Houston-based Advance Polybag, a manufacturer of plastic retail bags, moved closer to having its facility recognized as a "green" building by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in light of its renewable energy contract with TXU Energy.
Advance Polybag, which relocated to the Texas in the wake of hurricane Katrina, began construction of its state-of-the-art facility more than a year ago, and it hopes that this 100% renewable energy contract with TXU Energy will help bring it one step closer to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. TXU Energy is a retailer that provides electricity and related services to more than 2.1 million electricity customers in Texas.
The renewable power contract is projected at a load of more than 17 million kilowatt hours over the life of the contract. Under the contract, TXU Energy will secure and retire renewable energy credits from renewable resources that comply with both LEED and "Green-e" standards in an amount equal to 100% of the 17 million kilowatt hours of energy consumption under the term of this agreement. Renewable energy resources rely on fuel sources that restore themselves, such as wind, solar, hydro, biomass and/or landfills.
According to the EPA, users of the LEED process earn credits in several categories associated with green buildings. These differ by the type of LEED certification, but generally include: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation.
