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Two thousand Texas homes are getting wired into the wind grid with a donation from Allstate Insurance Co. The insurance company will provide enough clean, renewable wind energy to power the equivalent of 2,000 Texan homes for one year by purchasing 24.5 million kilowatts of wind energy from the Horse Hollow II wind energy farm in West Texas.
Allstate has made a significant financial contribution to eco-energy organization Carbonfund.org for the purchase of clean-energy credits. These credits are being used to fund wind energy for Texans and reforestation projects in Kansas and Louisiana.
Rich Crist, Allstate Texas region field vice president, said Allstate will begin to offset a portion of annual energy usage at its corporate headquarters and business miles traveled in vehicles through contributions to the reforestation and wind energy projects.
The purchase of clean energy credits helps offset the company’s current greenhouse gas emissions, but Allstate said this is part of a growing, balanced approach to going green.
In September 2007, Allstate opened the doors on its first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified office in Texas. The Houston building provides preferred parking for hybrid cars, motion-activated lighting and water-conserving bathrooms.
Allstate’s commitment to energy efficiency and environmental awareness follows a trend in many large corporations, but its size makes the contribution that much more significant.
