PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) is an energy company that controls roughly 12,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity. And while they still generate their power with natural gas and the increasingly taboo coal, there's something different about this company.
Their headquarters, in Allentown, PA, has stood since the 1920s. But recently the corporation outgrew its aging building and needed to house some employees in a new structure.
Unlike traditional power companies, however, PPL just didn't slap up the first building proposed by any old architect. They took their time, crunched the numbers, got some green building information and, ultimately, decided to go the green route.
And I know what you're thinking: Why would a utility company that still burns fossil fuels to produce electricity build a green building to house their employees and executives?
I could go the environmentalist route and tell you it was because they truly care about the environment and how their footprint affects it. I could tell you it was because of the natural light the building lets in, the energy and water it saves, or because of the plants growing in its atriums and on the roof.
But it was for none of those reasons. The reason PPL didn't just build a cookie-cutter building was simple economics. It actually helped their bottom line to go green.
As if the savings on electricity and water bills weren't enough, green buildings increase worker productivity up to 15%, while decreasing absenteeism. So commissioning and leasing a building certified as gold by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system of the US Green Building Council (USGBC), even if it came with a slight premium, actually saves PPL money in the long run.
The Carrot or the Whip
As President Clinton poignantly stated at the opening plenary of the Greenbuild 2007 conference in Chicago last week, climate change has been sold. It is now time to operationalize the solutions.
He said, "Climate change is perhaps the most important cause we can be involved in today." And he added, "Solving the issues associated with climate change is not a problem, it's an opportunity. Perhaps the greatest opportunity for broad-based prosperity since we mobilized for World War II. It is a staggering economic opportunity."
Those are powerful words from a powerful and intelligent man—words that were backed up, again and again, in the various sessions of the following days.
They were backed up by Andrew Marris, CEO of dcarbon8, a British carbon consulting agency, who used the image of a donkey, with a carrot dangling in front of it and its master whipping it from behind, to illustrate the current green building situation.
The whip represented legislation, while the carrot symbolized market drivers. It's the carrot, he said, not legislation, that will ultimately entice companies to go green if they want good consumer relations, a positive image among their peers and society, and an increase in share prices.
PPL is the perfect example of this phenomenon. A utility company, usually the outcasts of the green world, striving to improve is environmental image while making money at the same time. And, more and more, the two simply go hand in hand.
From Green Building to Green Energy
Last week, PPL Renewable Energy, an offshoot of PPL, announced it will develop a 4.8 MW power plant in Moretown, VT, using landfill gas as fuel.
The electricity produced by the plant will be introduced to the grid and be able to power about 3,000 homes. It will be completed late next year and will prevent 29,000 metric tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere annually. If PPL Renewable Energy sells those carbon credits at today's prices, it stands to make an additional $700,000 a year.
PPL Renewable Energy already has more than 15 MW of renewable power in its portfolio, coming from solar, wind, and other landfill gas projects. And its efforts haven't gone unnoticed. The stock has grown nearly 50% in the past twelve months.
Stubborn utilities like Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK) and The Southern Company (NYSE: SO) wish they could say the same. Southern's stock has been flat for the past year, while Duke has lost over 30%. And the disparities between companies making clean efforts and those that refuse to change are only going to increase.
So whether it's greening your facilities, your operations, or both, there is only money to be made. And this is just one example of a company changing its practices. I've not yet delved into the profit potential for green building product manufacturers, architects and construction companies.
We'll save that for another time.
Until then,
Nick
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*The U.S. leader in wind energy generation. Approximately 30 percent of thier generating capacity comes from wind power, representing more than 4,000 net megawatts.
*Leading clean energy provider with natural gas, wind, solar, hydroelectric and nuclear power plants in operation across the nation.
*Seven solar facilities.
Located at Kramer Junction (SEGS III-VII) and Harper Lake (SEGS VIII, IX) in California
310 megawatts ownership of approximately 150 megawatts
Covers more than 2,000 acres in the desert
More than 900,000 mirrors that capture and concentrate sunlight
Represents approximately 1 percent of company's total generation
*83 hydro power units at 26 stations in Maine
360 megawatts
*Represents 3 percent of companys total generation
*More than 7,100 net megawatts of natural gas and oil-fired generation
*12 natural gas plants in ten states
*Three oil-fired facilities in two states
*Natural gas represents approximately 52 percent of companys total generation; oil is 6 percent.
*Investment of up to $1.5 billion in new solar thermal generating facilities in Florida and California over the next seven years
*Investment of up to $500 million to create a smart network that will provide 4.5 million customers with enhanced energy management capabilities.
*The launch of a new consumer education program and new products that could increase renewable energy resources by at least $400 million over the first five years of the program.
Company just announced in September a $2.4 billion investment program aimed at increasing U.S. solar thermal energy output and reducing carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming.
Wind. Wind is the fastest growing renewable energy resource in the world. In 2006,
This company accounted for one-third of new wind capacity in the nation and remains the
largest owner and operator of U.S. wind generating facilities. We have more than 50
wind facilities in operation in 16 states, producing more than 4,600 megawatts of
electricity. This comapny's wind facilities have enabled our customers who have purchased
the renewable attributes to reduce 2006 emissions that would have otherwise been
released into the atmosphere from other sources of power generation including:
Nearly 6.4 million tons of carbon dioxide;
More than 14,000 tons of sulfur dioxide;
More than 9,000 tons of nitrogen oxide.
*The nations leader among electric utilities for
its partnership with customers in energy conservation
(using 2005 U.S. Department of Energy data, the latest
available).
*FPL Group received a No. 1 ranking for environmental performance among 23 electric utilities for the fourth straight time from Innovest, an internationally recognized research firm.
*In January 2005, FPL Group was named one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World by Corporate Knights, Inc., a Canadian media company. Chosen from a universe of 2,000 of the worlds largest corporations, FPL Group was cited for the honor after achieving a sustainability performance that places it within the top five percent of its sector.
*As part of the EPAs Climate Leader Program, FPL Group committed to achieve an 18 percent reduction in emissions rates of greenhouse gases by 2008 compared to a 2001 baseline.
FPL Group is also the largest U.S. power company to have joined World Wildlife Funds Powerswitch! Pioneers program in which it intends to continue its successful demand reduction programs and achieve a 15 percent improvement in energy generation through the addition of more power plants and the investment in wind power and other renewable energy sources.
*In 2005, FPL Energy received the Outstanding Stewardship of America's Rivers Award from the National Hydropower Association for our efforts in Maine.
If you have any data or a source of data I am willing to read. I have been in the facilities business for 30 plus years. Any facility or area that undergoes a renovation and upgrade will provided the same subjective comments. Even basement areas with no natural light that I have renovated bring excitement and better attitudes to the work environment.
The California study made the claim some years ago without any real data.
I do like reading your articles and your views. I do think that if business savvy folks can get this to work we will be better off with less pollution going into the air.
Please send me an email if there is new objective info with respect to productivity info. Robert