Manufacturers' Projects Nurture Green Power Markets

Compiled ByDeborah Austin Three large manufacturers have announced clean-energy projects springing from their involvement with the Green Power Market Development Group, a commercial/industrial partnership working to build corporate markets for green power. Members of the group -- a collaboration between businesses and environmental think tank World Resources Institute, Washington, D.C. -- include Alcoa Inc., Cargill Dow LLC, Delphi Corp., Du Pont & Co., General Motors Corp., IBM Corp., Interface Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Kinko's Inc. and Pitney Bowes Inc. Their goal: to create 1,000 megawatts of new cost-competitive green power for corporate markets by the year 2010. Newly announced projects include:

General Motors, Detroit, is using landfill gas to fuel powerhouse boilers, and will purchase 8-million-plus kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity generated from landfill gas in Michigan.

IBM, Armonk, N.Y., has facilities in Minnesota and Texas buying more than 5.4 million kWh of green electricity per year, including wind-generated electricity through utility green pricing programs.

Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, N.J., has installed solar photovoltaic systems on three building rooftops, totaling nearly 350 kilowatts.