The University has received The Clean Energy DC Award from the Washington, D.C. Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) for its new and innovative energy technology or a strategy or model that has significant replication potential.
The University has installed 2,600 solar panels starting since 2009 and has been building the region’s largest solar array on its West Campus. The array is scheduled to open this summer and will provide locally generated, clean energy to District households, small businesses, nonprofits, and seniors in the city’s Ward 5.
Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration, through the DOEE, recently presented six awards to eight individuals for the 2024 District Sustainability Awards and Clean Energy DC Award for their outstanding environmental leadership.
The 2024 awards mark the 15th year the District has celebrated businesses, organizations, and individuals on the cutting edge of sustainability. This year, the DOEE partnered with DestinationDC (DDC) to present the awards at DDC’s first annual Sustainability Summit. This partnership aligns with Mayor Muriel Bowser’s $400 million RevitalizeDC plan to re-energize the local economy by attracting new residents and businesses to downtown DC.
DOEE Director Richard Jackson said “Coupled with our partnership with DestinationDC, the efforts of our eight Sustainability Award winners demonstrate our commitment to helping make the District a healthy, green, and livable city for all."
The awardees support Mayor Bowser’s Sustainable DC plan in the areas of healthy food access, clean energy, stormwater retention, green building construction and management, environmental education, and sustainable waste management. The judges consider not only the creativity and sustainability of the awardees’ practices but also how their efforts reduce inequity in the District.
Learn more about the University’s sustainability efforts.