Verizon and U.S. Energy Dept.'s National Renewable Energy Laboratory to Collaborate on Energy-Saving Technologies

NEW YORK, July 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop innovative ways to reduce energy use in the information and communications technology industry. This is a first-of-its-kind agreement between an industry company and a national laboratory owned by the Energy Department.

Under the agreement, Verizon will further its goal to become more energy efficient, and will work with the laboratory on a possible blueprint for reducing energy use throughout the information and communications technology industry.

"Verizon has taken significant steps to become a greener, more energy-efficient company," said James Gowen, Verizon's chief sustainability officer. "By partnering with one of the top science and technology labs in the world, we'll be able to achieve even greater efficiencies in a cost-effective fashion. We're very excited about this opportunity."

The laboratory and Verizon will work together and share technical expertise in several areas:

• Energy efficiency and energy management at Verizon's buildings and facilities, including data centers.
• Advancement of smart grid technologies and best practices, including energy and communication technologies in homes and buildings.

"Innovation and application of energy-saving technologies in a way that makes sense in the marketplace are vital to improving the nation's economy and environment," said Dan Arvizu, director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  "NREL's collaboration with Verizon offers a variety of possibilities for using clean energy and improving energy efficiency in a large and meaningful way."

The information and communications technology industry plays an important role in reducing energy consumption in other industries. Verizon's global network, for example, is the platform on which energy-saving services like video conferencing, smart grid technology and home automation are made possible. In the last 20 years, every extra kilowatt-hour of electricity consumed by information and communications technology equipment has saved the U.S. economy 10 kilowatts of energy on average, according to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.  

Verizon has received numerous awards for its green initiatives. In 2010, Verizon received 21 awards for its sustainability achievements, and in January the company received the Groundbreaker Award from the Clean Economy Network Education Fund.

This year, Verizon developed a new metric for measuring carbon efficiency, the carbon intensity metric, enabling the company, for the first time, to accurately quantify the impact of its green initiatives.

Verizon has been named to several lists for sustainability, corporate ethical standards and social responsibility, including the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Newsweek Global Green 100, Maplecroft Climate Innovation Inde, FTSE4Good Index, Ethibel Sustainability Index and Calvert Large Cap Value Fund.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, with more than 106 million total connections nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune 500.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of nearly 196,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of $106.6 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. Based in Golden, Colorado, NREL is operated for the DOE by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

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SOURCE Verizon