LANSING — Lansing Mayor Andy Schor is promising to power all 187 city facilities with 100 percent renewable energy, assuming City Council approves the added cost.

Lansing officials plan to spend an estimated $280,000 more annually to buy renewable energy from the Lansing Board of Water & Light, a city-owned utility.

Officials said Monday afternoon they did not know offhand how much the city currently spends to power its buildings.

Nearly 99 percent of the BWL's renewable energy comes from wind and solar and roughly 1 percent from water, BWL General Manager Dick Peffley said.

Compared to coal and natural gas, renewable energy sources emit much less of the carbon dioxide that contributes to global climate change.

In the United States, nearly 29 percent of the emissions that contribute to global warming come from the electricity sector, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit scientific advocacy organization.

Schor expects City Council approval

Schor will ask City Council to appropriate money for the renewable energy credits when he presents his executive budget recommendation Monday night. The mayor said he expects the council to be on board.

City Council has until May 20 to adopt a budget for the coming fiscal year.

If council members approve money for the endeavor, Lansing’s buildings will go 100 percent renewable by July 1, the mayor said. That means the city will have purchased enough renewable energy credits to offset 100 percent of the city’s electrical use.

At-large Council Members Kathie Dunbar and Peter Spadafore voiced support for the mayor's budget request Monday afternoon.

"To me, the cost is worth it," Dunbar said.

Buying renewable energy from the BWL

Lansing would purchase renewable energy credits through the BWL's GreenWise program.

Any resident or business owner in the BWL's service area can opt into the program by agreeing to pay extra for renewable energy.

Greenwise customers pay an additional 1.3 cents for each kilowatt-hour of renewable energy. The charge is added to a customer's electric bill.

The BWL's average residential customer uses 549 kWh of electricity a month, BWL spokeswoman Amy Adamy said. That customer's monthly electric bill would go up by about $7.14 if the customer wanted to buy renewable credits to offset 100 percent of their electrical use.

To enroll in GreenWise or to drop out of the program, contact the BWL at 517-702-6483.

"We need to be leading by example," Spadafore said of the city's participation in GreenWise.

Lansing City Council is working to create a regional plan to address climate change.

Earlier this month, city officials agreed to pay a consultant $13,000 to research the first phase of plan development. Those findings will help Lansing assess the total energy use at city facilities.

More:

How should Lansing tackle climate change? City Council hires consultant to create plan

Five years after the ice storm, is Lansing ready for the next disaster?

Contact Sarah Lehr at (517) 377-1056 or slehr@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter@SarahGLehr.