Intel Crowned as Nation's Largest Green Energy Purchaser

Intel has been, once again, landed top spot on new EPA rankings

According to the EPA, Intel acquired 2,502,052,000 kWh from solar and wind energy sources. The company said that those 2.5 billion kWh are the equivalent of equivalent environmental impact of taking more than 340,000 passenger cars off the road each year, or avoiding the amount of electricity needed to power more than 215,000 average American homes annually.

Following Intel in the ranking are Kohl's Department Stores (1,524,656,000 kWh), Walmart (872,382,088 kWh), Whole Foods Market (800,257,623 kWh), and Johnson & Johnson (553,565,521 kWh).

The tech sector has slipped in the ranking as Cisco is the second IT company only at rank #15 (268,644,637 kWh), Sprint at #26 (176,000,000 kWh), Dell at #43 (114,536,440 kWh) and Google at #47 (103,403,137 kWh). However, these numbers only tell half the story, as Intel's huge purchase covers only 88 percent of the company's energy use. while Kohl's covers 100% and Whole Foods even 106 percent, while Walmart is at just 28 percent.

Cisco's green energy coverage is 27 percent, Sprint is at 5 percent, Dell at 28 percent, and Google at 5 percent.

Intel has been ranked by the EPA as the largest green energy buyer since 2008, when the company reported purchases of 1,302,040,000 kWh and 46 percent coverage of its total energy use.