Recently Portland, Oregon has made a commitment to meeting 100% of its electricity needs through renewable electricity sources by 2035, making Portland the newest city to join the CommitTo100 renewable energy initiative.
Executive Director of the Sierra Club, Michael Brune stated on his blog that Portland’s commitment is important because of the holistic nature of the city’s approach to going 100% renewable:
“Once approved by the city and county commissioners, the plan will make Portland the largest city in the country to commit to transition all energy sectors to 100 percent clean energy.”
Until Portland’s announcement, the Pacific Northwest had no cities committed to pursuing 100% renewable energy. It is hoped that Portland’s decision will serve as inspiration for other Northwest cities to do the same. Portland has broken its goal of 100% renewable energy into several different milestones, aiming to phase out coal by 2032, and phase out natural gas by 2035.
City of Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said he knew achieving the goal was going to be a big challenge but was optimistic. He called on the Portland community to work together to make the goal possible: “We don’t succeed addressing climate change by government action alone. We need our whole community: government, businesses, organizations, and households to work together to make a just transition to a 100 percent renewable future.”
