The University of Utah earned a spot on a list of Top 10 Green Power Partners sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The award, announced last week, recognized the U. for its voluntary purchase of 25 million kilowatt-hours of green power.

The university purchases that power in the form of wind-generated electricity. The EPA's Top 10 list of colleges and universities includes schools that had the largest amount of green power purchases through June 26.

"The University of Utah's use of green power helps reduce the environmental impacts associated with conventional electricity use and helps promote our nation's energy independence," said Blaine Collison, program director for the EPA's Green Power Partnership.

The EPA estimates the U.'s purchase is equivalent to avoiding production of more than 34 million pounds of carbon dioxide — comparable to removing emissions of nearly 3,013 cars annually or planting more than 4,662 acres of trees per year