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R & D mayors explain why their cities are pursuing 100% renewable energy.
The Republican mayor of Abita Springs, Louisiana and the Democratic mayor of Columbia, South Carolina explain why their cities are pursuing 100% renewable energy.
Abita Springs aims to run on 100% renewable energy by 2030
Sara Pagones
In just 13 years, Abita Springs' elected and civic leaders hope to be able to say that everything in the town, from homes and businesses to public buildings and street lights, runs totally on renewable energy — something only a handful of places can claim.
The goal, which the Town Council adopted by resolution last month, is ambitious, Mayor Greg Lemons acknowledges. Abita Springs, population 2,900, is a small town that doesn't have a lot of money to spend.
...
Abita Springs is the first municipality in Louisiana — and the 25th in the entire country — to commit to 100 percent renewable energy, according to a Sierra Club initiative called Ready for 100.
Lemons said he's not a fan of some of the Sierra Club's politics. But the Republican mayor, who has a business background, sees renewable energy, in this case solar power, as a way to save money now and in the future, when fossil fuels become scarcer and more expensive....
http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/environment/article_78b1a41a-2c52-11e7-a2d4-93e0ed25b65a.html
Sara Pagones
In just 13 years, Abita Springs' elected and civic leaders hope to be able to say that everything in the town, from homes and businesses to public buildings and street lights, runs totally on renewable energy — something only a handful of places can claim.
The goal, which the Town Council adopted by resolution last month, is ambitious, Mayor Greg Lemons acknowledges. Abita Springs, population 2,900, is a small town that doesn't have a lot of money to spend.
...
Abita Springs is the first municipality in Louisiana — and the 25th in the entire country — to commit to 100 percent renewable energy, according to a Sierra Club initiative called Ready for 100.
Lemons said he's not a fan of some of the Sierra Club's politics. But the Republican mayor, who has a business background, sees renewable energy, in this case solar power, as a way to save money now and in the future, when fossil fuels become scarcer and more expensive....
http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/environment/article_78b1a41a-2c52-11e7-a2d4-93e0ed25b65a.html
South Carolina’s Capital Inches Closer to 100 Percent Renewables
by Leon Kaye
Steve Benjamin, the mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, recently became a co-chair for the Sierra Club’s Mayors for 100 Percent Clean Energy Campaign.
Benjamin’s addition to the growing list of mayors who say they will transition their communities to 100 percent renewable energy is largely symbolic: To date, the city government has not released a target date or plan by which Columbia will ditch fossil fuels in favor of clean technologies. And the Democratic mayor’s city is also the capital of a deeply red state.
South Carolina’s legislature has passed some climate-friendly bills in recent years, but it did not always move quickly on the adoption of a clean-energy agenda. Incentives for investing in renewables in South Carolina are scarcer than in other U.S. states.
Nevertheless, Benjamin and his city of 132,000 are making an important point. At a time when the federal government appears poised to abandon its role as a global leader on climate action, the reality is that cities can take the lead in mitigating climate risks by scaling clean-energy technologies. And in doing so, Columbia joins a group of cities as diverse as Atlanta, San Diego and Grand Rapids, Michigan, that say they are keen on doing their part to stall climate change while modernizing their economies.
In a recent interview with the the smart cities blog CityLab...
http://www.triplepundit.com/2017/05/columbia-s-c-latest-american-city-committing-100-percent-renewables/
by Leon Kaye
Steve Benjamin, the mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, recently became a co-chair for the Sierra Club’s Mayors for 100 Percent Clean Energy Campaign.
Benjamin’s addition to the growing list of mayors who say they will transition their communities to 100 percent renewable energy is largely symbolic: To date, the city government has not released a target date or plan by which Columbia will ditch fossil fuels in favor of clean technologies. And the Democratic mayor’s city is also the capital of a deeply red state.
South Carolina’s legislature has passed some climate-friendly bills in recent years, but it did not always move quickly on the adoption of a clean-energy agenda. Incentives for investing in renewables in South Carolina are scarcer than in other U.S. states.
Nevertheless, Benjamin and his city of 132,000 are making an important point. At a time when the federal government appears poised to abandon its role as a global leader on climate action, the reality is that cities can take the lead in mitigating climate risks by scaling clean-energy technologies. And in doing so, Columbia joins a group of cities as diverse as Atlanta, San Diego and Grand Rapids, Michigan, that say they are keen on doing their part to stall climate change while modernizing their economies.
In a recent interview with the the smart cities blog CityLab...
http://www.triplepundit.com/2017/05/columbia-s-c-latest-american-city-committing-100-percent-renewables/
1 replies
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Now if every city and town would aim for this! 
