Cities Lead the Way on the Path to Clean Energy

A new tool developed by the American Cities Climate Challenge tracks renewable energy deals made by US local governments and utilities since 2015, and can serve as an integral resource for municipalities to develop intersectional and collaborative renewable strategies. The Renewables Accelerator and Local Government Renewables Action Tracker, which catalogues over 300 deals, demonstrates the powerful role that cities can play in setting energy transition trends that set the stage for a nationwide shift to renewables. Here are five key trends tracker reveals, from the Rocky Mountain Institute.

This comes as there is increasing evidence that clean energy is the most cost-effective step on the path to national decarbonization. According to a new study from UC Berkeley and GridLab, researchers found that the cost of renewables have lowered so significantly that by 2035, it will be economically feasible to power the U.S. on a ninety percent clean energy grid, while only depending on natural gas for 10 percent of annual electricity production. You can read more on the study’s findings here.