The City of Redmond won the Puget Sound Energy (PSE) 2014 Green Power Challenge and will receive $40,000 to install a community solar energy project.

The competition encouraged residents and businesses in three cities – Issaquah, Puyallup and Redmond — to join PSE’s Green Power Program during 2014. The winner was determined by calculating the percentage of new, eligible customers enrolled into the program out of available accounts.

Increase Percentage of New Enrollees:

Redmond: 2.1 percent

Issaquah: 1.4 percent

Bellevue: 0.7 percent

Overall Green Power Participation Increase:

Redmond: 52 percent

Issaquah: 34 percent

Bellevue: 32 percent

Issaquah and Puyallup met the individual enrollment goals set for their city and will each earn $20,000 for solar projects in their area. Combined, all three cities have more than 4,600 green-power customers. The cities are now considering where they will install the solar projects for their community.

“The Green Power Challenge is a great way to spark friendly competition among cities in our region to increase the use of clean energy,” said Heather Mulligan, head of PSE’s Green Power Program. “For customers, it’s easy to join the voluntary program, and in most cases, it costs only 35 to 40 cents a day.”

PSE’s Green Power program gives electric customers a way to guarantee some or all of the energy they use is matched with clean, renewable energy sources from the west. All of the renewable energy in PSE’s Green Power Program is generated by independent producers of renewable power; it’s separate from those wind resources owned and operated by PSE.

The average PSE residential customer can purchase 100 percent green power for approximately $10 to $12 a month based on their actual usage, or buy a specific amount with a minimum purchase of $4 per month for 320 kilowatt hours (kWh).