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Ensworth School in Nashville, TN named to EPA Top 20 K-12 Schools Purchasing Most Green Power

Release Date: 10/26/2009
Contact Information: Harris-Young, (404) 562-8421, harris-young.dawn@epa.gov

(Atlanta, Ga. – Oct. 26, 2009) -- One month into the school year and Ensworth School in Nashville, TN is making the grade with green power. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that Ensworth School appears on the new Top 20 K-12 Schools List of the largest green power purchasers among primary and secondary schools. Ensworth School is purchasing more than 300,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, which is enough green power to meet 6 percent of the school's purchased electricity use. Ensworth School is buying utility green power from Tennessee Valley Authority.

Ensworth School currently ranks No. 19 on EPA’s Top 20 K-12 Schools List. Ensworth School's green power purchase of more than 300,000 kWh is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions of more than 40 passenger vehicles per year, or is the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power more than 30 average American homes annually.

For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership released a list of the largest green power purchasers among primary and secondary schools. The Green Power Partnership’s top 20 K-12 schools are buying nearly 113 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) that would be produced from the electricity use of more than 11,000 average American homes.

EPA’s Green Power Partnership works with more than 1,100 partner organizations to voluntarily purchase green power to reduce the environmental impacts of conventional electricity use. Overall, EPA Green Power Partners are buying more than 17 billion kWh of green power annually, equivalent to the CO2 emissions from electricity use of nearly 1.7 million American homes.

Green power is generated from renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biogas, and low-impact hydropower. Green power electricity generates less pollution than conventional power and produces no net increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

EPA is also updating its other top partner lists, including its National Top 50 Purchasers list. Intel Corporation, PepsiCo, Kohl’s Department Stores, Whole Foods Market, and Dell Inc. continue to rank in the top five overall of green power purchasers.

More information on top 20 list of k-12 schools: https://www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists/top20k-12schools.htm

Information on EPA’s Green Power Partnership: https://www.epa.gov/greenpower