Columbus Ranks No. 13 on EPA’s Top 30 Local Government List of Green Power Users
For More Information
City of Columbus, OH
Name:
Erin Miller
Phone
Number: 614-645-0815
Email:
[email protected]
U.S. EPA
Name: Melissa Klein
Phone
Number: 202-343-9207
Email: [email protected]
For Immediate Release
City of Columbus Reduces Carbon Footprint with Green Power USE
January 27, 2015 - The City of Columbus announced today that for the first
time it appears as No. 13 on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA's)
Top 30 Local Government list of the largest green power users. The City of
Columbus is
using more than 42 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, which is
enough green power to meet 14 percent of
the city’s electricity use. The City of Columbus
is buying green power products from AEP Energy[1]
and American Municipal Power.
This demonstrates a proactive choice to switch away from traditional
sources of electricity generation and support cleaner renewable energy
alternatives.
“This is a huge honor and we are proud to be
recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” said Mayor Michael B.
Coleman “Using green power helps our organization become more sustainable,
while also sending a message to others across the U.S. that supporting clean
sources of electricity is a sound business decision and an important choice in
reducing climate risk.”
AEP Energy offers emission-free, wind-generated electricity (attributes)
as part of their ECO-AdvantageSM product. AEP Energy’s ECO-Advantage
SM plan is certified Green-e® Renewable Energy Certificates (RECS) giving
businesses and consumers peace of mind that their commitment to environmentally
responsible energy choices is truly helping the planet.
Green
power is electricity that is generated from environmentally preferable
renewable resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, eligible biomass,
and low-impact hydro. Using green power helps accelerate the development of new
renewable energy capacity nationwide and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions
from the power sector.
“This honor
underscores Columbus’ commitment to becoming the most sustainable community
possible,” said Councilmember Michelle M. Mills, chair of the Environment
Committee. “Thanks to Mayor Coleman’s vision of a clean, energy
efficient city, we have made great strides in the last few years and I am looking forward to more progress in the future.”
“We congratulate the City of Columbus for increasing its use of green power and taking a
leadership position on the environment,” said James Critchfield, Director of
the Green Power Partnership. “The City of Columbus’ impressive green power commitment helps to reduce carbon
pollution and provides an excellent example for other local governments.”
According to the U.S. EPA, the City of Columbus'
green power use of more than 42 million kWh is equivalent to avoiding the
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the electricity use of more than 4,000
average American homes annually.
The City of Columbus is the 15th largest city in
the United States located in Central Ohio with over 800,000 residents.
Mayor Michael B. Coleman started the Get Green Columbus
initiative in 2005. As part of the Mayor’s commitment to leading by example and
reducing greenhouse gas emissions from city operations, the City of Columbus
has reduced emissions by 23% from the years 2005 to 2013. The City is stepping
up its usage in green power because of the threat of climate change and the
resulting negative effects on the environment.
The city’s goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from
city operations 40% by the year 2030. For more information you can download the
Columbus Green Community Plan at www.columbus.gov/greenplan.
About AEP Energy and
American Municipal Power
AEP
Energy is a Certified Retail Electric Service (CRES) provider affiliated with
American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP). AEP Energy supplies electricity to
business and residential customers in Ohio and other deregulated electricity
markets. AEP Energy also is a retail natural gas supplier certified by the
Public Utilities Commission of Ohio as a Competitive Retail Natural Gas Service
(CRNGS) provider. In addition, AEP Energy offers custom energy solutions,
including demand response and energy efficiency services. More information
about AEP Energy is available at www.AEPenergy.com.
American
Municipal Power, Inc. is the nonprofit wholesale power supplier and services
provider for 131 member municipal electric systems in the states of Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Michigan, Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, Maryland
and Delaware. Combined these public utilities serve more than 637,000
customers. AMP members receive their power supply from a diversified resource
mix that includes wholesale power purchases through AMP and the open market and
energy produced at AMP and member-owned generating facilities utilizing fossil
fuel, hydroelectric, wind and other renewable resources. The organization is
focused on sustainability and increased use of renewable generation resources.
AMP currently has four run-of-the-river hydroelectric projects under
construction on the Ohio River. Combined these four projects will add 300 MW of
new hydro capacity to the region. AMP is pursuing additional hydro, solar, wind
and landfill gas projects. For additional information, visit AMP’s Web site at www.amppartners.org.
About EPA’s
Green Power Partnership
The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program
that encourages organizations to use green power as a way to reduce the
environmental impacts associated with electricity use. The Partnership
currently has nearly 1,300 Partner organizations voluntarily using billions of
kilowatt-hours of green power annually. Partners include a wide variety of
leading organizations such as Fortune 500® companies; small and
medium sized businesses; local, state, and federal governments; and colleges
and universities. For additional information, please visit http://www.epa.gov/greenpower.
[1]
AEP
Energy is a certified Competitive Retail Electric
Service (CRES) provider and a certified Competitive
Retail Natural Gas Service (CRNGS) provider. While it is an affiliate
of
AEP Ohio, AEP Energy
is not soliciting on behalf
of and is not an agent of AEP Ohio. AEP Ohio
customers do not need to purchase any
competitive retail electric service from AEP Energy to receive or to continue to receive non-competitive retail electric services from AEP Ohio.