Austin No. 2 in green power cities

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Austin is ranked No. 2 slot on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Top 20 Local Government list of green power purchasers.

The city also ranked No. 7 on EPA’s National Top 50 list , across all categories.

“The city of Austin’s commitment to using green power serves as an example of leadership for others to follow,” said EPA Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy.

Local governments in EPA’s Green Power Partnership are ranked by their annual green power usage. Houston ranked No.1, for purchasing 438 million kilowatt hours.

However, that represents only 34 percent of that city’s energy usage. Austin’s purchase of 406 million kilowatt hours represents 100 percent of municipal energy usage. The City of Dallas ranked No.3, for purchasing 302.8. million kilowatt hours, representing 40 percent of its usage.