The United States Environmental Protection Agency recognized the University of California as a leader in renewable energy, UC officials announced Thursday.
The EPA assessed the UC and other organizations through its Green Power Partnership, a program that encourages organizations to use green power to reduce the environmental effects of electricity use.
The UC ranked sixth among all participants for its on-site generation of renewable energy and was ninth overall among the top 30 colleges and universities in the program. The UC also ranked 67th on the EPA’s list of top 100 national green power partners. EPA released its updated rankings for Green Power Partnership on April 24.
The EPA commended the University for using more than 112 million kilowatt-hours of green power annually, which is enough to power about 10,000 homes.
“We believe that UC can be a model for other universities by showing that you can responsibly supply energy to reduce your carbon footprint,” said Rachael Nava, executive vice president of UC Office of the President’s Office of the Chief Operating Officer, in a statement.
UC President Janet Napolitano launched the Carbon Neutrality Initiative in 2013. The initiative aims to make the University emit net zero greenhouse gases from its buildings and vehicle fleet by 2025.
The partnership is currently comprised of about 1,400 partner organizations, including universities and Fortune 500 companies, which use more than 40 billion kilowatt-hours of green power each year.