By: Rachel Hawkins, NDG, Staff Writer
The City of Irving keeps the lights on throughout their facilities utilizing at least 50 percent green energy sources and they are seeking to improve even more. Resolution 10 – Authorizing the Mayor to Sign an Agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to Increase Participation in the EPA’s Green Power Partnership Program, was passed during the Irving City Council meeting on April 18, at Irving City Hall.
This item was recommended by the Traffic and Transportation Department and was initially presented to the Transportation and Natural Resources Committee on February 24, 2016. The Green Power Partnership Agreement has been recommended to City Council by the City’s Green Advisory Board in its ongoing responsibility to environmental stewardship. The Green Advisory Board voted unanimously to support this recommendation during their board meeting on November 17, 2015.
With the passage of the resolution, the city will gain additional opportunities for green energy improvements, public recognition for their voluntary participation. It can set an example for companies to join or create similar programs for their facilities. The City of Irving will participate at the Organization-Wide level, as well as ‘On-site Use of Green Power’ at the West Irving Library facility.
Taxpayers will be happy to learn; it does not require additional funding to participate in the program. However, the City of Irving must provide an annual report to the EPA.
As for the City of Irving’s latest EPA report on March 26, 2019, the city uses 26,614,266 total green power usage (kWh) per year. This is split into 26,225,000 from the Competitive Green Power, and 389,266 from the self-supply. This reflects 51 percent of total green power used by the city. Reportedly the city’s primary green energy source is wind power. Texas is the leading state in producing wind power.
The EPA Green Power Partnership’s goal is to help encourage growth for the American green power industry. Currently, the Partners’ green power use represents nearly 40 percent of the U.S. voluntary green power market.
As reported on the EPA website, the Green Power Partnership (GPP) was established in 2001 to protect human health and the environment by increasing organizations’ voluntary green power use to advance the American market for green power and the development of those renewable electricity sources.
The Green Power Partnership helps to achieve Clean Air Act requirements by reducing the pollution and the corresponding adverse health and environmental impacts associated with conventional electricity use. Since the inception of the Green Power Partnership, the voluntary market has grown by nearly 5,000 percent. The program provides a framework that includes credible usage benchmarks, market information, technical assistance, and public recognition to companies and other organizations that use green power. In return for technical support and recognition, Partners commit to using green energy for all, or a portion, of their annual electricity consumption.
