Fairfax County Office of Public Affairs
12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 551
Fairfax, VA 22035-0065
Contact: Merni Fitzgerald, Director of Public Affairs
703-324-3187, TTY 711, Fax 703-324-2010
Media Pager: 703-324-NEWS (6397)
publicaffairs@fairfaxcounty.gov
May 21, 2007
Fairfax County Named EPA Green Power Partner
Fairfax County has been named a Green Power Partner by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in recognition of its efforts to reduce the risk of climate change through green power purchasing. The designation allows the county to utilize a number of EPA communications tools to help promote green power purchases.
The county recently 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. By the end of the contract term, wind power will account for 10 percent of the county’s annual electricity consumption, up from the current 5 percent.
The green power purchase supports the Board of Supervisors’ environmental agenda outlined in “Environmental Excellence for Fairfax County - A 20-Year Vision.” Adopted in 2004, the agenda identifies six areas of focus for environmental protection: growth and land use; air quality and transportation; water quality; solid waste; parks, trails and open space; and environmental stewardship. Information about the 2004 plan and the board’s fiscal year 2008 environmental improvement program is available on the county’s Web site at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/living/environment/eip/.
The purchase also supports the “Cool Counties” initiative in which Fairfax County is partnering with a select group of counties across the United States and the Sierra Club to create a template for local governments to begin reducing their greenhouse gas emissions in favor of more environmentally friendly practices.
The EPA Green Power Partnership encourages organizations to buy green power as a way to lessen the environmental impacts associated with conventional electricity use.
For more information, contact Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly’s office at 703-324-2321, TTY 711.
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For more news and information, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/news.