Pflugerville Independent School District announced it appears on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new Top 20 K-12 Schools List of the largest green power purchasers among primary and secondary schools.

Pflugerville ISD is purchasing nearly 1 million kilowatt-hours of green power annually, which is enough green power to meet 3 percent of the school’s purchased electricity use. Pflugerville Independent School District is buying utility green power from Austin Energy.

The Top 20 K-12 Schools List, which debuted on Oct. 26, is one of ten Top Partner Lists that EPA releases quarterly, highlighting some of America’s largest green power purchasers. Pflugerville ISD currently ranks No. 12 on EPA’s Top 20 K-12 Schools List. All of EPA’s Top Partner Lists are available at epa.gov/greenpower/toplists/.

“This is a huge honor and we are proud to be recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” said Bill Clayton, executive director of PISD Facilities and Support Services. “We believe we have an obligation to the Pflugerville community and especially to our students to invest in their future and to ensure we do everything within our power to be part of the solution when it comes to the environment.”

Green power is electricity that is generated from environmentally preferable renewable resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact hydro. These resources generate electricity with a net zero increase in carbon dioxide emissions, while offering a superior environmental profile compared to traditional power generation sources. Green power purchases also support the development of new renewable energy generation sources nationwide.

“These schools get an A plus for their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint,” said Gina McCarthy, EPA’s assistant administrator for Air and Radiation. “By using green power, Pflugerville Independent School District is teaching by example how to be green.”

According to the U.S. EPA, Pflugerville ISD’s green power purchase of nearly 1 million kWh is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide emissions of more than 100 passenger vehicles per year, or is the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power more than 100 average American homes annually.