Colby College yesterday received honors from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which said the school is the 2007-08 Individual Conference Champion for purchasing more green power than any other school in the New England Small College Athletic Conference.

The EPA has been tracking green power purchasing among collegiate athletic conferences through its College & University Green Power Challenge, which concluded Monday, April 28 with 40 schools and 18 conferences participating nationwide.

Because Colby purchases all of its electricity from renewable resources within Maine (low-impact hydro and biomass) and also purchases Green-E-certified wind power Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) to offset energy use in its LEED-certified buildings, the EPA lists Colby as using 115 percent green electricity - the highest percentage among the 40 participating colleges and universities.