Intel, the world’s largest income generating chipmaker, is planning to install solar panels on its rooftops in an effort to continue support for the purchase of renewable energy.
Over eight sites in four states will be having solar panels installed, seven of which will be in Arizona, Oregon, and New Mexico, and one in California.
The eight solar projects, once completed in seven months, will be able to generate 2.5 megawatts of electricity. The solar power plants will be the biggest of their kind in their regions.
Intel’s solar farm in Folsom, California will be a non-utility ground-mounted plant.
With over $125 million already invested in clean technology industries and renewable energy, Intel Corporation is named by the Environmental Protection Agency as the single largest purchaser of renewable energy certificates (RECs) in the U.S., as well as the biggest voluntary corporate buyer of green electricity since 1998. Their efforts, which led them to be the biggest green energy purchaser, is equivalent to removing more than 185,000 automobiles, according to the U.S. E.P.A.
Intel still has plans of increasing renewable energy credit purchase by 10 percent. RECs are tax credits and incentives given by federal governments or states to industries for installing solar or wind renewable energy systems.
The REC purchases Intel committed to is equivalent to over 1.4 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually, which can fuel electricity for 134,000 homes in U.S.
In the past, Intel has financed the low-carbon sector by having its arm Intel Capital invest in various smart grid start-ups. Intel Capital has invested in plug-in vehicles, photovoltaics, solar energy technology, smart meters, consumption management/e-waste, advanced energy storage, and energy efficiency.
According to Intel vice president and general manager of manufacturing and supply chain Brian Krzanich, the company is dedicated to lessening their carbon footprint as well as in making renewable energy less expensive both for individuals and businesses to use.
Intel’s other green efforts include removing materials from their products that have potentially adverse effects on the environment, reducing e-waste by sponsoring computer recycling days and partnering with other retailers on e-waste reduction, investing over $100 million in water conservation programs which save 3 billion gallons of water annually, recycling 88 percent of their solid waste in 2008, re-use of packing supplies which saved more than 110 tons of materials from landfill, and applying Design for the Environment (DfE) principles to solve issues about water management, air quality, energy efficiency, and materials recycling.
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