHINGTON, DC — At a Department of Energy (DOE) ceremony marking Earth Day, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced the largest ever purchase of electricity generated from renewable energy for DOE headquarters facilities in Washington, DC and Germantown, MD.

This green power purchase will allow the DOE headquarters to become a partner in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Green Power Partnership, a voluntary program that encourages public and private organizations to purchase renewable power. 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.

“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,” said 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.”

Mayberry 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.”

DOE’s Engineering and Facilities Management Group in the Office of Administration arranged for the renewable energy to be supplied by Pepco 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 renewable power by using the savings it realized through the competitive procurement process, resulting in no net increase in its utility bill.

In addition, the department purchased a blended renewable power product comprised of 25% wind power, supplied by Community Energy Inc., and 75% landfill gas-fired generation to demonstrate the importance of a diversified domestic energy resource base.

Publication date: 04/22/2002