NEW YORK, March 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Jewish Committee announced today that 100 percent of the electricity used in its New York headquarters and offices across the U.S. will be linked to renewable energy sources. AJC is the first Jewish nonprofit in the nation to "green" its electrical supply, taking another step towards achieving green building certification and advancing domestic sources of clean energy. "AJC employees will be contributing to a cleaner environment and supporting new energy alternatives when they turn on the lights in their offices," said Benjamin Tressler, director of AJC's Green Building Project. AJC's electrical supply is now supplemented with a Renewable Energy Credit (REC) program that supports energy sources that reduce harmful fossil fuel content in the atmosphere. Half of AJC's RECs will be generated from the Gray County Wind Farm in Kansas. Gray County is one of the largest wind farms in the U.S. It produces enough electricity to power 33,000 homes and reduces 600 tons of carbon emission annually. The other half will be generated from American Municipal Power-Ohio's Landfill Gas Energy projects in Ohio. These plants capture methane from decommissioned landfills and burn it to generate renewable, carbon neutral, electricity. AJC's "green projects" include its ongoing compliance with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating Systems(TM), a set of voluntary standards, administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, used in the design, construction and operation of high-performance, environmentally sound buildings. In addition, AJC's Fuel-Efficient Vehicle Bonus Program provides cash incentives to full-time AJC employees to purchase new hybrid cars.
