Atlanta Sets Goal To Run On 100% Renewable Energy By 2035

Atlanta is the first large southern city, as well as one of the biggest cities in the nation, to commit to such an ambitious goal.

Credit: Movoto

Every week or so, it seems as if a new city, state or entire country makes a pledge to run on 100% renewable energy within the near future. Such is positive news, considering the general consensus among leading researchers and scientists is that climate change is a very real threat, despite politicians such as Donald Trump declaring otherwise.

On May 1st, the city of Atlanta announced that it would be powered by 100% renewable energy by 2035. The city (which has an approximate population of 456,000) is the first large southern city, as well as one of the largest cities in the nation, to commit to such an ambitious goal.

Councilman Kwanza Hall introduced the resolution which was unanimously approved by the city council. A plan is expected to be in place by January 2018 and it will include the goal of reaching  100 percent renewable energy across all city operations within the next eight years, reports TreeHugger.

“We know that moving to clean energy will create good jobs, clean up our air and water and lower our residents’ utility bills,” stated Hall. “We never thought we’d be away from landline phones or desktop computers, but today we carry our smartphones around and they’re more powerful than anything we used to have. We have to set an ambitious goal or we’re never going to get there.”

According to the Sierra Club, which is tracking the renewable energy commitments from cities across the U.S., Atlanta is the 27th city to pledge to run entirely on sustainable energy. Based on data from the environmental organization’s Ready for 100 program, the state of Georgia is already growing its solar and wind power investment which will undoubtedly help it meet the new goal by 2025. Already, nearly 2x as many people work in the clean energy industry in Georgia than in the fossil fuel industry. And, plans to expand clean power developments have already been announced by utility Georgia Power.

Atlanta, Georgia, joins a growing number of U.S. cities which have pledged to run on 100% renewable energy within the next twenty years. The list includes San Diego, California; Rochester, Minnesota; San Francisco, California; San Jose, California; Grand Rapids, Michigan; East Hampton, New York; Georgetown, Texas; Aspen, Colorado; Burlington, Vermont; and Greensburg, Kansas.

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