The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced its Green Power Partnership, a new program "aimed at boosting the market for power alternatives that reduce the environmental and health risks of conventional electricity generation," says the agency.

The founding partners, which include 20 of the Fortune 500 firms, have committed to purchasing over 280,000 MWh of green power over the next year. This is expected to eliminate the emission of 200,000 tons of carbon dioxide.

The Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, another founding partner, has committed to buying green power for its Denver, CO, facilities, including the Denver Regional Office, Golden Field Office, and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).