Making the list at 65 and becoming the largest Midwest city, Minneapolis announced its pledge to join the clean energy movement. The Minneapolis City Council and Mayor Jacob Frey announced the city’s goal is to “achieve 100 percent renewable electricity for municipal facilities and operations by 2022 and citywide by 2030,” EcoWatch reported.
“Minneapolis is committing to using 100% renewable energy by 2030. From our pollution control ordinance to green business incentives to becoming the first perc-free city in the USA, Minneapolis will continue leading on climate change & environmental issues,” Frey tweeted.
A blueprint on how the city will reach this goal is tasked to the City Corrdinator’s Office and due by the first quarter of 2019. The blueprint is intended “to ensure that all consumers, especially those who have been left out of the benefits of energy programs in the past, communities of color, low-income communities, renters, and communities that have borne the brunt of past environmental racism, receive equitable benefit from this transition.”
The resolution, which was co-authored by City Council Member Steve Fletcher and Cam Gordon and unanimously approved, is a direct response to climate change that is “caused primarily by the combustion of fossil fuels,” Minneapolis’ city government explained. It is also in line with the city’s “opposition to the federal rollback of climate policy” and commitment to the Paris climate agreement, EcoWatch reported.
“In addition to being the right thing to do for the planet, investing in renewable energy allows us to keep more energy generation revenue in the city and create jobs for Minneapolis people of color who have been historically excluded from the old energy economy,” Fletcher said.
While Minnesota’s second largest source of electricity is renewables, St. Paul and Minneapolis were both recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy as “Solar America Cities” in 2008 because of their abundance of solar energy.
“Climate change is one of the gravest challenges we face, and renewable energy is one of the solutions,” Gordon said. “This resolution builds on the work of our adopted Climate Action Plan, and will help us reach our aggressive goal of reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050.”
COMMENTS