SierraScape January - August 2018
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by Henry Robertson
EMG Energy Committee Chair

"Ready for 100" is a Sierra Club campaign to get mayors to make a pledge: their towns will run on 100% renewable energy by 2050—or earlier. A number of Missouri towns are signed on including University City, Florissant, Maplewood, Chesterfield, St. Peters, Wentzville and Dellwood.

On October 27 the St. Louis Board of Aldermen dazzled us with the speed with which they passed a resolution introduced by Board President Lewis Reed. It will commit the city to achieving 100% clean electricity by 2035 with wind and solar power and energy efficiency measures. The city will now hold a stakeholder process with the goal of coming up with a plan by the end of next year.

The presence of Sierra Club volunteers and their allies in the chamber was instrumental in securing unanimous passage, as a number of aldermen made clear.

100% is an ambitious goal but it can be done, and economically too.

On the wholesale market wind electricity is now the cheapest there is. Solar power, even when combined with storage batteries to function when the sun don't shine, is competitive with natural gas, the cheapest fossil fuel. Efficiency, the lowest-cost "energy resource," will lay the groundwork for renewable energy; with less total demand for electricity it will be easier to reach the 100% goal.

If you live in another city whose mayor hasn't signed the pledge, let us know. We'll be glad to back you up with the full weight of our Beyond Coal Campaign staff and EMG volunteers.

Even if your mayor has signed on, there's plenty to do. Words are cheap. Making a plan to actually get it done, and following through, will keep us busy for a long time to come.