Montgomery County Clean Energy Buyers Group Increases Volume; Gains Rank Among National Clean Energy Purchasers

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, October 29, 2014

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that the Montgomery County Clean Energy Buyers Group increased its ranking from 40th to 22nd among the top 100 national public and private purchasers of clean energy participating in Green Power Partnership. The County is ranked 5th among municipal purchasers of clean energy. The County also qualifies for the Green Power Leadership Club, a special designation for organizations that exceed the EPA Green Power Partnership’s minimum purchasing volume by 10 times.

Achieving the higher rank was accelerated by the County’s and its partners’ efforts to increase the amount of clean energy purchased. The County increased its purchase from 30 percent of electricity consumption to 50 percent for FY15. All participating agencies are purchasing at least 20 percent of their electricity consumption from renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind, and geothermal. In FY16, Montgomery County government will purchase 100 percent of its electricity from renewable energy resources. The County will encourage other members of the purchasing group to increase their commitments.

“Montgomery County has maintained its position as a national leader in clean energy purchases for more than a decade,” said County Executive Isiah Leggett. “I look forward to continuing to expand this effort to reduce emissions from fossil fuel consumption and to create jobs in the clean energy sector.”

"Sustainability is a core value of our county,” said County Council Member Roger Berliner. “The Council's unanimous decision to buy 100 percent clean energy in FY16 is a powerful statement of our commitment to both the environment and a green economy."

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the activities of the buying group have resulted in the purchase of 223 million kilowatt-hours of electricity from renewable sources – the equivalent of avoiding the carbon dioxide emissions of 32,000 passenger vehicles of 21,000 single family homes.

For more information on efforts by the County to green its operational portfolio visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DGS-OES. 

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Media Contact: Sue Tucker, 240-777-6507
Program Contact: Eric R. Coffman 240-777-5595

Release ID: 14-392
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