Intel has contracted for new solar electric installations at its sites in Oregon, Arizona, California and New Mexico. The new installations will generate approximately 2.5 megawatts of clean solar energy.
About 800 kilowatts of the total will be generated at Intel in Oregon, adding to a 100 kilowatt electric photovoltaic system at Intel’s Jones Farm campus energized in December 2008.
The new installations are planned to be completed over the next seven months. Specific locations at Intel’s campuses in Oregon will depend on engineering studies. All the installations will use the power generated on their respective site, making them a more efficient source and saving distribution transmission losses.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, over 25 years the new solar installations in Oregon will offset an estimated:
32.8 million pounds of carbon dioxide,
94,576 pounds of sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain, and
6,432 pounds of particulates, which can cause asthma.
Intel has also renewed and increased by 10 percent its purchase commitments for renewable energy credits to more than 1.43 billion kilowatt hours. This is more than 51 percent of the company’s estimated 2010 U.S. electricity use.
Intel’s purchase commitments correspond to the carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity use of nearly 134,000 average American homes or nearly 200,000 passenger cars removed from the streets for one year.
