Santa Clara University Increases Its Green Power Purchasing
to Become One of the Top Green Power Universities in the Nation

August 12, 2009

This month Santa Clara University doubled its commitment to renewable energy by supporting the generation of 22,512 megawatt hours of Renewable Energy Certificates through Santa Clara Green Power. This amount is equal to the annual output of seven utility-scale wind turbines. This decision prevents the emission of over 17,821 tons of carbon dioxide each yearthe carbon emissions equivalent of taking 2,961 cars off the road for one year. Based on the current rankings by the U.S. Department of Energy, SCU's purchase will put them in the Top 20 nationally for college and university purchasers of renewable energy.

The purchase makes Santa Clara University a national leader in green power purchasing, and secures SCU's position as the largest purchaser of Santa Clara Green Power. This purchase is above and beyond Silicon Valley Power's contracts for renewable energy, which constitute over 30 percent of SVP's electricity mix. The purchase will be supplied from Green-e Energy certified renewable energy certificates sourced from wind farms around the country.

“Santa Clara University's sustainability plan includes the objective of increasing our support of renewable energy over time, while keeping our utility costs stable. Silicon Valley Power has been a great partner in understanding our needs and providing environmentally-friendly and affordable solutions.” said Lauren Granlund, Assistant Director, Facilities at Santa Clara University.

“Since the origin of our renewable energy program, Santa Clara University has been a leading participant. We appreciate their ongoing and active participation in supporting renewable energy.” said Larry Owens, Manager of Customer Services at Silicon Valley Power.

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