HOUSTON -- Twenty-five percent of the city of Houston's operational electricity load will be purchased from wind energy beginning Tuesday, KPRC Local 2 reported.

The wind energy will be purchased from west Texas wind farms.

The city of Houston is one of the biggest energy consumers in the region and its five-year contract with alternative energy will be reflected in its budget. The city is receiving a fixed rate at 7.5 cents per kilowatt-hour and expects to use as much as 1.7 billion kilowatt-hours during the contract period.

"We begin taking this wind power today as a benefit for both the environment and the taxpayer," Mayor Bill White said. "As the energy capital of the world, Houston is committed to becoming the clean, sustainable energy capital of the world as well."

According to the Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership, the city of Houston is the top municipal purchaser of green power in the nation.