In January, we announced Intel's plans to build seven new solar projects in four U.S. states. This commitment includes ground and roof-mounted solar electric facilities that can produce approximately 2.8 million watts of power, enough to power over 400 U.S. homes per year. Since that announcement, I have had the fun of watching the construction of one of the projects from the vantage point of my cubicle in Folsom. It is amazing to me how quickly it was possible to move from announcement to operations. Today, we're proud to report that our solar sites in Folsom, CA, and Chandler, AZ, are now up and running.Intel's Folsom solar installation is our biggest solar site to-date and the largest non-industrial solar site in the Sacramento Municipal Utility District service area. Spanning approximately 5.5 acres, it will provide nearly 25 percent of the building's peak energy demands and is expected to produce more than 1.5 million kWhs annually - enough energy to power close to 175 area homes. Intel's Chandler solar roof system will generate approximately 10 percent of the building's energy peak demand. SolarCity managed the installation of the photovoltaic array at the Folsom site, and is also the project manager on Intel's solar projects at seven other U.S. facilities.
Looking ahead, the Intel Ocotillo, AZ, campus will set up solar support structures, providing comparable energy savings to that of the Chandler campus. In addition, Intel plans to set up awareness kiosks in each site lobby to educate and engage employees in our energy efforts, as well as show real-time information on electricity generated from these systems.
In addition to our solar commitment, in 2010, for the third year in a row, Intel was named the number one voluntary purchaser of green power in the U.S. by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and received its second consecutive EPA Partner of the Year Awards. The launch of these solar installations reflects just the latest milestones in Intel's diverse energy portfolio , which includes wind, solar, geo-thermal, small hydroelectric and biomass sources.