Wind Energy Purchase - 2007 to 2010

Fairfax County has entered into a three-year contract with 3 Phases Energy to purchase more than 24 million kilowatt hours of clean, renewable wind energy through the Virginia Energy Purchasing Governmental Association (VEPGA). By the end of the contract term, wind power will account for 10 percent of the county’s annual electricity consumption, up from five percent today.

This is the second time Fairfax County has procured wind energy. The first was in 2005 with a two-year contract to purchase 5.8 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy credits (REC’s) of electricity each year, or enough electricity to power one of the county’s largest office building’s (the Martha Pennino building located at 12011 Government Center Parkway) for the entire year.

Under the new contract, effective from 2007 to 2010, the county will purchase increasing amounts of renewable energy certificates each year to offset millions of pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. The wind energy purchase is a major step towards meeting the region’s air quality goals for the reduction of carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide that contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone. Use of renewable energy sources in place of fossil fuels also improves energy infrastructure reliability and reduces potential supply disruptions resulting from fuel shortages or accidents. During the third year of the contract, the environmental benefits from Fairfax County’s wind energy purchase will be equivalent to a yearly reduction of over 12.53 million pounds of carbon dioxides, with an equivalent environmental benefit of removing over 1,200 cars from area roadways or planting 4,175 acres of trees.

The wind power is generated at the Locust Ridge Wind Farm in Schuykill County, Pennsylvania. The 13 modern wind turbines on this site stand close to 400 feet tall and generate clean, renewable electricity when the wind turns the turbines. Electricity from the wind farm is fed into the “power pool” supplying the regional electric grid.