WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the top 25 purchasers of green power Monday, which together account for more than 6 billion kilowatt-hours per year.

Private companies comprised the bulk of the list but public agencies, such as the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts and the EPA placed in the top 10. The green power comes from solar, wind, geothermal, low-impact hydropower, biomass and biogas generation.

The EPA named PepsiCo. the top buyer of green power in the U.S. with more than 1 billion kilowatt-hours per year. Two of the company's independent bottlers also made the list at fourth and 13th, signaling a broad effort to make PepsiCo.'s supply chain sustainable, the company said in a statement.

The company's three largest bottlers announced Monday plans to buy enough renewable energy certificates to match all electricity needs for their operations.

"This represents a collective approach to protecting the environment and becoming more sustainable in the long-term -- something our consumers, customers, employees and investors can feel good about," said Dawn Hudson, president and CEO of Pepsi-Cola North America.

The Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. purchases renewable energy certificates to match nearly 458 million kWh, putting it at fourth place on the list. PepsiAmericas Inc. ranked 13th by buying enough renewable energy certificates to match 157 million kWh.

All organizations on the Top 25 list also are part of the Green Power Partnership, which the EPA launched in 2001. The program works with more than 750 partner organizations that voluntarily make green power purchases to promote renewable power resources and reduce the environmental impact of conventional electricity. The Green Power Partners buy more than 10 billion kWh of green power each year, while the top 25 buyers account for more than 6 billion kWh combined.

Partner Organization
Green Power
(kilowatt - hours / year)
1. PepsiCo
1,105,045,154

2. Wells Fargo & Company
550,000,000

3. Whole Foods Market
509,104,786

4. The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc.
457,851,838

5. U.S. Air Force
457,500,000

6. Johnson & Johnson
400,702,978

7. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
329,880,513

8. Kohl's Department Stores
201,396,000

9. Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts
196,003,000

10. Starbucks
185,000,000

11. DuPont Company
180,000,000

12. U.S. Department of Energy
157,964,000

13. PepsiAmericas, Inc.
157,062,875

14. Vail Resorts, Inc.
152,000,000

15. Cisco Systems, Inc.
128,204,000

16. HSBC North America
124,544,000

17. Staples
121,800,000

18. New York University
118,616,000

19. The World Bank Group
114,735,000

20. University of Pennsylvania
112,000,000

21. IBM Corporation
110,103,000

22. Mohawk Fine Papers Inc.
100,200,000

23. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
90,000,000

24. NatureWorks LLC
89,000,000

25. Sprint Nextel
87,600,000

Source: EPA