One of the tallest skyscrapers in the world, the Empire State Building, is now among the largest buyers of renewable energy. The 102-storey landmark structure in New York City has signed a deal to purchase more than 100 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of wind energy over the next two years. The building, which stood as the world’s tallest building for more than 40 years, has tied up with Green Mountain Energy Company for the deal.

This recent development comes as part of the company’s efforts to reduce the building’s carbon footprint. The supervisor of the Empire State Building, Malkin Holdings, announced that the Green Mountain Energy Company will fulfill all the electricity requirements of the building from its portfolio of wind farms. They also claim that the two year contract to buy the energy that is reported to be nearly 55 million kWh a year is more than double the amount of renewable energy purchased by any other commercial customer in New York City.

Malkin Holdings’ effort to increase the green features of the Empire State Building has already included a $13.2m refurbishment programme that had all the 6,500 windows of the skyscraper to be retrofitted with a new variety of insulating glass. And the renewable energy deal is another step towards the same intent. The deal is expected to offset nearly 100 million pounds (about 45 million kilograms) of carbon dioxide emissions each year, which is equivalent to nearly every house in New York State turning off all their lights for a week.

Anthony E. Malkin, President, Malkin Holdings, said that the economic measures were made to attract new tenants to the building and to charge higher rents. Mr. Malkin said that the clean energy and nearly 40 per cent reduction in consumption will give them a competitive advantage and help attract the best tenants and the best rents. He also expressed, “Our programme of innovation at the Empire State Building shows simple, replicable, non-proprietary steps for other landlords to follow to be more energy efficient, cleaner and greener."

With this endeavor, the company now expects a slot in to the 18th position on the Environment Protection Agency's league table of 100 per cent Green Power Purchasers for the Empire State Building. The list is of companies in the US that buy green power to meet all their requirements of electricity.

Image courtesy: Flickr