Over the next several years, Sterling Planet will provide a total of 795 million kilowatt hours of RECs from national wind and bioenergy resources to selected members of The Green Power Group, including Alcoa Inc., Delphi Corporation, DuPont, Interface, Pitney Bowes and Staples.

These RECs represent the amount of pollution avoided when electricity is generated by wind and bioenergy (including landfill gas) instead of by fossil fuels. The amount of RECs in the first year of this history-making purchase represents enough electricity to power 24,000 homes.

According to WRI, this purchase also avoids an estimated 450 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generators using conventional nonrenewable sources, such as coal and oil. This impact on carbon dioxide emissions is equivalent to taking 39,000 cars off U.S. roads for a year.

"We applaud these members of The Green Power Group for their corporate commitments to purchasing renewable energy," said Jonathan Lash, WRI President. "We urge other companies to follow their environmental leadership and make similar decisions in the future."

Through this purchase, members of The Green Power Group (www.thegreenpowergroup.org) are reducing corporate greenhouse gas emissions, boosting energy diversity, and helping develop the national market for renewable energy.

Sterling Planet, a nationwide renewable energy developer and marketer with a dual focus on utility partnerships and renewable energy solutions for business customers, points to additional benefits.

"A Green America purchase also benefits local economies in the vicinity of renewable energy generating facilities, creating more jobs and more tax revenues," said Mel Jones, Sterling Planet's President and Chief Executive Officer.

"This demonstration of corporate environmental stewardship also benefits the business buyer by strengthening customer relations and differentiating products and services."

Adds Jones, "Sterling Planet is pleased to team with these exemplary corporations to make real progress toward a greener America, while demonstrating that choosing environmentally preferable energy can also be affordable and cost-effective."

Participating Green Power Group members recognize Sterling Planet's Green AmericaTM renewable energy certificates (RECs) as a viable means for meeting corporate environmental goals and commitments:

"Renewable energy procurement is a cornerstone of Staples' company-wide environmental commitment," said Mark Buckley, vice president of environmental affairs at Staples.

"Renewable energy certificates from Sterling Planet enabled Staples to increase its renewable commitment from less than two percent to ten percent of our total annual U.S. electricity consumption. Working with Sterling Planet and The Green Power Group, we're able to obtain RECs for our 1,200 U.S. stores and distribution centers that result in significant cost savings and environmental benefits."

"Interface, a founding partner in WRI's Green Power Market Development Group, is making progress toward its goal of eliminating its dependence on nonrenewable fossil fuels for its energy needs," said Michael D. Bertolucci, Ph.D. President, Interface Research Corporation. "Sterling Planet's renewable energy certificates are an important mechanism in our process to achieve that goal."

"Pitney Bowes is a global leader with a significant international presence," stated Michael J. Critelli, Chairman and CEO, Pitney Bowes. "While our business has grown, we have remained committed to reducing our environmental footprint and are extending our philosophy of good corporate citizenship through responsible energy management, recycling initiatives and our leading edge Supply Chain Environmental Management Programs. We see this as an opportunity to encourage other major corporations to consider renewables in their energy management strategy."

Sterling Planet markets renewable energy to businesses via a diverse rnage of renewable energy solutions to homes and businesses nationwide through utility partnerships. To date, Sterling Planet has sold nearly 1 billion renewable kilowatt hours, representing enough electricity to power more than 81,000 average U.S. homes for a full year.

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