Photo by Adam Fagen

The District’s dedication to renewable power won the city the global award for Green Energy at the 2015 C40 Cities Awards in Paris.

The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group recognized D.C.’s wind power purchase agreement “that will reduce D.C.’s carbon footprint and save $45 million over the next 20 years,” according to a release.

Mayor Muriel Bowser says the wind agreement along with the District’s solar purchase power agreement shows the administration’s “commitment to investing in clean energy, creating green jobs, and fulfilling our pledge to cut 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2015.”

The competitive award program received more than 200 applications from 94 cities this year, according to the release. D.C.’s award was accepted by Department of Energy and Environment Director Tommy Wells and DGS Associate Director for Sustainability and Energy Mark Chambers.

The District has more LEED and ENERGY STAR-certified buildings per capita than any other city in the country, and for the past three years, has led green power purchases among U.S. cities. As of October 2015, the D.C. government stands at number three on EPA’s Green Power Partnership List of Top 30 Local Government Partners.

Continuing to set standards in renewable energy, the District add its voice to be “recognized during the international negotiation process, in order to reach a universal agreement that will protect the world for our generation and for those to come,” Wells said.

The Mayor earlier this week announced a deal to create the largest municipal onsite solar project in the U.S.—34 government buildings will get panels, increasing the city’s solar energy capacity by around 70 percent. The solar happenings aren’t limited to the government, either. A number of citizen-run solar co-ops exist, and folks are working on creating the first one east of the river.