Sourcing Renewables  -  May 10, 2024

City of Goleta Adopts 100% Renewables

The City of Goleta’s City Council unanimously approved moving to power all City facilities with 100% clean, renewable energy through the City’s Community Choice Aggregator Central Coast Community Energy (3CE), which will begin in July. 

The City of Goleta in California has a goal to reach 100% renewable energy by 2030 and an interim goal to power municipal facilities with 50% renewable electricity by 2025. 

Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) is a public agency that sources competitively priced electricity from clean and renewable energy resources. 

"Moving to 100% renewable energy is a significant step the City of Goleta is taking to combat climate change. We all need to do our part, by taking action and leading by example," Mayor Paula Perotte said in a statement. "By powering our Community Center, library, City Hall, streetlights, and other facilities with solar and wind, we'll be cutting the City's greenhouse gas emissions, and we hope to inspire others to join us in this effort."

The city has already adopted renewable power. Goleta City Hall began using solar energy generated by the Monarch Solar Array in August 2022. The solar PV system powers 84% of city hall’s electricity usage, saving the City roughly $6,000 and avoiding 75.7 metric tons of CO2 emissions in its first year of operation. The remainder of Goleta’s municipal electricity usage for all facilities and City-owned street lights is 245.6 metric tons of CO2 emitted.

Switching the City’s municipal electricity accounts to 3C Prime and 100% clean, renewable energy would effectively reduce those carbon emissions to zero, reducing the City’s total municipal GHG emissions by approximately 20%.