SAVING THE PLANET...FEDS PRAISE WPB AS IT DOUBLES DOWN ON CUTTING ENERGY

So...several years ago, the City of West Palm Beach promised it would cut the amount of energy it uses by 20 percent by the year 2020. SO MUCH FOR THAT!!!!

It turns out the city reached the 20 percent goal FIVE YEARS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE. So what did Mayor Jeri Muoio do today? She doubled down!

Standing beside officials from the U.S. Dept. of Energy in WPB today, the mayor threw down the gauntlet! She said the city will now cut its energy usage by another 15 percent by 2025.

"You are the leader of the leaders," said Maria Vargas, Director of the U.S. Department of Energy Better Buildings Challenge Program.

"When I meet with groups and they ask who is leading the way among cities, the top of my list is West Palm Beach. And saving energy means more jobs and protecting the environment," said Vargas.

So how does the city do it? It has replaced just about every one of its street lights with low-energy LED lights (and the city is working with FPL to do the same with their lights in the city). It is moving towards using more hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles. It is building a brand new sewage plant that uses the latest in energy saving tech...just to name a few things.

According to the Feds, $200 billion dollars are spent every year operating commercial buildings in the U.S. The goal of the Better Buildings Challenge is to cut that number as much as possible.