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Intel expanding green power purchasing to Israel

Revital_Bitan
Employee
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At the Eilat-Eilot International Conference, the leading renewable energy event in Israel, Intel announced it has acquired solar attributes and green power credits in Israel equivalent to over one-quarter of Intel’s total electrical power consumption in its Israeli sites. Today, 100% of the power used by Intel in the U.S. and European Union is from green power. With the latest initiative, Intel Israel has also likely become the largest buyer of green power in Israel.

The Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Conference is a bi-annual event and a unique opportunity to meet with the people who are making the green revolution happen in Israel. Todd Brady, Director, Global Public Affairs & Sustainability at Intel Corporation said at the conference: “Intel is proud to announce this investment in the Israel green power market and increase the awareness to the environmental aspects of power generation.  The use of green power is a key pillar in our overall sustainability strategy to reduce our impact on the environment.”

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Marty Sedler, Director, Global Utilities and Infrastructure at Intel Corporation who attended the event as well said: “We hope our decision to procure a greener electricity supply will help boost the renewable energy market as well as encourage other businesses to follow our example. The larger the number of participants in the renewable energy market, the larger the demand for green power production capacity and the benefit to the environment will become. These, in turn, will help lower the costs of renewable energy.”

eilat13.jpg Todd Brady with Aharon Aharon, the CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority who acknowledged Intel's green leadership and innovation

 

The initiative of purchasing green power credits in Israel is one of many actions taken by Intel in support of advancing sustainability. The company hopes to encourage investments and innovation, which are vital for ensuring diversified, sustainable and robust energy supply. To date, Intel has greened its electricity supply by using a portfolio approach of on and off-site projects and purchasing green power certificates for the consumption of its U.S. sites and in all European countries, including Ireland, UK, Holland, France, Germany and more.

Green electricity refers to electricity produced from renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and photo-voltaic cells. In the current purchase, Intel bought certificates for 175 million kw/h of green power for 2018. Intel Israel's annual electricity consumption is just below 700 million kw/h a year, which means the current purchase is equivalent to over one-quarter of Intel Israel's electricity consumption.

Bella Abrahams, Intel Israel public affairs manager, said, “Our factory in Israel uses the most advanced technology to enable environmentally-responsible production. Our cumulative investment in environmental treatment facilities, including particle removal, waste water treatment and a saline pipeline totaled $135 million. In 2017, Intel Corporation announced a new corporate-wide goal to restore 100% of the water we use by 2025. Today, we recover 80% of the water we use and return it to the community post treatment.”

Intel’s long term commitment to environmental sustainability has helped the company reduce costs and respond to the needs of customers and stakeholders in the communities around its campuses globally. Intel invests in conservation projects on the corporate level in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve recycling of all resources, reduce energy and water consumption and minimize the amount of waste it produces.

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