The Tennessee Valley Authority and its Green Power Switch partners honored the City of Knoxville as "Community of the Year" during a ceremony Tuesday night at the Park Vista Hotel in Gatlinburg.

Green Power Switch Leadership Awards were presented in 13 categories with the City of Knoxville winning the Community award in the Customer Leadership division. Jake Tisinger, Project Manager of the City's Office of Sustainability, accepted the award. Knoxville was the only municipality to receive the honor.

"The City of Knoxville is always working toward a comprehensive sustainability program that embraces renewable energy initiatives," said Mayor Madeline Rogero. "It is such an honor to be recognized for our support of TVA's renewable goals and the Green Power Switch program."

The City of Knoxville currently purchases 375 Green Power Switch blocks each month, which helps produce 56,250 kilowatt hours of renewable energy in the Tennessee Valley. That is enough to provide 45 homes with pure renewable energy every month.

The City also features five Solar PV arrays on four building rooftops and hosts a LEED-certified Convention Center and LEED Silver Transit Center. These and other initiatives convinced TVA to nominate the City for the 2013 Community of the Year Award.

TVA, local distributors of TVA power and members of the environmental community launched Green Power Switch in 2000 as the first-of-its-kind program in the Southeast.

It allows consumers to help ensure that renewable energy from wind, solar and landfill gas is added to TVA's power supply. Consumers and businesses can purchase Green Power Switch blocks of 150 kilowatts (about 12 percent of a typical Tennessee Valley home's monthly electricity use) from their local power distributor. Each block costs an additional $4 on the consumer's monthly power bill and consumers can buy as many blocks as they like.

Additional information on TVA's Green Power Switch program is available online at www.greenpowerswitch.com.

The TVA Green Power Switch 2012 Leadership Award recipients are:

Local Power Companies:

Knoxville Utilities Board: Leader of the Year - Total Sales Tullahoma Board of Public Utilities: Leader of the Year - Percent of Electricity Sales Memphis Light, Gas and Water: Top Recruiter of the Year - Most new Green Power Switch customers Huntsville Utilities: Top Recruiter of the Year - Most growth in energy block sales Cookeville Electric Department: Catalyst Award - Largest single new Green Power Switchblock purchase Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation, Carthage, TN: Pacesetter Award - Highest average block purchase per residential customer Appalachian Electric Cooperative, New Market, TN: Local Power Company Innovator of the Year

Businesses:

DayBrite Lighting, Tupelo, Ms.: Innovator of the Year - Energy Efficiency Maryville College: Innovator of the Year - Renewable Generation ColorMasters, Albertville, Ala.: Business of the Year - Small business City of Knoxville: Community of the Year BASF, Chattanooga, Workplace Champion of the Year - Encouraging employee University of Tennessee, Knoxville: Sustainable Pioneer - Largest Green Power Switch product purchase