HOUSTON – According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Houston is now the nation’s No. 1 municipal purchaser of green power.

The City of Houston is now purchasing more than 350 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually and ranked No. 9 in the nation among the top 25 public- and private-sector purchasers.  The EPA says these rankings demonstrate the City’s commitment to its stated goals of protecting the environment and managing utility costs wisely.

“Houston is proud to be recognized as a leader and good steward in this area,” said Mayor White. “It makes sense environmentally and, with the rising costs of energy, it makes good economic sense. This and energy conservation measures mean real savings to taxpayers, even at a time when the city continues to grow dramatically.”

Through Houston’s innovative wind power contract, the City was able to purchase green power at a lower rate than rising conventional energy. According to a statement from the Mayor's office, the price of electricity will be fixed at 7.5 cents per kWh, representing significant savings for taxpayers.

Houston expects to use as much as 1.7 billion kWh of this renewable energy in the next five years. This is equivalent to the amount needed, for example, to power 28,000 homes each year. It also helps reduce the need to build more expensive power plants for the region’s rising energy needs.