The U.S. Cities With (Or Committed to) 100% Renewable Power

Last week renewable energy company Hello Solar released an interactive map highlighting American cities committed to 100% renewable energy. Locations range from small communities that have already converted to 100% renewables, like Kodiak Island, Alaska and Burlington, Vermont, to huge metropolises like San Francisco and San Diego, both of which are looking to go fully renewable within the next 15-20 years.

One of the more interesting aspects of the map is that, given the country’s wide geographic and climatic differences, each city’s renewables story is different. Kodiak Island, which has a population of just over 6,000 people, went fully renewable in 2015 with a mix of 14% wind and 86% hydro, which makes sense given its location. The Terror Lake Hydroelectric Generation Station built on the island in 1985 already generated 22 MW with two shaft turbine units, and the State of Alaska installed a third one in 2013 to crank the capacity up to around 34 MW. It’s clear that Kodiak Island owes much of its success to existing power architecture and its geography.

Burlington’s population of around 42,000 went fully renewable in 2015. A meaty renewables mix has always faced an uphill battle in the Northeast US, where the abundance of cloudy days makes solar generation difficult. Burlington also relies heavily on hydroelectric power from the Winooski River and a remote dam in Maine, in addition to sourcing 20% from wind turbines strategically placed on the hills around neighboring towns. Controversially, though, the city generates the remaining 35% from burning biomass, which generates around 25% more emissions than coal. This large percentage has led some critics to claim that, while the EU and UN technically classify biomass as a renewable resource, Burlington isn’t close to being 100% truly renewable and relies on heavy logging to meet its power needs.

Greensburg—a small city of under 800 people in central Kansas—was described as the greenest city in America following a dramatic transformation. In May 2007 an EF5 tornado decimated Greensburg and completely destroyed 95% of the city. It was then completely rebuilt using “green living” principles, with LEED-certified buildings and power supplied solely by 10 1.25-MW wind turbines.

Huge cities like San Francisco and San Diego, the latter of which has 1.3 million residents and has committed to going fully renewable by 2035, may face a more difficult road. San Diego Gas & Electric has been working to boost the city’s renewables mix for over a decade, and as of Q1 2016 the utility generated 36.4% of its energy from renewables. While California’s climate is ideal for wind and solar development, the ambitious goal will probably still require major innovations in energy storage and distribution to orchestrate the supply of energy between multiple sources.

Renewable power still faces an uphill climb due to cost prohibitions and public opposition, but there are some major success stories. Thanks to aggressive new policies and tariffs, Germany’s Energiewende program aiming at 60% renewable power nationwide has been successful thus far. And Quebec’s 8.2 million residents derive 96% of their energy from hydropower, although that province’s geography alone makes it possible. Even if a city as big as San Diego fails to reach their goal in time, the carbon reduction would surely be worth it.

Image credit: US Bureau of Land Management / CC BY 2.0