Atlanta Emphasizes Equitable Transition in Plan to Be Powered By 100 Percent Clean Energy

ATLANTA, GA—Today, the Atlanta City Council doubled down on its commitment to transition to 100 percent renewable energy for 100 percent of Atlantans by unanimously adopting “Clean Energy Atlanta,” a plan outlining how the city will achieve its goal for a just and equitable clean energy transition.

This plan, developed by the Mayor’s Office of Resilience, can be found here. The resolution adopting the Plan can be found here.

The plan presents a clear roadmap to move the city’s 100 percent renewable goal forward with the following actions:

• Creating an energy efficiency renter assistance program

• Developing an equitable community-solar program

• Working to adopt stronger building codes for efficiency and solar

• Deploying large-scale solar on municipal property

• Expanding EV charging infrastructure throughout the city

• Expanding education programs for residents

• Launching renewable energy and car-sharing programs for low-income residents

• Workforce training, including collaboration with technical colleges and trades to develop a clean energy workforce

“As Atlanta and other communities across Georgia plan their transition to 100 percent clean energy, the Georgia Public Service Commission and Georgia Power must respond to customer demand and build this renewable capacity. The current Integrated Resource Plan is the best place to start,” said Ted Terry, director of the Georgia Sierra Club. “The Sierra Club joins Atlantans in calling for an equitable clean energy transition that works for everyone. We look forward to continuing to work with the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Resilience and other cities across the state to ensure community priorities for a clean energy future are actualized.”

“The 100% Clean Energy Plan reflects the deep commitment to equity vocalized by Atlantans, as well as Mayor Bottoms’ intent to realize a vision of a clean energy economy that works for everyone. By exploring policies that will result in clean air, affordable energy, and family-sustaining jobs locally, the City can facilitate a shift to clean energy that benefits all residents—especially vulnerable communities suffering the worst health and economic effects of a fossil fuel economy. We're glad to see the support of City Council today,” said Amol Naik, Chief Resilience Officer at the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Resilience.

“The City of Atlanta continues to show great leadership and vision with this vote, but it won't be hard for other forward-looking cities in Georgia to join Atlanta on the leading edge of clean energy. Georgia Power has just released its latest draft long-term energy plan, which shows the utility wants to shift away from burning dirty coal in two communities. As this plan is finalized over the coming months, we’ll keep working to show that Georgia’s energy needs can soon be met with 100 percent clean, abundant solar and wind, strengthened by robust energy efficiency,” said Stephen Stetson, representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign in Georgia.

Key findings in the Clean Energy Atlanta plan include:

• The transition to 100 percent clean energy will create at least 8,000 new local jobs, and reduce electricity bills for residents by at least 25 percent and up to 95 percent in some cases, if Atlanta pursues the maximum amount of local renewable generation that is feasible

• Maximizing local clean energy potential will generate $11.9 billion in net benefits through 2035

• Through community conversations, neighborhood meetings, and online outreach, the City of Atlanta engaged over 3,500 residents in over 25 neighborhoods. Eighty-eight percent of those that were asked are very supportive of the goal to transition to 100 percent renewable energy, and there was a consistent emphasis on centering the transition in equity

On May 1, 2017, the City of Atlanta established the goal of transitioning the city to 100 percent clean, renewable energy across the entire community by 2035. In that resolution, the City directed the Office of Resilience to create a plan for achieving its goals. The resulting document reflects input on clean energy priorities collected from Atlanta residents during an extensive stakeholder engagement process, as well as analysis of pathways to achieve this goal from a team of consultants that helped write the Plan.

The resolution approved today changes the dates for powering Atlanta’s municipal operations to 2035 -- the same date as the rest of the city’s electricity use.

Atlanta is one of 109 cities across the U.S. committed to transitioning entirely to clean energy. Two other Georgia communities -- Augusta and Clarkston -- have also set 100 percent renewable goals. The Sierra Club continues to partner with cities and counties to work toward 100 percent clean energy for all.