On Tuesday, the Longmont, Colo., city council voted to approve a resolution committing the community in a shift away from fossil fuels and to transition to 100% renewable electricity by 2030.
According to the Sierra Club, the city council resolution builds off of Longmont Mayor Brian Bagley’s proclamation signed on Dec. 5 establishing a vision for powering the community entirely with clean and renewable sources of energy like wind and solar.
The Colorado Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign has joined Sustainable Resilient Longmont in celebrating Longmont’s becoming at least the 55th city or town in the nation – and seventh in Colorado – to adopt a 100% clean energy goal.
“We thank the Longmont city council and Mayor Bagley for their dedication to create a truly sustainable future,” says Jim Alexee, director of Colorado Sierra Club. “As one of the most fracked regions in the nation, it’s exciting to see Longmont made the decision to invest in our health and climate.”
“Now, more than ever, action at the local level is crucial to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and transition to a clean energy future,” adds Sustainable Resilient Longmont Board Chair Abby Driscoll.
Bagley comments, “I’m pleased to see the council taking this step to affirm Longmont’s commitment to clean energy. Our energy production needs to be reliable, affordable and environmentally responsible. This step forward continues us in this direction.”
According to Boulder County Commissioner Deb Gardner, “Longmont is the fourth city in Boulder County, following Boulder, Nederland, and Lafayette to make this commitment – proof that that the momentum for clean energy is both economically feasible on a local level and widely supported by Coloradans.”
Longmont’s renewable energy commitment follows a recent PACE Global report from regional electricity provider Platte River Power Authority (PRPA), which studied the feasibility of moving to zero net carbon. Sustainable Resilient Longmont, along with a coalition of partners, commissioned a subsequent review of a report by Catalyst Coop, which encourages the PRPA to take into account future costs of wind, solar and electricity storage.
“PRPA is fully aware that the PACE report is conservative,” says Longmont City Council Member Marcia Martin. “With the renewable investments that PRPA has completed and initiated since commissioning the study, they have already surpassed the parameters of the study. We are confident that PRPA and its four cities will enter a golden age of clean energy together.”
“The longer that we depend on old and dirty energy, the more we put our neighbors at risk for asthma and our neighborhoods at risk for climate caused wildfires and floods,” adds Colorado State Rep. Jonathan Singer. “One-hundred percent renewable energy by 2030 is achievable and affordable. It’s time we make it inevitable.”
