Tag: — North America

Abita Springs, Louisiana, USA

Town Hall, Abita Springs, Louisiana, USA

  • Target: 100% renewable electricity by 2030
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Solar power
  • Implementation: In 2017, then Mayor Greg Lemon led the fight for clean energy in Abita Springs by bringing the small town into the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign. It was the first Louisiana town to commit to 100 percent renewable energy. The 100 campaign involves communities from all over the United States that have pledged to run entirely on renewable energy by 2050. Abita Springs planned to have every municipal building, every business, and every home powered by renewables in just 12 years. As participant in the Sierra Club, the town was provided with a network of knowledge, a framework for Abita Spring’s pledge, and publicity of their committed strategy. Ultimately, the clean 100% strategy was a response to avoiding the negative environmental impact caused by fracking in neighbouring communities, while embracing the ample sun which the town receives which made solar power good business sense.

    Through grants from the Sierra Club’s Mayors for 100 Percent Clean Energy initiative, work began on insulating buildings, installing LED lights, and replacing high current, high-voltage appliances. Over a hundred solar panels were placed on the town hall, producing 60 percent of the building’s electricity during peak hours and saving around $200 a month. To achieve the ambitious goal by 2030, the town sought to procure renewable electricity based on wind and solar from the regional utilities. Meanwhile, it focused on residential, business, and community solar and held public events to educate town leaders, civic organizations, business owners, and residents in order to introduce them to local solar installation companies. They also met with the planning and zoning commission, and the historic commission, to help homeowners more easily seek permits for solar panels.
  • Population:  2,365 (2010)
  • Area:  4.60 sq mi (11.91 km2)
  • Link: Source: https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/05/this-70-year-old-republican-mayor-wants-to-prove-that-his-small-southern-town-can-go-green/
Town Hall, Abita Springs, Louisiana, USA
  • © Town of Abita Springs

Ambler Borough, Pennsylvania, USA

Ambler, Pennsylvania, USA

  • Target: 100% clean, renewable electricity community-wide by 2035 and 100% renewable energy for heating and transportation by 2050
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Solar PV
  • Implementation: In 2019, Ambler Borough Council passed a Ready for 100% Renewable Energy Resolution, with the intention of transitioning all borough-owned property away from fossil fuels and towards sustainable energy sources by the year 2050. Ambler’s Planning Commission was tasked to develop a Strategic Transition to Renewable Energy Plan, which also complemented 100% plans by surrounding municipalities. The  Plan was approved in 2020 and included interim milestones, financial impacts, equity metrics, potential financing mechanisms, and the percentage of renewable energy that is locally produced.  Locally produced and distributed energy was prioritized whenever feasible for the many advantages it provides to the community. Measures recommended include improving pedestrian and cycle infrastructure, procuring locally sourced solar panels on borough- owned buildings, coordinating with large vacant property owners along with State and Federal agencies on converting unused properties for use as solar farms, installing solar panels on elevated structures in parking lots and achieving SolSmart designation which would provide no-cost technical assistance for solar installations.

    Other measures include purchasing and budgeting new electric vehicles, installing EV chargers to meet the demand by residents, visitors, and borough fleet, encouraging the use of LED lighting in homes, businesses, and public property, providing energy assessments to help residents increase their efficiency and reduce energy costs, weatherizing existing borough-owned facilities, and coordinating code standards with specific benchmarks to increase overall energy efficiency.
  • Population:  6,807 (2020)
  • Area:  0.85 sq mi (2.21 km2)
  • Link: Ambler Borough Strategic Plan: Transition to 100% Renewable Energy from 2020 to 2050
Ambler, Pennsylvania, USA
  • © BGROPHOTO

Apex, North Carolina, USA

Apex, North Carolina, USA

  • Target: 100% renewable energy by 2050 for town operations
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Solar PV
  • Implementation: The town of Apex in North Carolina is committed to achieving 100% Clean Energy by 2050 with the strategic aim of creating a healthy and engaged community, a vibrant economy, all based on ecologically sustainable development.Efforts began in 2017, with two solar photovoltaic (PV) pilot projects to establish design, construction and energy management skills, with $500,000 budgeted for PV systems on town buildings. Changes to policy making were made making it faster, easier and more affordable for Apex homes and businesses to install solar. All outdoor lighting were transitioned to energy efficient LED (light-emitting diode) fixtures, which provided immediate cost savings to the town and its citizens. By 2019, Apex was designated as a Gold-Level SolSmart Community. Its Council passed the 100% Clean Energy resolution. Besides transitioning from fossil fuel-based energy to renewable energy, Apex would also transition the municipal vehicle fleet to plug-in hybrid vehicles or all electric vehicles by 2050. By 2021, the town had installed solar PV on 9 town buildings, with more installations planned. A Greenhouse Gas Inventory was created by the Apex Sustainability Team to track operational fossil fuel-based emissions and set the 100% energy targets. The Apex Finance Committee met with locals to discuss any changes to the Town's solar rate structure and to solar metering.

    An assessment was made by Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) and CST Fleet Services  to create a Vehicle Replacement and Infrastructure Support Plan for the following 10 years. The town replaced several old council trucks with all electric vehicles  and electric changing stations installed at locations around town. The town began expanding municipal recycling and paper reduction efforts to set a 100% Zero Waste Goal for town operations. It began working with partners to analyze municipal waste usage, identify waste reduction strategies, and implement zero waste practices in the workplace. To achieve greener buildings, the town carried out energy assessments on all town buildings to plan for optimal efficiency retrofits.

  • Population:  58,780 (2020)
  • Area:  56 km2
  • Link: Apex Solar
Apex, North Carolina, USA
  • © Seth Ilys

Aspen, Colorado, USA

Aspen, Colorado, USA

  • Target: 100% renewable energy
  • Status: Achieved
  • RES: Hydropower, windpower, and land-fill gas energy.
  • Implementation: The City of Aspen is located in the Rocky Mountains in the state of Colorado. As one of the most famous skiing resorts in the USA, Aspen welcomes many tourists every year. In particular, the city's winter population grows from approximately 7,000 to 50,000 people. This means that Aspen has to deal with a significantly higher energy consumption in winter compared to the rest of the year. In 1885, Aspen was already one of the first American municipalities to use hydroelectric power, and by 2014, hydroplants were covering 86% of the energy demand. The boost in hydropower has been largely due to the Canary Initiative, which was established in 2005, which identified Aspen and other mountain communities as “canaries in the coal mine” with respect to their sensitivity to the effects of climate change. The initiative laid out a Climate Action Plan, which would reduce GHG emissions by converting its energy supply to one based on RE. In cooperation with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory the city developed a strategy how to achieve this. Investments in renewable energy have enabled the utility to progressively replace fossil fuels. Finally, in August of 2015, the City of Aspen municipally owned electric utility achieved 100% renewable energy, by signing of a contract with the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, a wholesale electric energy provider. Since then, the energy mix in the electricity sector is assembled by 46% hydro, 53% wind and 1% landfill gas energy. The new wind contract, which provides 95% of the new renewable energy, allows the city to only buy what it needs to keep it close to 100% renewable energies. The advantage of this arrangement is that it affords crucial supply management flexibility for dealing with inconsistencies in energy production from Aspen’s other resources, such as the fluctuations in hydro power. It also allows the city to avoid being forced to buy energy they do not need.
  • Population: 6,871 (2016)
  • Area: 3.88 sq mi (10.05 km2)
  • Link: https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy15osti/62490.pdf
Aspen, Colorado, USA

Athens, Georgia, USA

Athens, Georgia, USA

  • Target: 100% renewable electricity community-wide by 2035, and 100% renewable energy for heating and transportation by 2050
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Renewable energy sources to be determined
  • Implementation: In 2019, the Athens-Clarke County (ACC) Commission voted to adopt a community wide goal of 100% clean and renewable electricity by 2035. It joins Atlanta, Augusta, and Clarkston in the transition away from pollutive energy sources that contribute to climate change. ACC aims to source 100% renewable energy sources for city-owned properties by 2035, and by 2050 it will generate 60% of its renewable energy locally. The broader community will obtain 100% of its electricity needs from clean and renewable sources by 2035. All other energy needs (transportation, etc.) will be met by 100% clean and renewable energy sources by 2050. The energy resolution aims for a just and equitable energy future. Analysis had shown that many households in the county spend an above average percentage of their monthly income on electricity. The organisation "100% Athens" is leading efforts to fund clean and renewable energy. The energy resolution kicked off an 18 month long process that sought input from stakeholders in and around ACC including regional utilities like Georgia Power and Walton EMC. 100% Athens has begun working in partnership with the County and helped incorporate more solar and efficiency in Georgia Power’s Integrated Resource Planning Process. By collaborating with the local community and receiving feedback, the Sustainability Office of ACC is building a map that will guide the County towards the most effective renewable policies and technologies that are best-suited for the community’s needs.
  • Population:  127,315 (2020)
  • Area:  306 km2
  • Link: Clean and Renewable Energy Campaign
Athens, Georgia, USA
  • © Richard Chambers

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

  • Target: 100% renewable electricity by 2035
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Energy efficiency measures, and onsite and community solar
  • Implementation: The City Council of Atlanta in Georgia approved a green energy plan in 2019 geared towards the achieving 100% renewable electricity by 2035. The goal is to entirely replace coal, natural gas and nuclear energy as the primary energy sources of electricity with renewable sources. This will be achieved in an incremental manner. The city will begin by using less energy, achieved through energy efficiency measures such as insulating old homes and installing energy-efficient lights and better cooling and heating systems. It is estimated that this may achieve a reduction in consumption as much as 30%. The energy plan will require more solar panel installations on homes, commercial buildings and at utility scale solar farms. Investments will be needed in battery storage for solar energy as well as renewable-energy credits from outside the state to offset coal and gas power still coming from the local grid. The plan will more crucially require the support of of key players such as the state utility and the state’s conservative Legislature. Leading figures are however building political coalition for green energy by focusing on jobs, which the energy plan estimates will result in 8,000 new positions, as well as generate economic development for the entire state. The plan would help low-income families, where solar panels would provide lower costs and price stability. (Source: theworld.org/stories/2019-04-15/how-atlanta-plans-get-100-green-energy-2035)
  • Population:  498,715 (2020)
  • Area:  350 km2
  • Link: www.100atl.com
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
  • © Paul Brennan

Augusta, Georgia, USA

Old Richmond County Courthouse, Augusta, Georgia, USA

  • Target: 100% renewable electricity by 2050
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Solar power and energy efficiency improvements
  • Implementation: Augusta, GA is committed to achieving 100% renewable electricity by 2050. The clean energy movement was founded on anti-pollution advocacy which began in the 1970s, when several neighbourhoods in  Augusta did not receive public services, like water, streetlights, or an adequate sewage system. Locals began working with Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, and rallied to approach the county commissioner with the zero waste idea. With the support of Augusta University, Paine College, board or education, and the city engineering department, the resolution was passed.

    In 2018, the Augusta City Commission approved a resolution to set a goal of 100% renewable energy by 2050. The city hopes to reach 80% renewable energy by 2030. Augusta’s timeline was put on hold due to the pandemic. However, the city is still working on an implementation plan. So far, the city has added solar panels to the construction of a new school, along with the most efficient windows. Upgrades are helping the city to realize cost-savings from the clean energy transition. With Georgia Power, the local utility is helping with education programs and provides scholarships for students. The programs teach topics on recycling and clean energy. The utility also funds the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, which provides efficiency upgrades for the most affected communities. This is done via loans that are matched by Blue Ridge through fundraising activities.Source: ilsr.org
  • Population:  197,888 (2019)
  • Area:  306.5 sq mi (793 km2)
  • Link: Resolution in Support of a Goal of 100% Clean Energy by 2050
Old Richmond County Courthouse, Augusta, Georgia, USA

Beaverton, Oregon, USA

Beaverton, Oregon, USA

  • Target: Achieve 100% renewable energy target including all public buildings, streetlights, and the water supply. 80 percent carbon emissions reduction below current levels by 2050, with a near-term emphasis on 40 percent reduction by 2030.
  • Status: Achieved - Since 2014, 100% of electricity fed into the city's grid comes from wind power sources. It is the only city in the state of Oregon that procures all of its power, for civic operations, from Portland General Electric’s (PGE) renewable energy program.
  • RES: Windpower and solar.
  • Implementation: In the first instance, Beaverton created an Energy Map for the base year of 2012, and researched existing and proposed state laws. To achieve the energy target, the electricity that Beaverton uses is not sourced from renewable energies produced in the town, but through investments in renewable electricity, which offset the consumed power in the city. Beaverton teamed up with PGE to purchase renewable energy offsets equivalent to all of the electricity demands for the city. The renewable energy purchased powers the city’s street lights, traffic signals and water pumping. PGE acts as a public consultant and encourages the community to switch to 100% renewable energy via different green products and packages which they can can select according to their needs. Competitions and projects enhance the level of participation of community members, such as the Beaverton Better Buildings Challenge (Beaverton BBC) which aims to improve energy efficiency in local buildings 20% by 2020. The city provides participants of the program free energy consultation, assistance prioritizing efficiency projects and support with utility data tracking tools.
  • Population: 89,803
  • Area: 48.51 km²
  • Link: Beaverton Climate Challenge
Beaverton, Oregon, USA

Berkeley, California, USA

Berkeley, California, USA

  • Target: 100% carbon-free energy in electricity, transportation and buildings by 2030, 100% renewable energy by 2035, and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Renewable electricity procurement, solar and wind power
  • Implementation: The City of Berkeley is committed to 100% renewable energy, as a strategy to mitigate greenhouse emissions and reduce the impact of climate change. The goal followed legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown pledging 100 percent clean energy use in California by 2045 and the University of California committing to 100 percent clean electricity use by 2025 and reducing energy use by 2 percent each year through its Carbon Neutrality Initiative.
    The city instituted the Berkeley Climate Action Plan, with the vision to reach net-zero energy use for all buildings by 2050 by requiring building owners to assess their energy use, and prioritize sustainable forms of transportation, such as walking, cycling and public transportation. The city also participates Community Choice Energy program, which allows local governments to buy and sell energy — an option that is often cleaner and cheaper for local residents. Berkeley has joined an initiative providing greater access to energy-efficient cars and infrastructure at a lower cost. With other Bay Area cities, the city calls for the end coal shipments. Source: dailycal.org
  • Population:  121,363 (2019)
  • Area:  17.66 sq mi (45.73 km2)
  • Link: Recommendations for a Fossil-Fuel Free Berkeley
Berkeley, California, USA

Blacksburg, Virginia, USA

Blacksburg, Virginia, USA

  • Target: 100% electricity community-wide by 2050
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Solar power
  • Implementation: Blacksburg City Council in Virginia is transitioning to 100% renewable electricity community-wide by 2050 through a series of “solarize” campaigns. It launched the Solarize Blacksburg program to encourage more city residents to go solar by addressing  the financial and logistical barriers to installing solar power. The city worked with installers to lower the costs of solar arrays by 16 percent. A neighborhood collective purchasing program was established for the city's communities. Unlike other solarize models which usually start with a neighborhood or team of neighbors getting together to form a co-op, and then vet and choose a contractor that will perform all of the solar installations, the Solarize Blacksburg model involved finding the contractors upfront, getting the companies to agree on specific pricing options and technical specifications, and then letting the community drive the demand. The model succeeded in quadrupling residential solar within 6 months. Despite it being home to Virginia Tech with 70 percent renter-occupied housing, and unfavourable state energy policies for solar, the model worked well. The follow-up program Solarize Montgomery was also very successful, with more than 800 subscribers.The two solarize programs were implemented as one-time programs to avoid the impression that the programs were ongoing which could have resulted in potential participants postponing the decision to sign up. In fact, after a program ended, the adoption of solar continued. Systems already installed in the community encouraged more residents to install solar power. In Montgomery County, solar use grew by 273 percent within three years. Since 2015, residential solar has more than doubled across the state of Virginia, and at least 25 other Virginia communities have created their own solarize programs. Source: governing.com
  • Population:  44,233 (2019)
  • Area:  19.77 sq mi (51.20 km2)
  • Link: 100% Renewables Resolution
Blacksburg, Virginia, USA