By Chance Cutrano & Sarah Loughran
After months of organization, collaboration, and persuasive comments at public meetings throughout Marin County, all cities, towns, and the County of Marin have opted to enroll their municipal accounts in MCE's Deep Green power program: 100% renewable, 100% greenhouse-gas-free electricity. According to MCE — a local Community Choice power provider that’s a cleaner alternative to PG&E (read more on the facing page) — Marin is the first county in California (and possibly the nation!) to be using 100% renewable energy for all municipal accounts. Kudos to Marin and its cities for leading by example!
This campaign, led by Marin residents Helene Marsh and Sarah Loughran as a part of the Environmental Forum of Marin’s Master Class and supported by numerous other Sierra Club members, will result in an annual reduction of 3,900 metric tons — or 8,598,028 pounds — of carbon dioxide. This is the equivalent of removing 835 cars from the road each year.
Prior to this campaign, only four Marin municipalities — Fairfax, San Anselmo, Belvedere, and Sausalito — had elected to pay a small premium to receive 100% renewable energy. With a tremendous amount of community support and engagement, this county-wide initiative resulted in unanimous votes by the elected leadership of Corte Madera, Larkspur, Novato, Ross, San Rafael, Mill Valley, Tiburon, and the County of Marin to "opt-up" to 100% renewable energy.
The Sierra Club applauds our public officials’ dedication to minimizing our carbon footprint. In addition to all of the jurisdictions in Marin, a number of other municipal MCE customers have already opted up to Deep Green power, including Napa County, the City of Napa, Richmond, El Cerrito, Lafayette, and San Pablo. These actions support the Sierra Club’s 125th Anniversary “Ready for 100” campaign and mark a pivotal step in our march beyond fossil fuels and toward a 100% renewable energy future.
The conversation is far from over. Following the leadership of our local governments, businesses and residents must make the choice to opt up to MCE’s Deep Green. Currently, most MCE customers are enrolled in the Light Green program, which offers 55% renewable electricity (cleaner energy than PG&E offers, at competitive rates). A number of environmental groups are working with renewed vigor to urge residents, businesses, and schools to enroll in Deep Green. The number of MCE accounts enrolled in Deep Green increased by 39% between March and September of this year, and has risen even more since. For most residential customers, the additional cost of Deep Green is about $4 per month.
It only takes a few minutes to sign up for Deep Green, and for the price of a cup of coffee a month, you too can power your home or workspace with 100% California wind and solar power.
Photo: MCE's Deputy General Counsel, Shalini Swaroop, jumps for solar joy at MCE's local renewable energy project, the Novato Cooley Quarry. Courtesy @mcecleanenergy Instagram account.