Intel plans massive solar installations

Enlarge Image

Intel Corp. on Monday said it will install 2.5 megawatts of solar electric systems at its campuses in four states, including 800 kilowatts in Oregon.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip-maker (NASDAQ: INTC) said the new installations will be completed over the next seven months and will be used to help power Intel campuses in California, Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico.

To put the investment in perspective, a megawatt of solar energy can power between 150 and 200 homes, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. That means Intel's 2.5 megawatts could power between 375 and 500 average homes.

The Oregon installations come in addition to a 100-kilowatt photovoltaic system at the company’s Jones Farm campus that was commissioned in Dec. 2008.

Intel also said it would increase its purchase of renewable energy credits by 10 percent to 1.43 billion kilowatt hours, or the equivalent of 51 percent of its 2010 electricity use.

Renewable energy credits are tradeable commodities that represent one megawatt of renewable energy placed on the power grid. Acquiring RECs, as they’re called, is a way for corporations to certify that they are acquiring energy on the market from renewable resources.

Intel ranked at the top of the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s latest “Green Power Partners” list released Monday. The list, released quarterly, ranks the top 50 organizations for acquiring green power resources.

Intel’s largest presence is in Washington County, where it employs about 15,000 workers in Hillsboro, Aloha and Beaverton.