U.S. EPA Taps Santa Clara Co. With Green Power Award

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — Santa Clara County has received a 2019 Green Power Leadership Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its progressive efforts to use renewable energy.

The EPA’s annual Green Power Leadership Awards recognize America’s leading green power users for helping to advance the development of the nation’s voluntary green power market. The county was given the nod in the category of Direct Project Engagement at the Sept. 5 Renewable Energy Markets Conference in San Diego, California.

"I would like to commend our Facilities and Fleet Department staff for receiving this recognition, reflecting the county’s commitment to energy projects and sustainability programs that will benefit our communities," said Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman, who is chairman of the board's Housing, Land Use, Environment committee. "This leadership award demonstrates that we can continue to get closer to achieving our environmental stewardship goals while being fiscally responsible as well."

The county was one of only seven organizations nationwide to receive a leadership award for direct project engagement.

Santa Clara County is accessing more than 74 million kilowatt hours of green power annually from a portfolio of various renewable energy systems involving projects in water and energy efficiency as well as zero-waste programs to reduce vehicle emissions and landfill waste streams.

Santa Clara County ranks as No.11 on the EPA’s Top 30 Local Government Top Partner list and No. 16 on the Top 30 On-site Generation Top Partner list.

Its environmental stewardship efforts include:

• Investment of nearly $10 million in energy and water efficiency projects over the next three years.
• Development of an additional 13 megawatts of solar PV to increase the county's portfolio to nearly 30 megawatts of generating capacity.
• Commitment to purchase 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources in 2019.