For the past few weeks Austin Independent School District has been basking in the glow of being named the top green powered school in the country. The district has found a way to not only help cut the costs of powering their schools, but also to benefit the environment. 

AISD has been able to use more energy generated from renewable sources than any other school district in the country. The main source of this green energy comes from a wind farm in West Texas, with a much smaller portion from biomass. AISD contracted out 65 million kWh of energy, which accounts for about 40% of their energy needs.            

There are a number of benefits to using green power. It generates less pollution than conventional power and produces no net increase in greenhouse gas emissions.  According to Paul Turner, Executive Director of Facilities, “AISD is really trying to build a culture of sustainability in the district and engage a larger portion of the community and also the students by teaching about renewable energy in their science curriculum.”

AISD hopes to continue to use green energy in the future to power the district, but will have to take into account the future costs set forth by Austin Energy. At this point the district is weighing its options on future energy contracts and it is hoping to continue to use green, renewable energy. The part of the equation you can’t put a dollar amount on is the benefits to a cleaner environment.

Along with AISD another local school has made the list for the top green powered schools. Round Rock Independent School District came in as the second greenest powered school in the nation.