Ready For 100 was a national movement to inspire our leaders to embrace a vision of healthier communities powered with 100% clean, renewable energy. We approached mayors, CEOs, religious leaders, principals, civic and community leaders, parents and students to commit to solutions that would achieve 100% clean, renewable, and equitably distributed energy across the country by the year 2050.
We began working on the Ready for 100 campaign in New Hampshire in early 2016 with the now-defunct Sierra Club Upper Valley Group. We received funding from the national Sierra Club to hire a part time organizer for the Hanover campaign. We spent the first year working to get the town of Hanover to commit to making a just and equitable transition to 100% renewable energy. Hanover voted unanimously during their May 2017 town meeting to set a goal of powering the entire community with 100% renewable energy for electricity by 2030 (heat & transportation by 2050.) This was the first popular vote in the entire country for 100% renewable energy.
After the Hanover vote, the RF100 campaign expanded regionally. In March of 2018 Cornish and Plainfield voted during their town meetings to commit to this same goal. Then in July of 2018, the Concord City Council passed a resolution to make the same commitment to 100% renewable energy. In January of 2019, Keene became the 5th community in New Hampshire to commit to this goal when their city council passed a similar resolution. There are many communities in New Hampshire who are acting to lower their carbon footprints by reducing energy use and providing local opportunities that are just as important, though perhaps less formal. It is exciting to see the endless creativity and positive results by each and every community.
While the R100 campaign has concluded in New Hampshire the volunteers and the communities continue to live and work toward the goals of their commitments. Those communities are an inspiration to all Granite Staters and the rest of the region and the nation.
New Hampshire Commitments:
- Hanover is committed to a community-wide goal of transitioning to 100% renewable electricity by 2030 and a 2050 goal of transitioning heating and transportation to run on clean, renewable sources of energy. Town Administrator Julia Griffon has pledged their support for a community-wide transition to 100% renewable energy.
- Cornish is committed to 100% renewable electricity by 2030, and 100% renewables for heat & transportation by 2050.
- Plainfield is committed to 100% renewable electricity by 2030, and 100% renewable energy for heat & transportation by 2050.
- Concord commits to 100% renewable electricity by 2030 and for all energy sectors, including heat and transportation by 2050.
- Keene is committed to 100% clean, renewable electricity community-wide by 2030 and 100% renewable energy for heating and transportation by 2050. Mayor Kendall W. Lane has pledged their support for a community-wide transition to 100% renewable energy.