Washington, D.C., September 2006 – A grassroots organization that has spearheaded affordable, energy-efficient housing design; the mayor of a major northeastern city who has been the driving force behind expansion of local and regional energy-efficiency initiatives and programs; an industrial giant that has also become a leader in energy management; the CEO of the nation’s largest retailer and largest consumer of electricity; a pioneer in semiconductor technology for energy-efficient power conversion; and a leading Mexico-based organization dedicated to energy efficiency among electricity users are the Alliance to Save Energy’s 2006 “Stars of Energy Efficiency.” The awards will be presented at the Alliance’s black-tie gala here on September 12.

“The Alliance to Save Energy is delighted to be honoring six exemplary public and private sector ‘Stars of Energy Efficiency,’” said Alliance President Kateri Callahan. “This year it’s a special pleasure to inaugurate our new International Star of Energy Efficiency Award and, for the first time, to include an international organization among our honorees,” she added.

Recipients of the prestigious Alliance awards will include:

The Dow Chemical Company for its industry leadership in energy management, focus on technical innovation, corporate commitment to energy-efficiency goals, and support of third-party education and outreach programs – all of which have led to a dramatic companywide reduction in energy intensity, as well as significant industrial and residential energy consumer savings.

In 2005, Dow exceeded an aggressive 10-year goal to improve its global energy efficiency by 20 percent, saving more than 900 trillion Btu – equivalent to meeting the needs of California electricity customers for one year. Dow is also an active participant in the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Save Energy Now” effort and has hosted and participated in several training seminars and energy-saving assessment programs throughout the country.

Wal-Mart President and CEO Lee Scott has been selected to receive the Alliance’s prestigious Chairman’s Award, bestowed by Alliance Board Chairman Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), in recognition of the retail giant’s commitment to energy efficiency, the environment, and innovative corporate policy. In 2005, Scott issued a challenge to transform the company from the largest private consumer of electricity in America to an organization that would be 100 percent supplied by renewable energy, create zero waste, and sell products that sustain the world’s natural resources and the environment.

As a result, Wal-Mart has committed to investing approximately $550 million a year in energy-efficiency and sustainable technologies, reducing greenhouse gases 20 percent over the next seven years, and increasing the efficiency of its heavy-duty truck fleet by 25 percent in three years and 100 percent in 10 years.

In addition, Wal-Mart also has a wide range of existing energy-efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction policies in place, including a “no idle” truck fleet policy, daylight harvesting at more than 2,000 locations, cool roof technology, occupancy sensors, LED lighting for building signage, and an extensive waste heat capture system for refrigeration equipment.

The Trust Fund for Electric Energy Saving (FIDE), a Mexico-based organization, for promoting the efficient use of electricity for more than a decade in the municipal, commercial, and industrial sectors. FIDE finances energy audits and assessments, facilitates the acquisition and installation of energy-efficient equipment, including central air cooling systems, and develops regional and national programs to reduce end-use energy consumption in the electric sector.

To date, FIDE has supplied financial assistance to more than 3,000 energy-saving projects and has managed to encourage individuals, companies, and municipalities to match funding at three-and-a-half times the level of FIDE’s initial investments. In the past 15 years, FIDE’s domestic lighting program distributed nine million energy-efficient lamps, helped replace a half a million inefficient refrigerators and 100,000 inefficient air conditioners, and facilitated installation of insulation in 20,000 homes.

Mayor Matthew Driscoll and the City of Syracuse for outstanding leadership on expansion of local and regional energy-efficiency initiatives. The City of Syracuse has replaced inefficient street lighting and traffic signals, retrofitted municipal buildings with energy-efficient equipment, performed comprehensive energy audits on major City facilities, implemented a City-wide energy management system to monitor and control energy use, and reduced the City’s total annual greenhouse gas emissions by 11,000 tons. The City of Syracuse has achieved its goal of reducing the City’s energy usage 20% by 2006, is well on its way to reducing greenhouse gas emissions 20% by 2010 and has proposed a renewable energy generation facility; further reducing the City’s energy costs.

The National Affordable Housing Network (NAHN) for its outstanding contribution to energy efficiency in the construction of low-income housing to benefit those most in need of energy-efficiency solutions to high household energy costs. NAHN is an independent, nonprofit organization with more than 23 years of experience in field research and energy design. Its experts have trained tens of thousands of individual contractors and builders in energy-efficient building practices and helped lower home energy costs by up to 50 percent by building thousands of homes to an advanced energy standard. The network also has a 12-year relationship with Habitat for Humanity and has encouraged that organization to upgrade its construction standards with energy-efficient practices.

Power Integrations, Inc., for its innovative application of technology to improve the energy efficiency of power supplies, the devices that convert high-voltage AC power to the low-voltage DC needed by most electronic products. A pioneer in semiconductor technology for power supplies, Power Integrations has more than 150 U.S. patents and has been recognized repeatedly for its cutting-edge energy-efficiency technology, known as EcoSmart®.

The company’s integrated circuits (ICs) with EcoSmart technology can be found in everything from DVD players to desktop computers to cell phone chargers, and countless other electronic products. EcoSmart technology reduces standby waste (the power consumed while an electronic product is plugged in but sitting idle) by up to 97 percent compared to conventional power supplies. Power Integrations has sold more than 1.1 billion EcoSmart ICs since 1998, resulting in an estimated savings of $1.8 billion in energy costs for consumers, and the avoidance of more than 12 million tons of CO2 emissions.

Mark Ginsburg of the U.S. Department of Energy will be receiving a lifetime achievement award to be presented by California Energy Commissioner Art Rosenfeld at the Alliance’s 2006 Climate Change Summit – Energy Efficiency: The First Solution to Climate Change – being held earlier on the day of the awards dinner.

And in a separate ceremony yet to be scheduled, the Rising Sun Energy Center will receive the Alliance’s Excellence in Energy-Efficiency Award in recognition of its California Youth Energy Services (CYES) program. CYES hires and trains teens to educate residents, audit homes, and install, without charge, energy-efficiency hardware in local residences. The program provides a powerful and inspiring model for successful youth involvement in viable energy-efficiency strategies.