Commercial, Regulation, Sourcing Renewables  -  May 2, 2017

Atlanta targets 100% renewable energy by 2035

Atlanta has become the latest U.S. city to commit to using 100% renewable energy, according to a May 1 announcement from the Sierra Club. 

The Atlanta City Council unanimously approved a measure that establishes a communitywide goal of transitioning to 100% renewable energy by 2035, according to the release. The resolution also directs the Atlanta office of sustainability to develop a plan by January 2018 to meet the target across all city operations by 2025 and communitywide by 2035.  

"We know that moving to clean energy will create good jobs, clean up our air and water and lower our residents' utility bills," Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall, who introduced the measure to city council, said in a statement. "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."

Atlanta represents the first city in Georgia and the biggest southern city to commit to 100% renewable energy; it is the 27th city in the U.S. to do so, according to the Sierra Club. Other cities that have made 100% renewable energy targets vary in size from giants, such as Los Angeles, to midsize cities such as Grand Rapids, Mich., and Ithaca, New York to small towns like Greensburg, Kan. 

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