For the third straight year, Montgomery County has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Green Power Partnership as one of the nation’s top 10 local government green power purchasers for its ground-breaking wind energy purchase. EPA also noted that Montgomery County’s buying group also made the top 25 list of the largest national purchasers of green power. Under Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan’s leadership, Montgomery County began purchasing five percent of its energy from wind in 2004, which at that time was the largest municipal purchase of wind energy in the country.

“Clean, renewable energy use is important to the health and welfare of our community,” said George Leventhal, President of the Montgomery County Council. “It’s nice to be recognized for taking action and doing the right thing.”

“Using green power is helping to improve our environment, increasing demand for renewable resources, and sending a message to other government agencies in Maryland that using cleaner sources of electricity is a responsible decision,” said James Caldwell, director of the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection. “This purchase also represents the nation’s first effort on the part of a local government to include renewable energy in the State’s plan to implement air quality improvements under the federal Clean Air Act.”

In 2004, Montgomery County, represented a buying group of six County agencies, 11 municipalities, and Prince George’s County, which is currently purchasing 40,845,000 kilowatt-hours of wind energy from the Mountaineer Wind Farm in West Virginia through Washington Gas Energy Services. 

Renewable energy sources, such as wind energy, are cleaner than conventional sources of electricity that produce carbon dioxide emissions, a greenhouse gas linked to global climate change. Green power purchases support the demand for, and development of, new renewable energy capacity.

In April 2006, Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan and the County Council committed to increasing the County’s renewable energy purchase to 20 percent of our total electricity use over the next five years. The first step in this commitment is to increase the purchase to 10 percent in fiscal year 2007.

Montgomery County is also encouraging residents to join these efforts by purchasing clean energy for their homes, businesses, and community organizations. To help residents make the switch, the Clean Energy Rewards Program will reward consumers for choosing eligible clean energy products by reducing the premium cost of green power. The County’s Department of Environmental Protection is implementing the program and anticipates enrolling participants starting in January 2007.

EPA’s Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program helping to increase the use of green power among leading U.S. organizations. The program encourages organizations to purchase green power as a way to reduce the risk of climate change and the environmental impacts associated with conventional electricity use. Complete lists of this year’s green power purchasers are available at http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/.