Johnson County Government is ranked on a national list of the largest municipal green power users from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership.

Johnson County is No. 12 on the EPA’s Green Power Partnership Top 30 Local Government list. Johnson County recently joined the partnership, which is an EPA program that works with a range of organizations who purchase and use green sources of power.

The county is using more than 60 million kilowatt-hours of green power annually. In a recent study session for the Board of County Commissioners, facilities leaders presented information detailing that approximately 55% of the county government’s energy use is from renewable sources. Much of that energy comes from the county’s participation in Evergy’s Renewables Direct program that allows organizations to offset a percentage of their energy usage through a renewable resource.

“Choosing to use more green power is something that makes good business sense in addition to helping to mitigate the negative health impacts of climate change,” said Mike Kelly, chair of the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners. “We’re proud to be recognized as a leader among our peers in this area.”

Six Johnson County buildings received Energy Star certification in 2022. In order to achieve certification, a building must meet strict energy performance standards set by the EPA. Johnson County’s buildings that have achieved Energy Star certification in 2022 include:

• Johnson County Courthouse, 150 W. Santa Fe St., Olathe
• Public Works, 1800 W. Old Highway 56, Olathe
• Sunset Building, 11811 S. Sunset Drive, Olathe
• 588 Building – Justice Annex, 588 E. Santa Fe St., Olathe
• Administration Building, 111 S. Cherry St., Olathe
• North East Multi-Service Center, 6000 Lamar Ave., Mission

Johnson County’s Facilities Management department has been focused on reducing electrical consumption across the board during the past few years. Since 2015, while the square footage of the county’s buildings have increased by 26%, energy usage per square foot of buildings has decreased by 14%.

Moving forward, the county’s facilities team will continue to review county procedures and practices to reduce energy consumption and solid waste while exploring additional renewable energy options for the future.