Montgomery County – Green Power Purchasing

In May, 2019 The Montgomery County Commissioners announced a wind energy purchase that will power all of the county’s electrical accounts with emission-free renewable power. In addition to the wind generated electrical purchase, the Commissioners made a commitment to transition to renewable energy for heating all county-owned buildings and powering all county-owned vehicles by 2050.

How homeowners can purchase renewable energy

Since the energy market in Maryland is deregulated, you can choose your electricity supplier and the source of the electricity you want to buy. As a result, you do not need to install special equipment to receive clean energy. Through a competitive electricity supplier, you can choose to buy a percentage (or all) of your electricity from clean energy sources to be delivered directly to your home. For more information on how to purchase energy from Green-e certified suppliers or to support community solar projects, visit My Green Montgomery or the Department of Environmental Protection Montgomery County.

History of Green Power Purchasing Legislation

In October 2000, a group six county agencies, consisting of Montgomery County, Montgomery County Public Schools, Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission, Montgomery College, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, began purchasing power on a competitive basis. In March 2003, the county’s energy policy was amended to incorporate the purchase of renewable energy and to expand energy-efficiency efforts. This resolution required all county agencies to purchase 5% of their total electricity supply from power generated by zero-emission renewable resources.

In May 2005, Montgomery County signed a contract with Washington Gas Energy Services and its wind energy supplier, Community Energy, to supply 5% of a multi-jurisdictional group’s power with wind-energy resources, resulting in a purchase of 38.4 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year for two years from wind facilities in West Virginia.

In April 2010, the County and its partners announced a new green power purchase of almost 162 million kWh, boosting the County’s purchase to 30% of its annual electricity use. The Montgomery County Clean Energy Buyers Group currently consists of Montgomery County Government, Montgomery County Public Schools, Montgomery College and The Maryland-National Park and Planning Commission. Also participating are the City of College Park, Chevy Chase Village, Chevy Chase Village Section 5, City of Gaithersburg, City of Rockville, City of Takoma Park, Town of Glen Echo, Town of Kensington, Town of Laytonsville and Town of Somerset. 

In April 2014, the county enacted Bill 9-14 which requires at least 50% of the County government’s electric power usage be supplied by renewable energy by fiscal year 2015, and 100% of the by 2016. This applies to County Government facilities, and not agencies and municipalities, however many agencies and municipalities participating in the buying group have matched the County’s commitments. The county is listed in EPA’s National Top 100 users of largest green power users in the country.