THREE BUSINESSES, SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY, HONORED TODAY BY SILICON VALLEY POWER
SANTA CLARA BUSINESSES AND UNIVERSITY SET TREND IN ENERGY SAVINGS AND GREEN POWER
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – June 25, 2010 – Three Santa Clara businesses and Santa Clara University have won Silicon Valley Power (SVP) Energy Innovator Awards for their efforts in 2009. Agilent Technologies Inc., Bay Area Internet Solutions, El Camino Self Storage, and Santa Clara University will be honored today (June 25, 2010) at the 2010 Silicon Valley Energy Summit at Stanford University. The event is organized by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG).
SVP, the City of Santa Clara’s municipal electric utility, held its third annual Energy Innovator competition to recognize companies implementing extraordinary measures to reduce energy consumption and/or utilize green power and renewable energy resources. Winners in the categories of Environmental Innovator, Energy Efficiency Partner and Green Power Champion will be honored.
The Environmental Innovator award is given for comprehensive efforts to support energy efficiency and renewable energy. This year, the Environmental Innovator winner is Agilent Technologies, Inc. which installed a 1-megawatt solar system on its headquarters in Santa Clara. This system delivers 7 percent of the site’s over all power needs each year and up to 70 percent during peak sunny hours. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the system will displace more than 52 million pounds of carbon dioxide over the next 30 years, which is equivalent to removing 4,300 cars from California highways.
The Energy Efficiency Partner award is given to organizations for attention to energy efficiency and participating in SVP rebate programs. In the large business category (over 200 kilowatts of demand), Bay Area Internet Solutions (BAIS, Inc.) won with a new state-of-the-art data center that enabled them to receive $750,000 in rebates from SVP in 2009. The data center utilizes a unique economizer design and control system, as well as energy-efficient building components and equipment with comprehensive energy monitoring. Over 4.5 million kilowatt hours per year will be saved as a result of this new environmentally-friendly building, the equivalent of powering over 6,000 homes annually.
The Energy Efficiency Partner winner in the small business category (under 200 kilowatts of demand) is El Camino Self Storage, which used an innovative approach to cutting the high-energy costs of lighting. By installing efficient lighting with integrated motion sensors throughout the storage facility, the company cut its energy bills by 80 percent.
The Green Power Champion award, given to the company with the most innovative and successful approach to its overall commitment to green power purchases and other renewable energy programs, is Santa Clara University (SCU) for a second consecutive year. SCU is the largest participant in the Santa Clara Green Power program and is committed to climate neutrality by 2015, meaning the university intends to have net zero carbon emissions by that year. SCU purchased 22,512 megawatt hours of Santa Clara Green Power, showing SCU’s commitment to reducing air pollution, natural resource consumption and greenhouse gas emission.
The City of Santa Clara would not be the #1 EPA Green Power Community in America for 2010 without active participation by customers like these.
About Silicon Valley Power
Silicon Valley Power is the trademark adopted for use by the century-old Electric Department of the City of Santa Clara, California. SVP provides power to more than 50,000 customers, including Applied Materials, Intel, National Semiconductor and Yahoo!, at rates 25 to 45 percent below neighboring communities. SVP also offers customers a 100 percent renewable energy option through its Santa Clara Green Power program and is an active participant in the wholesale energy markets in the Western United States. Visitsiliconvalleypower.com/green for more information.
