Riverside makes nationwide Top 10 list for energy-efficient cities

The city of Riverside’s green strides have landed it in the top 10 nationally for energy efficiency, it was announced today.

(danorth1/Flickr Creative Commons)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ranked Riverside No. 9 on the agency’s 2011 list of 25 municipalities with the highest number of energy efficient buildings.

With 164 “Energy Star-certified” office complexes, retail outlets and schools, the city topped larger metropolises like Denver and Phoenix, according to the EPA.

Los Angeles was No. 1 with 659 star-certified buildings, and San Francisco — the only other California city in the top 10 — was No. 5 with 270.

The reduction in energy consumption in Riverside from having an increased number of green buildings resulted in consumer savings of $17.9 million last year, according to the EPA.