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Safeway Green Power FAQ's
A. GREEN POWER PURCHASING:
Why and how is Safeway Doing it?
- What is Green Power?
- What is Safeway's Green Power Commitment?
- Why is Safeway buying Green Power?
- Where does the money go?
B. ENVIRONMENTAL
Why is what we're doing important and what is the impact?
- Why is renewable energy important?
- What are the environmental benefits of renewable energy?
- What is the impact of Safeway's commitment?
- Do Windmills harm birds?
C. TECHNICAL
How does it work?
- What is a Renewable Energy Certificate or Green Tag?
- What are the renewable energy sources involved and where are they?
- Are the facilities new?
- Does this mean Safeway fueling stations run on green electricity?
- Does this affect the reliability of the electricity provided to Safeway fueling stations?
D. GENERAL INFORMATION
E. WIND PROJECT PROFILES
- High Winds, California
- Mountain View, California
- Lamar Wind, Colorado
- Waymart, Pennsylvania
- North Dakota 1, North Dakota
- Nine Canyon, Washington
A. Green Power Purchasing: Why and How is Safeway Doing it?
1. What is Green Power?
Green Power is electricity generated from environmentally-preferable renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, and biogas resources.
2. What is Safeway's Green Power Commitment?
Safeway has committed to purchase approximately 80 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy annually, through renewable energy credits. This electricity will come from newly constructed wind turbine generators. Safeway's fuel stations, corporate offices, and San Francisco Stores will be 100% powered by green energy.
Safeway's green power purchase ranks as one of the largest green power commitments in the United States.
3. Why is Safeway buying Green Power?
We are committed to creating a healthy environment in the communities in which we live and work.
4. Where does the money go?
In spite of advancement in wind energy technology, generating electricity from wind still costs more than generating it from fossil fuel sources. The additional funds provided to renewable energy generators through the purchase of certificates by Safeway and others provide critical additional financial incentive for project expansion and future development.
B. Environmental: Why is what we're doing important and what is the impact?
1. Why is renewable energy important?
Renewable energy plays a vital role in facilitating the transition away from fossil fuels, which negatively impact our environment. Today, only 2% of the country's electricity supply is generated by renewable energy sources. The growth of renewable energy is partly driven by voluntary purchases of green power, as Safeway is doing.
2. What are the environmental benefits of renewable energy?
Conventional electricity, on average, causes the emission of more than 1,300 pounds of Carbon Dioxide per MWh, a leading cause of global warming, as well as other harmful pollutants such as Sulfur Dioxide, Nitrogen Oxide, and Mercury. Energy from renewable sources, such as wind, dramatically reduces or even eliminates such emissions.
3. What is the impact of Safeway's commitment?
Safeway's commitment to buy wind energy has a substantial environmental impact. Unlike most energy sources, wind and other renewable energy sources don't create carbon dioxide. The more renewable energy we use, the less carbon dioxide we create.
The U.S. EPA, using average avoided carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions nationally, estimates that Safeway's purchase is helping prevent the release of more than 85 million pounds of CO2. This is comparable to planting more than 10,500 acres of trees. Each fuel station reduces its carbon dioxide emission by an equivalent of planting 24 acres of trees.
Inputs for Environmental Benefit Calculations:
Planting Acres of US Forest
| Environmental Conversion Factor | Source |
| Pounds of carbon sequestered per pine plantation acre in the Southeastern United States (2,204.6) | Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Green Power Partnership. Source Data: Birdsey, R.A. (1996) Regional Estimates of Timber Volume and Forest Carbon for Fully Stocked Timberland, Average Management After Final Clearcut Harvest. In Forests and Global Change: Volume 2, Forest Management Opportunities for Mitigating Carbon Emissions, eds. R.N. Sampson and D. Hair, American Forests, Washington, DC. |
| Pounds of carbon dioxide absorbed to sequester 2,204.6 pounds of carbon (8,077.9) | Source: Periodic Table of Elements. Calculation equals carbon sequestered x 3.6641 [atomic weight of carbon dioxide (44.0098) / atomic weight of carbon (12.0110)] |
| Acres per square mile (640) | MetricConversions.org |
4. Do windmills harm birds?
The wind projects supported by Safeway's purchase use modern wind turbines, where bird deaths are infrequent. This is because modern wind farm developers have taken avian concerns into the planning of the resources. Prospective sites for wind farms are carefully evaluated to ensure they do not fall in migration routes. This includes locating the turbine blades higher than the birds normally fly and providing more space between the turbines. Modern turbine blades are much larger, and move more slowly. Turbines now are built in such a way as to prevent nesting in the turbine equipment.
Finally, Safeway's commitment does not support wind turbines in Altamont Pass near San Francisco.
C. Technical: How Does It Work?
1. What are Renewable Energy Certificates?
Renewable energy has two components: the energy and the green power attribute.
The energy is the actual electricity produced at facilities that generate the renewable electricity. The electricity generated is sold as market without its environmental benefits. No environmental claims can be made on this power, because it is separate from the associated environmental benefits that are at the center of a Renewable Energy Certificate.
A Renewable Energy Certificate ("REC") represents the environmental benefits associated with generation like wind energy. A REC verifies the source of electricity is renewable in nature. RECs allow their purchasers to support renewable energy projects.
2. What are the renewable energy sources involved and where are they?
Safeway's commitment is supporting the following facilities:
High Winds, California
Mountain View, California
Lamar Wind, Colorado
Waymart, Pennsylvania
North Dakota 1, North Dakota
Nine Canyon, Washington
3. Are the renewable energy facilities considered "New"?
Yes. All of the facilities supported by Safeway's commitment began operation on or after January 1, 1999. These recently constructed projects were built to meet the growing demands of organizations like Safeway.
4. Does this mean Safeway fueling stations run on green electricity?
Safeway's commitment assures an amount of renewable energy equal to 100% of the electricity needed to run our fuel stations is delivered to the electricity grid. It is not possible to send electricity directly to a specific end user location because of the nature of the electricity grid. Electrons are stubborn. You can't tell them where to go. Once renewable electricity is delivered to the electric grid, it mixes with power from other generating plants. This means the actual electricity generated from "green" sources cannot be directed to a specific home or business.
However, Safeway's commitment assures an amount of renewable energy equal to 100% of our fuel stations and corporate campus' usage will be delivered to the electricity grid, the large pool of electricity that we all draw from for our homes and businesses.
Through our commitment and the commitments of others, the pool of energy over time is becoming greener and cleaner, because less electricity from natural gas, coal, or other nonrenewable fuels is required to meet demand.
5. Does this affect the reliability of electricity provided to Safeway fueling stations?
No. The electricity will continue to be uninterrupted even when the wind isn't blowing. As always, Safeway fueling stations and all other operations are still connected to the respective regional electricity system.
D. GENERAL INFORMATION
1. Is this program certified?
Yes. Various organizations, including environmental groups and Public Utility Commissions, require a full accounting of renewable generation and expenditures. In addition, the renewable energy Safeway is supporting meets the EPA Green Power Partnership and Green-e standards. The Green-e standards are set with input from a variety of constituents, including environmentalists, utilities, and consumer groups.
2. What is the Green Power Partnership?
The EPA Green Power Partnership is the federal recognition body supporting organizations that voluntarily power their businesses with renewable energy. The Green Power Partnership encourages organizations to use green power as a part of best-practice environmental management. Safeway is an EPA Green Power Partner. For more information, visit www.epa.gov/greenpower.
3. What is Green-e?
The Green-e Program (www.green-e.org) sets consumer protection and environmental standards for electricity products, and verifies that Green-e certified products meet these standards. To learn more about the Center for Resource Solutions, visit www.resource-solutions.org or call 1-888-63-GREEN.