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Outgoing energy secretary Bill Richardson announced on January 17 that the Department of Energy will begin buying 3% of its electricity from green power plants. In doing so it will meet its 2005 renewable energy goal two years early. The Clinton DOE has committed to buying 7.5% of its electricity from non-hydro renewables by 2010. Richardson made the announcement at the same time as publicising the government's backing of a 200 MW wind farm at a former atomic test site in Nevada (page 19). "The wind farm will be generating energy by the end of the year and help stabilise soaring utility bills by increasing energy supplies in California and other areas suffering from energy shortages," said Richardson. "It also will benefit taxpayers by helping cut the Department of Energy's utility bills.