Yahoo! Energy Buy Supports Renewables Development in Silicon Valley

Global internet service leader Yahoo! has joined the Santa Clara Green Power renewable energy program. Yahoo! now purchases 804,000 kWh of clean renewable energy credits, derived from new wind and solar generation sources in California, equivalent to one quarter the annual output of one large-scale wind turbine.

Santa Clara Green Power is a voluntary renewable energy program offered by Silicon Valley Power (SVP) to all residential, commercial, and industrial customers within Santa Clara as a way to support energy generated from 100% clean wind and solar power resources at a low additional cost of 1.5 cents per kilowatt-hour.

This wind and solar energy commitment is in line with Yahoo! for Good, the company's community relations program. In addition to energy conservation programs already in place, renewable energy is a new benefit to Yahoo!'s overall energy footprint. This commitment prevents the annual release of more than 800,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas. The environmental benefit of a purchase this size is equivalent to planting 108 acres of forest or removing 70 cars from the road for a year.

"Yahoo! is committed to renewable power as it helps support sustainable, healthy communities for our customers and employees," said Meg Garlinghouse, director of Yahoo! For Good. "Santa Clara Green Power gives us the opportunity to work together with the community to reach our common goals."

By joining Santa Clara Green Power, Yahoo! becomes a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership for its facilities in Santa Clara and enters the growing circle of other large Santa Clara businesses supporting renewable energy, including Agilent Technologies, Cisco, Applied Materials, as well as Santa Clara University. In addition, over 100 small businesses are participating along with 2,300 households.

"Big players like Yahoo! bring greater awareness to the program and help to further our goal of supporting California's development of clean energy resources," said Joyce Kinnear, public benefit program manager for Silicon Valley Power. "We are proud of the strong business support for renewable energy in the Santa Clara community."

On behalf of Yahoo!, SVP will purchase renewable energy credits from newly constructed wind farms and solar photovoltaic projects located within California. A portion of Yahoo!'s Santa Clara Green Power rate will support new solar facilities in the City of Santa Clara, such as the Haman Elementary School project, helping to bring new installations into the community.

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