Dec 17 - McClatchy-Tribune Business News Formerly Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Banks Albach / Daily News Staff Writer Palo Alto Daily News, Calif.

The Environmental Protection Agency has named Palo Alto the first "green power community" in California, a high accolade for the eco-conscious city.

The recognition comes mostly for its Palo Alto Green program, a voluntary utility tax that the city uses to purchase solar and wind energy. At a rate of 1.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, the average customer is taxed roughly $10 per month, depending on energy use.

About 140 local companies and nearly 16 percent of residents, or 4,440 households, have opted into the tax, Council Member Peter Drekmeier said. Palo Alto is the EPA's fifth green energy community in the country.

"It's really related to the fact that Palo Alto Green has done so well," said Walt Hays, a member of the city's Green Ribbon task force, which is looking at how the city can fight global warming.

The green program was launched in June 2003 with the intention of buying clean energy and channeling it back into the city's municipal energy system. Recently, Palo Alto officials signed a contract for 25 megawatts of wind energy -- enough to power 10,000 homes -- with a producer in Rio Vista, south of Sacramento.

Today, about 13 percent of the energy the city consumes is from renewable sources.

"We have a goal to be 20 percent renewable by 2015 and it looks like we're going to hit that goal five years earlier," Drekmeier said.

Although the City Council spearheaded the program, it would have never succeeded without residents' buy-in.

"It's a compliment to the people of Palo Alto," former Mayor and Green Ribbon Task Force member Jim Burch said. "It's just more recognition that Palo Alto is out on the forefront of environmental issues."

The task force is scheduled to make a series of recommendations to the council Monday on how to further reduce the city's greenhouse gas emissions. Mayor Judy Kleinberg formed the task force in January and the members first met in May.

Federal officials will also attend the council meeting to present the green power community honor to the city.

"News like this is great," said task force member David Coale. "But we want other utilities and cities to follow this lead so it's not news anymore."

E-mail Banks Albach at balbach@dailynewsgroup.com