2020 Green Power Leadership Award Winners

We would like to congratulate the winners of the 2020 Green Power Leadership Awards (GPLAs). The winners were announced on September 22, 2020 during the annual Renewable Energy Markets 2020 conference (read the release)..

2020 Green Power Leadership Awards (CRS) from Center for Resource Solutions on Vimeo.

2020 Green Power Leadership Awards (CRS) from Center for Resource Solutions.

 

2020 CRS Market Development Award Winners

Center for Resource Solutions presented Market Development Awards to 10 winners in four award categories. These awards recognize individuals, companies, and other renewable energy industry leaders that have helped build the market for green power:

  • Green Power Market Development: AT&T, Clean Power Alliance, Google LLC., LevelTen Energy, Inc., Tennessee Valley Authority
  • International Green Power Market Development: Fluence, Microsoft Corporation
  • Leadership in Green Power Education: Miles Braxton, KidWind/REcharge Academy
  • Green Power Leader of the Year: Richard Wanderscheid

 

EPA Green Power Partner Awards

EPA recognized 12 leading green power purchasers and suppliers in four categories: Sustained Excellence in Green Power Use, Partner of the Year, Excellence in Green Power Use, and Direct Project Engagement. This year’s EPA Green Power Partner Award Winners are:

  • Sustained Excellence in Green Power Use: Microsoft Corporation
  • Partner of the Year: Equinix, Inc.
  • Excellence in Green Power Use: ALDI, Inc.; General Motors, LLC; Saint Louis University; Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
  • Direct Project Engagement: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; Fifth Third Bank; Lundberg Family Farms; Madison Area Technical College – Main Truax Building; QTS Realty; Target Corporation

View the EPA’s Green Power Leadership Awards page

 

About the 2020 GPLA Winners (CRS)

Green Power Market Development

AT&T
As one of the largest corporate purchasers of renewable energy in the US, AT&T announced a purchase of over 1.5 gigawatts of clean energy, including virtual PPAs supporting nearly a GW of wind and solar. As part of AT&T Aspire, a $500 million commitment to education and training, AT&T has provided scholarships and support for students seeking careers as wind turbine technicians and solar panel installers.

Clean Power Alliance
Clean Power Alliance is California’s largest CCA, serving three million customers in Southern California. CPA serves 30% of its customers with a 100% renewable product, and in 2017, its first year of operations, it signed long-term contracts for over 600 megawatts of clean energy. CPA is also focusing on storage, developing one of the first standalone utility-scale battery storage units available in California to serve its 31 communities.

Google Inc.
Google has signed 52 long-term agreements totaling over 5 gigawatts of wind and solar energy around the world. In the U.S., the company will purchase 720 MW from solar farms in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. Together these purchases make Google the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in the world once again.

LevelTen Energy
In 2018 LevelTen Energy launched the LevelTen Marketplace, a unique two-sided marketplace where corporations can browse through and compare PPA offers from nearly every renewable energy project developer in North America. Corporations have bought over $1.7 billion dollars’ worth of renewable energy through the LevelTen Marketplace.

Tennessee Valley Authority
TVA has provided renewable power for more than 85 years. One of its newest programs, “Green Invest,” offers customers a cost-competitive solution for leveraging long-term agreements to build new, large-scale renewable energy installations through a competitive-bid process. Since 2018, TVA has used this model to contract a total of 1.3 GW and $1.6 billion dollars in solar investments.

 

International Green Power Market Development

Fluence
Since 2015, Fluence has been active in the UK and Republic of Ireland creating renewable generation + battery storage projects to strengthen regional grid resilience. Fluence recently completed a 34MW wind-storage hybrid plant located at the Kilathmoy Wind Farm that incorporates the fastest battery-based energy storage in the world.

Microsoft Corporation
In May 2019, Microsoft announced one of the first corporate offtakes from an offshore wind farm, an agreement for 90 MW from a massive 732 MW offshore wind project in The Netherlands—a deal that leveraged a consortium of Dutch buyers. The developer will provide Microsoft’s datacenters with green power for 15 years starting in 2022, bringing Microsoft’s wind portfolio in The Netherlands to 270 MW.

 

Leadership in Green Power Education

KidWind/REcharge Academy
Our first winner is KidWind and REcharge Academy. For the last 15 years, REcharge Academy has given thousands of educators the tools to bring renewable power to life in the classroom, guided by KidWind’s award-winning curriculum. REcharge Academy is an intensive multiday educator-training program focused on clean energy. Over the past 12 years, over 450 educators globally have attended REcharge Academies, impacting thousands of students and educators.

Miles Braxton
Our final award in this category goes to Miles Braxton. Creating innovative solutions to environmental problems needs a spectrum of perspectives, one of the keys to innovation. To address this issue, Miles started a speaking series to promote awareness and diversity within the industry, engaging university students and expanding to high schools, with the goal of adding to the diversity of college students who go on to careers in clean energy.

 

Green Power Leader of the Year

Richard Wanderscheid
For more than 40 years, Dick has been a leader, innovator, and collaborator in the renewable energy field, and a pioneer for clean energy programs in Oregon. For the last decade, Dick has worked at BEF, managing the award-winning Solar 4R Schools program and catalyzing the development of community-scale renewable energy projects in the Pacific Northwest. Dick retired this month, after a career leading with a quiet and humble perseverance. He was an innovative and passionate champion. His legacy lives across the Pacific Northwest through the clean energy programs he helped create. Congratulations Dick on being this year’s Green Power Leader of the Year.

Additional Information
For additional information on Center for Resource Solutions, visit www.resource-solutions.org.

For questions about the CRS Market Development Awards, contact Marcia Sitcoske at 415-561-2103 or marcia.sitcoske@resource-solutions.org.

 

About the Green Power Leadership Awards

Electricity generated from renewable sources is becoming increasingly available nationwide. By choosing green power instead of conventional electricity, consumers, businesses, and organizations can support increased deployment of renewable energy technologies that will reduce the environmental impact of electricity generation and increase energy security.

To recognize the actions of individuals, companies and organizations that are significantly advancing the development of renewable electricity sources through green power markets, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) sponsored the 2020 Green Power Leadership Awards. The 2020 Green Power Leadership Awards were announced on September 22, 2020 during the annual Renewable Energy Markets 2020 conference.

 

No endorsement by the EPA is intended or implied.