Corvallis Named “Green Power Community of the Year”

Portland, OR – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today named Corvallis as a “Green Power Community of the Year,” one of only two in the nation.  The city uses 100 million kWh each year, adding up to approximately 15 percent of its total electricity consumption. Oregon State University is the largest single purchaser of green power in Corvallis, using over 51 million kWh of green power to cover more than half of its electricity use.

“The people of Corvallis have embraced clean energy to help power their community,” Merkley said.  “Through commitment and cooperation, Corvallis residents, businesses, OSU, and local leaders have grown this community into an outstanding example of clean energy use for the rest of the country.”

The EPA also recognized the City of Portland as a “Green Power Community,” noting the community’s extensive efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.  Portland is the largest city in the country to receive the designation and is the top-ranked city for clean power usage.

Portland’s collective green power purchase of more than 675 million kWh is equivalent to taking nearly 93,000 passenger vehicles per year off the roads.

Oregon’s Intel Corporation is number one voluntary buyer of green power in the nation.  Over the last year, Intel boosted the usage of green power by 10 percent to more than 1.4 billion kWh, equal to more than half of its electric use in the United States.

The Port of Portland has purchased all of its electricity, 75 million kWh, from wind generation.  In addition, the port itself produces 30,000 kWh of solar power through panels installed at Portland International Airport.

According to the EPA, “Green Power Communities” are identified as communities where the local government, businesses, and residents collectively procure green power in amounts that meet or exceed EPA’s purchase requirements. More than 30 cities and towns in Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin are green power communities. Collectively they buy more than 900 million kWh of green power annually, equivalent to the CO2 from the electricity use of nearly 80,000 average American homes.

Green power is generated from renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, and low-impact hydropower. Green power resources produce electricity with an environmental profile superior to conven­tional power technologies, and produce no net increase of greenhouse gas emissions.