A new contract with a Florida-based power provider will make Denton a leader in “green” energy use, city leaders said Wednesday.

Denton Municipal Electric called an Earth Day press conference to formally announce a five-year deal with NextEra Energy Resources LLC, which officials said will allow the city to buy 40 percent of its power from renewable sources starting May 1. DME officials say that percentage will make Denton the leader among U.S. public power providers, although utilities such as those in Austin and San Antonio use more renewable energy by volume.

“We have succeeded in accomplishing, in a great leap forward, something that will take most cities decades to achieve,” Mayor Mark Burroughs said. “The city of Denton is one of the relatively few cities that has its own utility, [so] we can make this call — not only as a business call, but as a matter of public policy.”

Officials did not release details of the agreement, saying public power utility “competitive matters” are exempt from disclosure under state law. But Phil Williams, DME’s general manager, said the cost of the renewable energy would be “very much in line” with what the utility pays for other power sources. DME gets about half of its electricity from the Gibbons Creek coal plant east of Bryan and buys the rest through the wholesale market.

“We not only got renewable energy, but we got it at a price that’s competitive with the normal market,” Williams said. “This will actually help stabilize [electric rates in Denton] because it diversifies our portfolio.”

NextEra Energy Resources is an arm of FPL Group, a power company with more than $15 billion in annual revenues and a presence in 27 states, according to its Web site. Subsidiaries include Florida Power & Light Co., Florida’s largest investor-owned electric utility.

NextEra Energy Resources owns and operates more than 8,000 energy turbines in 16 states and Canada, including the Wolf Ridge wind farm near Muenster, company spokesman Steve Stengel said. Wind power makes up roughly 38 percent of the company’s energy portfolio and represents a major growth-driver for the industry, as the cost becomes more competitive and demand for clean energy rises, he said.

President Obama touted wind power in an Earth Day speech in Iowa, calling it a model for job creation and clean energy production. Aides say he remains steadfast in his support for an energy plan that would reduce greenhouse gases by 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, and 83 percent by mid-century.

Obama’s plan also calls for measures aimed at reducing the use of fossil fuels, such as requiring utilities to produce a quarter of their electricity from renewable sources.

As part of NextEra’s agreement with Denton, a portion of the sale proceeds will go to the company’s EarthEra Renewable Energy Trust, used to fund construction of renewable energy projects.

Carol Soph, a co-founder and board member for Citizens for Healthy Growth, a Denton environmental watchdog group, praised the city for taking a leading role in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Earlier this year, DME rolled out a series of rebates for residents who install solar panels or other energy-saving features on their homes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com .