July 12, 2006

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released an update to its national Top 10 Retail Partners list, highlighting the largest national purchases of renewable energy by retail Partner organizations of the Green Power Partnership. The Top 10 list reflects Partner purchase information through June 26, 2006.

Topping the list is Whole Foods Market, followed in second place by Starbucks. Rounding out the top five purchasers of green power are Safeway Inc., FedEx Kinko's and Staples. A newcomer to the list is the national outdoor retailer Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), reaching No.10 on the list, while FedEx Kinko's has jumped to No. 4 from its previous position at No. 6.

Five of the retail Partners on this list are also among the largest EPA green power purchasers in the nation. Whole Foods Market, Starbucks, Safeway Inc., Staples and FedEx Kinko's also appear on EPA's current Top 25 list of the largest national green power purchasers in the Green Power Partnership.

The actions of the Top 10 Retail Partners help drive the development of new renewable energy sources. Combined, the green power purchases of the Top 10 Retail Partners amount to nearly 900 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, an increase of about six percent since the last Top 10 Retail list was released in April 2006. This represents enough renewable energy to power approximately 85,000 average U.S. homes per year or is equivalent to removing the emissions of nearly 110,000 cars annually.

EPA’s Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program helping to increase the use of green power among leading U.S. organizations. The program encourages organizations to purchase green power as a way to reduce the risk of climate change and the environmental impacts associated with conventional electricity use. Currently, the Green Power Partnership has more than 600 Partners voluntarily purchasing over 5.3 billion kWh of green power. Partners include a wide variety of leading organizations such as Fortune 500 companies, local, state, and federal governments, trade associations, as well as colleges and universities.

EPA updates its Top Partner lists of green power purchasers quarterly. The next scheduled update is set for October 2006 and will reflect information received by Partners as of September 21, 2006.

For more information on EPA's Green Power Partnership, visit http://www.epa.gov/greenpower .

For more information on EPA's Top 10 List of Retail Partners, visit http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/partners/top10retail.htm .

For more information on EPA's overall Top 25 List of Partners in the Green Power Partnership, visit http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/partners/top25.htm .

Green Power Partnership U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Web site: http://www.epa.gov/greenpower