The Philadelphia Phillies announced this week they will purchase 20 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power to serve the ball club’s 43,500-seat Citizens Bank Park.

The purchase not only places the Phillies as the largest green power purchaser in major league baseball, but also as the leader overall among major U.S. professional sports teams in EPA’s Green Power Partnership.

The Phillies’ purchase is estimated to avoid the equivalent carbon dioxide emissions of nearly 2,800 vehicles each year.

“EPA applauds the Philadelphia Phillies for 'playing ball' and protecting our environment by purchasing green power,” said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. “By being the first major league baseball team to join the Green Power Partnership, the Phillies have hit a grand slam for the environment."

Buying green power is an effective way for an organization to reduce its environmental footprint. Green power is a kind of renewable electricity. It's produced from resources that provide the highest environmental benefit - - solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biogas, and low-impact hydropower. Green power resources produce electricity with an environmental profile superior to traditional power generation. It also does not produce a net-increase of greenhouse gas emissions.

EPA Regional Administrator Donald Welsh joined Gov. Rendell, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and representatives from the Phillies, Major League Baseball, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Department of Environmental Protection for the announcement. Among the organizations in EPA’s Green Power Partnership, the Phillies are the third largest green power purchaser in Philadelphia and seventh largest in Pennsylvania.

EPA is looking to other professional sports teams to step up to the plate, buy green power, and help reduce the environmental impacts associated with conventional electricity use. The partnership includes a diverse set of organizations from Fortune 500 companies, to small and medium businesses, to government institutions and colleges and universities.

Overall, more than 950 Green Power Partners are buying over 14 billion kWh of green power annually, which is the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power nearly 1.5 million average American homes for one year.

For more information on how your organization can partner with EPA, or for tips on how to buy green power, visit EPA’s Green Power Partners webpage.

Link: Pirates Launch Greening Initiatives Program at PNC Park

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5/2/2008