Author: 100%RE

Abita Springs, Louisiana, USA

Town Hall, Abita Springs, Louisiana, USA

  • Target: 100% renewable electricity by 2030
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Solar power
  • Implementation: In 2017, then Mayor Greg Lemon led the fight for clean energy in Abita Springs by bringing the small town into the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign. It was the first Louisiana town to commit to 100 percent renewable energy. The 100 campaign involves communities from all over the United States that have pledged to run entirely on renewable energy by 2050. Abita Springs planned to have every municipal building, every business, and every home powered by renewables in just 12 years. As participant in the Sierra Club, the town was provided with a network of knowledge, a framework for Abita Spring’s pledge, and publicity of their committed strategy. Ultimately, the clean 100% strategy was a response to avoiding the negative environmental impact caused by fracking in neighbouring communities, while embracing the ample sun which the town receives which made solar power good business sense.

    Through grants from the Sierra Club’s Mayors for 100 Percent Clean Energy initiative, work began on insulating buildings, installing LED lights, and replacing high current, high-voltage appliances. Over a hundred solar panels were placed on the town hall, producing 60 percent of the building’s electricity during peak hours and saving around $200 a month. To achieve the ambitious goal by 2030, the town sought to procure renewable electricity based on wind and solar from the regional utilities. Meanwhile, it focused on residential, business, and community solar and held public events to educate town leaders, civic organizations, business owners, and residents in order to introduce them to local solar installation companies. They also met with the planning and zoning commission, and the historic commission, to help homeowners more easily seek permits for solar panels.
  • Population:  2,365 (2010)
  • Area:  4.60 sq mi (11.91 km2)
  • Link: Source: https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/05/this-70-year-old-republican-mayor-wants-to-prove-that-his-small-southern-town-can-go-green/
Town Hall, Abita Springs, Louisiana, USA
  • © Town of Abita Springs

Alheim, Germany

Alheimerturm, Hessen, Germany

  • Target: 100% renewable electric supply by 2030, 100% renewable heating supply by 2050.
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Solar photovoltaics, solar thermal, biogas technology and hydropower.
  • Implementation: Alheim is a small town located in northern Hesse, Germany. Back in 1994, its municipal council enforced environmental impact guidelines which mandated that  all construction projects must be subjected to an environmental impact assessment. Ten years later, the town extended these guidelines to include a long-term target to power Alheim entirely from renewable energy sources. The intermediate goals included raising the current share of 75% of electricity supply to 100% until 2030. Similarly, while only 15% of heat is covered by renewable energy today, the aim is to achieve 100% renewable heating by 2050. Today, out of 12.2 Mio kWh produced from renewable energy, solar photovoltaic produces 6.9 Mio kWh, solar thermal energy 1.1 Mio kWh, biogas technology 4,1 Mio kWh and hydro 4.294 kWh. Alheim has profited greatly from the policy framework advancing renewable energy as it has boosted the local economy and created jobs in the region. Heat generated in biogas plants have been used for heating in industrial buildings, thus strengthening the local industry. Meanwhile, solar panels do not only produce energy but also provide shelter for organically farmed chicken on the fields. Alheim’s streets are illuminated with energy-efficient LED lighting and strict ecological guidelines for construction and renovations have been in place since 1994. Indeed, the advancement of renewable energy is part of a broader strategy to promote a lifestyle that is compatible with social and ecological ideals. Ever since Alheim joined energy transition revolution, children have been taught about renewable energy in the local schools and kindergardens.  Alheim council’s website features “Climate Protection To Go”  including tips on energy-efficient driving and cooking. One of the decisive factors for Alheim’s policy on renewable energy has been the political leadership of Mayor Georg Lüdtke who came into office in 1996 and has been committed to the idea ever since. Currently, Alheim is deepening its cooperation with the neighboring regions Bebra and Rotenburg, acting as a role model and strengthening the alliance for the transformation towards decentralized energy supply.
  • Population: 4,951 (2017)
  • Area: 63.83 km2 (24.64 sq mi)
  • Link: Projekt Energieautarke Siedlung
Alheimerturm, Hessen, Germany

Aller-Leine-Tal, Germany

Aller-Leine-Tal, Germany

  • Target: 100+% Renewable Power Region, On Its Way to 100+% Renewable Heat.
  • Status: Achieved - In January 2012, Aller-Leine-Tal produced 108% of its electricity with local renewable sources.
  • RES: Wind turbines, biogas cogeneration plant, solar PV farm and small riverine hydro for electricity. Geothermal energy, biomass and district heating grid for heating.
  • Implementation: The region of Aller-Leine-Tal is located north of Hannover in Lower Saxony, Germany. The region consists of eight municipalities (Kirchlinteln, Dörverden, Wietze, Winsen, Hambühren and the administrative divisions in Ahlden, Rethern, and Schwarmstedt). The regional community has reached and surpassed a 100% renewable electricity goal, and is currently pursuing a 100% renewable heating target. Its efforts began in the late 1990's when the region pledged a commitment to help protect the climate by supporting renewable energy use. In 1996, 60 citizens collaborated to construct the first 660kW windmill. This was eventually replaced by a modern 2.3MW turbine. Today, the region is generating energy from additional 54 windmills, biogas (13 MW), solar PV (14 MW), and some smaller river hydro power providing more energy than needed. To achieve 100% renewable heat, the region will expand use of technologies already employed, including geothermal, biomass to heat, a district heating grid, and improving efficiency. To increase energy conservation, the municipalities offer energy audits and energy consulting. They have also initiated educational programs in local schools to engage and educate students in renewable energy-related activities. The idea is that students should experience and understand renewable energy with there own hands and be given the opportunity to use - and build where possible - renewable energy technologies like wind turbines, water mills, and solar chargers. To increase awareness, the region has created touristic bike paths with more than 40 energy stations that provide information on different renewable energy sources. As an energy exporter, the Aller-Leine-Tal has already set a new target of supplying neighboring areas with renewable energy.
  • Population: 60,087 (2017)
  • Area: 622 km2 (240 sq mi)
  • Link: http://www.kommunal-erneuerbar.de/energie-kommunen/energie-kommunen/aller-leine-tal.html
Aller-Leine-Tal, Germany

Alzey-Land Region, Germany

Fishmarket, Alzey, Germany

  • Target: 100% renewable energy
  • Status: Achieved
  • RES: Wind farms, biogas plants, a hydroelectric power plant and solar power plants.
  • Implementation: The Alley-Land region is a hilly wine growing region comprising 24 local communities, located in the state of Rheinland-Palatinate, Germany. In 2010, the region reached 100% renewable electricity. To also achieve 100% renewable in heating and transportation, it is seeking to further expand its existing renewable energy infrastructure. Today, renewable energy plants in the Alzey region generates more electricity than its inhabitants consume. 38 wind turbines cover more than 91% of the electricity demand. The rest comes from two biogas plants, a hydroelectric power plant and 156 solar power plants.The initiatives in the field of wind power have been largely driven by the private sector. The municipality advises, moderates and creates the planning principles with regards to urban land use planning in order to encourage and guide RES installations. In order to make greater use of wind power, the municipality aims to expand areas for the use of wind power and to identify them in its land use plan. Old turbines will be replaced with newer, more powerful wind turbines to improve the wind power harvest. The Alzey region hosts the largest wind farm in the Rhineland-Palatinate called Park Ober-Flörsheim/Flomborn. Besides wind energy, there are over 150 PV systems installed on private houses, commercial buildings and farm buildings. The Freimersheim solar park produces more than 7.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year, able to supply around 2,300 households.
  • Population: 24,805 (2017)
  • Area: 173,87 km²
  • Link: Klima- und Umweltschutz - Energie
Fishmarket, Alzey, Germany

Ambler Borough, Pennsylvania, USA

Ambler, Pennsylvania, USA

  • Target: 100% clean, renewable electricity community-wide by 2035 and 100% renewable energy for heating and transportation by 2050
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Solar PV
  • Implementation: In 2019, Ambler Borough Council passed a Ready for 100% Renewable Energy Resolution, with the intention of transitioning all borough-owned property away from fossil fuels and towards sustainable energy sources by the year 2050. Ambler’s Planning Commission was tasked to develop a Strategic Transition to Renewable Energy Plan, which also complemented 100% plans by surrounding municipalities. The  Plan was approved in 2020 and included interim milestones, financial impacts, equity metrics, potential financing mechanisms, and the percentage of renewable energy that is locally produced.  Locally produced and distributed energy was prioritized whenever feasible for the many advantages it provides to the community. Measures recommended include improving pedestrian and cycle infrastructure, procuring locally sourced solar panels on borough- owned buildings, coordinating with large vacant property owners along with State and Federal agencies on converting unused properties for use as solar farms, installing solar panels on elevated structures in parking lots and achieving SolSmart designation which would provide no-cost technical assistance for solar installations.

    Other measures include purchasing and budgeting new electric vehicles, installing EV chargers to meet the demand by residents, visitors, and borough fleet, encouraging the use of LED lighting in homes, businesses, and public property, providing energy assessments to help residents increase their efficiency and reduce energy costs, weatherizing existing borough-owned facilities, and coordinating code standards with specific benchmarks to increase overall energy efficiency.
  • Population:  6,807 (2020)
  • Area:  0.85 sq mi (2.21 km2)
  • Link: Ambler Borough Strategic Plan: Transition to 100% Renewable Energy from 2020 to 2050
Ambler, Pennsylvania, USA
  • © BGROPHOTO

Apex, North Carolina, USA

Apex, North Carolina, USA

  • Target: 100% renewable energy by 2050 for town operations
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Solar PV
  • Implementation: The town of Apex in North Carolina is committed to achieving 100% Clean Energy by 2050 with the strategic aim of creating a healthy and engaged community, a vibrant economy, all based on ecologically sustainable development.Efforts began in 2017, with two solar photovoltaic (PV) pilot projects to establish design, construction and energy management skills, with $500,000 budgeted for PV systems on town buildings. Changes to policy making were made making it faster, easier and more affordable for Apex homes and businesses to install solar. All outdoor lighting were transitioned to energy efficient LED (light-emitting diode) fixtures, which provided immediate cost savings to the town and its citizens. By 2019, Apex was designated as a Gold-Level SolSmart Community. Its Council passed the 100% Clean Energy resolution. Besides transitioning from fossil fuel-based energy to renewable energy, Apex would also transition the municipal vehicle fleet to plug-in hybrid vehicles or all electric vehicles by 2050. By 2021, the town had installed solar PV on 9 town buildings, with more installations planned. A Greenhouse Gas Inventory was created by the Apex Sustainability Team to track operational fossil fuel-based emissions and set the 100% energy targets. The Apex Finance Committee met with locals to discuss any changes to the Town's solar rate structure and to solar metering.

    An assessment was made by Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) and CST Fleet Services  to create a Vehicle Replacement and Infrastructure Support Plan for the following 10 years. The town replaced several old council trucks with all electric vehicles  and electric changing stations installed at locations around town. The town began expanding municipal recycling and paper reduction efforts to set a 100% Zero Waste Goal for town operations. It began working with partners to analyze municipal waste usage, identify waste reduction strategies, and implement zero waste practices in the workplace. To achieve greener buildings, the town carried out energy assessments on all town buildings to plan for optimal efficiency retrofits.

  • Population:  58,780 (2020)
  • Area:  56 km2
  • Link: Apex Solar
Apex, North Carolina, USA
  • © Seth Ilys

Aruba

Aruba

  • Target: Cover all electricity demand by 100% renewable sources by 2020.
  • Status: In progress - To date, 15.4% electricity generation is from renewable energy.
  • RES: 30-MW wind park, and waste-to-energy project generating electricity through biogas.
  • Implementation: The Caribbean island of Aruba in the Caribbean is an autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands located off the coast of Venezuela. Aruba's economy is based largely on tourism with nearly 1.5 million visitors per year, which has contributed to Aruba’s high population density with about 500 people per square kilometre (more than New York). In response, the Government of Aruba realised that the island’s economic development must shift in order to maintain and preserve the country's infrastructure and natural resources. In 2009, Aruba launched the islands first wind park. In 2011, the Government published its economic vision and policy plan with the title “The Green Gateway”. It includes plans to promote renewable energy on the island in order to secure and preserve its valuable but fragile natural resources. During the Rio +20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012, the island announced it aim to cover its electricity demand by 100% renewable sources by 2020. In the same year, Aruba together with other Caribbean islands became member of the Carbon War Room’s Ten Island Challenge, an initiative launched at the Rio +20 Conference aiming for islands to shift towards 100% renewable energy. The benefits of becoming 100% renewable for Aruba include: reducing its heavy dependency on fossil fuel, thus making it less vulnerable to global oil price fluctuations, drastically reducing CO2 emissions, and preserving its natural environment.
  • Population: 104,822 (2016)
  • Area: 178.91 km2 (69.08 sq mi)
  • Link: http://www.utilitiesarubanv.com/main/wp-content/uploads/pdf/green-deck-aruba.pdf
Aruba

Aspen, Colorado, USA

Aspen, Colorado, USA

  • Target: 100% renewable energy
  • Status: Achieved
  • RES: Hydropower, windpower, and land-fill gas energy.
  • Implementation: The City of Aspen is located in the Rocky Mountains in the state of Colorado. As one of the most famous skiing resorts in the USA, Aspen welcomes many tourists every year. In particular, the city's winter population grows from approximately 7,000 to 50,000 people. This means that Aspen has to deal with a significantly higher energy consumption in winter compared to the rest of the year. In 1885, Aspen was already one of the first American municipalities to use hydroelectric power, and by 2014, hydroplants were covering 86% of the energy demand. The boost in hydropower has been largely due to the Canary Initiative, which was established in 2005, which identified Aspen and other mountain communities as “canaries in the coal mine” with respect to their sensitivity to the effects of climate change. The initiative laid out a Climate Action Plan, which would reduce GHG emissions by converting its energy supply to one based on RE. In cooperation with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory the city developed a strategy how to achieve this. Investments in renewable energy have enabled the utility to progressively replace fossil fuels. Finally, in August of 2015, the City of Aspen municipally owned electric utility achieved 100% renewable energy, by signing of a contract with the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, a wholesale electric energy provider. Since then, the energy mix in the electricity sector is assembled by 46% hydro, 53% wind and 1% landfill gas energy. The new wind contract, which provides 95% of the new renewable energy, allows the city to only buy what it needs to keep it close to 100% renewable energies. The advantage of this arrangement is that it affords crucial supply management flexibility for dealing with inconsistencies in energy production from Aspen’s other resources, such as the fluctuations in hydro power. It also allows the city to avoid being forced to buy energy they do not need.
  • Population: 6,871 (2016)
  • Area: 3.88 sq mi (10.05 km2)
  • Link: https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy15osti/62490.pdf
Aspen, Colorado, USA

Athens, Georgia, USA

Athens, Georgia, USA

  • Target: 100% renewable electricity community-wide by 2035, and 100% renewable energy for heating and transportation by 2050
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Renewable energy sources to be determined
  • Implementation: In 2019, the Athens-Clarke County (ACC) Commission voted to adopt a community wide goal of 100% clean and renewable electricity by 2035. It joins Atlanta, Augusta, and Clarkston in the transition away from pollutive energy sources that contribute to climate change. ACC aims to source 100% renewable energy sources for city-owned properties by 2035, and by 2050 it will generate 60% of its renewable energy locally. The broader community will obtain 100% of its electricity needs from clean and renewable sources by 2035. All other energy needs (transportation, etc.) will be met by 100% clean and renewable energy sources by 2050. The energy resolution aims for a just and equitable energy future. Analysis had shown that many households in the county spend an above average percentage of their monthly income on electricity. The organisation "100% Athens" is leading efforts to fund clean and renewable energy. The energy resolution kicked off an 18 month long process that sought input from stakeholders in and around ACC including regional utilities like Georgia Power and Walton EMC. 100% Athens has begun working in partnership with the County and helped incorporate more solar and efficiency in Georgia Power’s Integrated Resource Planning Process. By collaborating with the local community and receiving feedback, the Sustainability Office of ACC is building a map that will guide the County towards the most effective renewable policies and technologies that are best-suited for the community’s needs.
  • Population:  127,315 (2020)
  • Area:  306 km2
  • Link: Clean and Renewable Energy Campaign
Athens, Georgia, USA
  • © Richard Chambers

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

  • Target: 100% renewable electricity by 2035
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Energy efficiency measures, and onsite and community solar
  • Implementation: The City Council of Atlanta in Georgia approved a green energy plan in 2019 geared towards the achieving 100% renewable electricity by 2035. The goal is to entirely replace coal, natural gas and nuclear energy as the primary energy sources of electricity with renewable sources. This will be achieved in an incremental manner. The city will begin by using less energy, achieved through energy efficiency measures such as insulating old homes and installing energy-efficient lights and better cooling and heating systems. It is estimated that this may achieve a reduction in consumption as much as 30%. The energy plan will require more solar panel installations on homes, commercial buildings and at utility scale solar farms. Investments will be needed in battery storage for solar energy as well as renewable-energy credits from outside the state to offset coal and gas power still coming from the local grid. The plan will more crucially require the support of of key players such as the state utility and the state’s conservative Legislature. Leading figures are however building political coalition for green energy by focusing on jobs, which the energy plan estimates will result in 8,000 new positions, as well as generate economic development for the entire state. The plan would help low-income families, where solar panels would provide lower costs and price stability. (Source: theworld.org/stories/2019-04-15/how-atlanta-plans-get-100-green-energy-2035)
  • Population:  498,715 (2020)
  • Area:  350 km2
  • Link: www.100atl.com
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
  • © Paul Brennan