It won’t be long before all government agencies in Washington, D.C. will be powered by 100% clean energy, according to a press release. Wind energy from a NoVa wind farm will supply all the electricity needs for the agencies during the one-year contract, which will hopefully be extended to a much longer time period.
Fifty percent of the government’s energy demands are already supplied through wind power, putting D.C. at the top of the Environmental Protection Agency’s list of cities that run on clean energy. The city as a whole is currently at around 11.4% clean energy.
The new deal to be implemented for government agencies equates to “avoiding the consumption of 32,825,000 gallons of gasoline or taking 61,000 cars off the road for a year”. Government facility managers will also receive online dashboards that allow better monitoring of energy usage.
The city still has a way to go before it will reach 100% clean energy, but this is definitely a huge step in the right direction. It is also great to see the government leading by example, something we can definitely use as the environment remains a heated political issue.
Image CC licensed by Rob McCready: Environmental Protection Agency