This increased purchase builds upon the school’s existing partnership with EPA's Green Power Partnership. Sidwell is purchasing nearly 5 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, which is enough green power to meet 100 percent of the school’s electricity use, and is buying a utility green power product from Washington Gas Energy Services. In addition, the school is generating green power from an on-site renewable energy system, an action that supports moving away from traditional sources of electricity generation to cleaner renewable energy alternatives.

According to the EPA, Sidwell’s green power purchase of nearly 5 million kWh is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions of more than 600 passenger vehicles per year or the CO₂ emissions from the electricity use of nearly 400 average American homes annually.

Green power is electricity that is generated from environmentally preferable renewable resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, biomass, and low-impact hydro. Purchases of green power help accelerate the development of new renewable energy capacity nationwide and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector.

About EPA’s Green Power Partnership

The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that encourages organizations to buy green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with electricity use. The Partnership currently has more than 1,300 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. For additional information, please visit http://www.epa.gov/greenpower.