Corvallis has increased its ranking to No. 1 on the EPA's national list of Green Power Communities. On January 26, the EPA updated its lists of Green Power Partners that completed the largest annual voluntary purchases through January 6, 2009.

Green Power Communities are cities and towns where the local government, businesses, and residents collectively buy green power in amounts that meet or exceed the EPA's purchase requirements.

"With this recognition, our community continues its leadership role in protecting our environment in 'a new era of responsibility', " said Mayor Charles Tomlinson, borrowing a phrase from President Barack Obama's inaugural address.

Corvallis has increased its ranking to No. 1 on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) national list of Green Power Communities. Earlier this week, EPA updated its lists of Green Power Partners that have completed the largest annual voluntary purchases through January 6, 2009. Corvallis moved to the top of the Green Power Communities list from its previous position of #9.

Green Power Communities are cities, towns, and villages where the local government, businesses, and residents collectively buy green power in amounts that meet or exceed EPA's purchase requirements as part of the Green Power Partnership.

Corvallis is purchasing more than 100 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, which is enough to meet 13 percent of the city's purchased electricity use. According to the EPA, Corvallis' green power purchase is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of more than 13,000 passenger vehicles per year. Put another way, it is equivalent to the amount of electricity needed to power more than 9,000 average American homes annually. The use of green power also supports the development of new renewable generation capacity nationwide.

This achievement reflects the collective commitment of citizens, businesses, governments, and educational institutions within Corvallis who are purchasing green power from sources such as Pacific Power's Blue Sky, Consumers Power Coffin Butte Landfill Gas project, and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation.

"I urge all citizens to consider renewable energy purchase, thereby investing in cleaner air and American energy innovation," said Tomlinson. "Many people making small contributions can make a big difference."

Oregon State University represents the largest single purchaser of green power in Corvallis, nearly two-thirds of Corvallis's total, thanks to a "green energy" fee passed by a vote of the student body in 2007. OSU is purchasing nearly 67 million kilowatt-hours of green power annually – enough to meet about 75 percent of its purchased electricity use.

"Oregon State is proud to contribute to the City of Corvallis top ranking in EPA's Green Power Community program" states Brandon Trelstad, Sustainability Coordinator at Oregon State University. "It's great to see our students' important investment in green power leveraged by entities like the City. Now the challenge – for both the City and OSU – is to maintain the top rankings we've both received in the last year."

Green power electricity is generated from environmentally preferable renewable resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact hydro. These resources generate electricity with a net zero increase in carbon dioxide emissions and offer a superior environmental profile compared to traditional power generation sources.

"America is shifting to a 'green culture,' with more and more communities taking important steps to combat climate change," said Kathleen Hogan, Director of the Climate Protection Partnerships Division at the EPA. "EPA commends the Corvallis, Oregon community for making a long-term commitment to protecting the environment by purchasing green power."

The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that encourages the purchase of green power to reduce the environmental impact associated with electricity generation and use. The Partnership currently has more than 1,000 Partner organizations voluntarily purchasing 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.

The EPA updates its Green Power Communities list quarterly at http://www.epa.gov/grnpower/communities/index.htm.