Evanston approved a contract Friday with a new energy supplier that will allow residents to purchase 100 percent renewable energy, making it one of more than 90 communities in Illinois with such a contract.

The new three-year contract with Homefield Energy will replace the city’s existing contract with Verde Energy USA, which expires in August.

“This program builds on Evanston’s tradition of environmental stewardship by providing residents and small businesses with 100 percent renewable energy, while also delivering price certainty,” Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl said in a news release.

At the City Council meeting April 28, Jonathan Nieuwsma, vice president of Citizens’ Greener Evanston, spoke in support of the city choosing a contract that would continue to allow Evanston residents to use 100 percent renewable energy.

“I want to congratulate City Council and the mayor on achieving our first climate action plan goal of 13 percent emissions reduction by 2012,” Nieuwsma said during citizen comment. “Citizens’ Greener Evanston looks forward to working on our next goal of a 20 percent reduction by 2016, and the only way we’re going to do that is if we continue to use 100 percent renewable energy under our aggregation contract.”

Evanston is one of 91 communities in the state buying only renewable energy, making Illinois the state with the highest number of communities that offers 100 percent renewable energy to residents, according to the publication Illinois Issues.

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