City of Columbus

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-Advantage^SM 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 15^th 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.