Penn, Phila. among EPA’s top 50 in green-power use

The University of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia have landed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Top 50 consumers of green power.

Penn ranked 22d nationwide - and No. 1 among universities - for consuming 200.2 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of green power, nearly half of the institution's demand. In addition to producing some renewable power on campus, Penn buys electricity from Community Energy Inc., a Radnor renewable power producer.

The city ranked 35th nationally for consuming 127.3 million kWh of green power, including self-generated electricity and purchases from its supplier, PPL EnergyPlus L.L.C. Green power amounts to about 20 percent of the city government's consumption.

Intel Corp. was the nation's top consumer of green power, according to the EPA, with 2.5 billion kWh, followed by Kohl's Department Stores, with 1.4 billion kWh and Whole Foods Markets with 752 million kWh.

The rankings reflect only those companies that participate in the EPA's Green Power Partnership, which promotes renewable power.