Monday, October 20, 2008

HP Unveils Renewable Energy Research Initiatives; Pledges to Double Renewable Power Use by 2012

HP Unveils Renewable Energy Research Initiatives; Pledges to Double Renewable Power Use by 2012

PALO ALTO, Calif.--October 20 2008 --HP (NYSE:HPQ) today unveiled renewable energy initiatives in its facilities, research and products to support a new goal to double the company’s global purchases of renewable power from under 4 percent in 2008 to 8 percent by 2012.

This complements HP’s goal to reduce energy consumption and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions from HP-owned and HP-leased facilities worldwide to 16 percent below 2005 levels by 2010.

To reduce its carbon footprint, HP is relying on diversified renewable energy resources, improving energy efficiency and placing a strong emphasis on energy reduction and optimization at a number of its facilities around the world.

In 2007, HP successfully met its goal to increase renewable energy purchases by more than 350 percent and purchased 61.4 million kilowatt hours (kwh) of renewable energy and renewable energy credits in the United States.

“HP is investing in technologies that bring us closer to operating in a sustainable IT ecosystem,” said John Frey, senior sustainability executive, HP. “We are supporting renewable energy programs for our own operational efficiency, harnessing research to demonstrate environmental leadership and offering products that support customer concerns about rising energy costs.”

Harnessing solar and wind power

HP recently completed a 1.1-megawatt, 6,256 solar panel system at its facility in San Diego. This is one of the largest solar power installations in the County of San Diego and is projected to save the company $750,000 during the next 15 years while providing more than 10 percent of the facility’s power. Further, the system will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 60 million pounds over the next 30 years. This is equivalent to providing electricity to 3,800 homes or removing more than 5,250 cars from the road over this time period.

SunPower (http://www.sunpowercorp.com/) installed the system and GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of GE that owns the system under SunPower Access, will provide the electricity under a power purchase agreement.

HP also extended the benefits of solar power to its U.S. employees. To date, more than 600 HP employees and retirees have requested an evaluation of a home system installation, and more than 60 have completed an installation or are under contract to install SunPower systems at their homes.

HP elected to participate in Austin’s Green Choice program, to procure almost 19.9 million kwh of wind energy from wind farms in western Texas for two of its Austin data centers, which represents nearly 20 percent of the annual energy used by the two centers. Additionally, the facilities are using the HP Dynamic Smart Cooling (DSC) system, which enables real-time changes to air conditioners, fans, vents and computing equipment help reduce carbon dioxide emissions and reduce energy costs.

HP DSC typically yields energy savings of 20 to 40 percent over legacy HP data centers. HP’s Austin data centers are on track to achieve energy cost savings of more than $100,000 annually based on the integration of HP DSC technology.

HP consolidated three of its facilities in Melbourne, Australia, with sustainability in mind. The new facility design included orienting the building to strategically reduce energy consumption associated with heating and cooling and using energy-efficient lighting. As a result, HP expects to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions by 70 percent.

Sustainable IT ecosystem

HP is leveraging renewable and non-renewable resources to effectively and efficiently manage a limited supply of available energy. The use of various sources of power throughout its operations will support the development of HP’s micro-grid for power and cooling distribution in the data center facility, which ensures efficiency, manageability and regulatory requirements while meeting service level agreements.

HP Labs, the company’s central research arm, has initiated research that uses nanowire photonics to potentially increase the efficiency of solar cells to more than 20 percent. This development allows solar cells to operate on a level of those used in expensive deep-space applications, while being manufactured at much lower costs, like those used in pocket calculators or to recharge portable devices.

Nanowire photonics may be integrated with a greater selection of conductor materials, allowing for low-cost options. In the future, nanowire photonics may optimize renewable energy throughout the IT industry and other business sectors.

Taking steps to reduce the energy required for manufacturing and distributing products, HP plans to reduce the energy consumption of its volume desktop and notebook PC families by 25 percent, relative to 2005. Today, HP announced two new desktop PCs and a display designed to have reduced impact on the environment with energy-efficient processors and recyclable packaging.

The HP Pavilion Verde Special Edition a6645f and HP Pavilion Phoenix Special Edition a6655f desktop PCs are ENERGY STAR® qualified and meet strict energy-efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The products also meet the standards for the Silver registration in the Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT™), one of the highest ratings products can achieve for their environmental attributes. In addition, HP announced the ergonomically designed 25.5-inch HP w2558hc Vivid Color display, which is ENERGY STAR qualified and offers a Power Saver feature that helps to reduce energy consumption.

The special-edition desktop PCs provide up to 45 percent energy savings compared to PCs without power management enabled and come in 100 percent recyclable packaging with less plastic foam.

HP and the environment

For decades HP has been an environmental leader, driving company stewardship through its holistic design for environment strategy. HP influences industry action through its long-standing commitment to maintain supply chain responsibility, sustain energy efficient operations, reduce its climate impact and offer product reuse and recycling options. HP also makes it easier for customers to recognize environmental attributes through HP Eco Solutions, a program that helps customers identify products and services designed with the environment in mind. More information is available at www.hp.com/environment.

About HP

HP, the world’s largest technology company, provides printing and personal computing products and IT services, software and solutions that simplify the technology experience for consumers and businesses. HP completed its acquisition of EDS on Aug. 26, 2008. More information about HP is available at http://www.hp.com/.

Note to editors: More news from HP, including links to RSS feeds, is available at http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/.

ENERGY STAR is a registered mark owned by the U.S. government.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning expected development, performance or market share relating to products and services; anticipated operational and financial results; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the execution and performance of contracts by HP and its customers, suppliers and partners; the achievement of expected results; and other risks that are described in HP’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2008 and HP’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to HP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2007. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

© 2008 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

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