Municipalities across the US are working to generate all of their electricity from renewable energy. Burlington, Vermont (pop. 42,284) is powered by 100 percent renewable energy. The city achieved this after recently purchasing a 7.4 MW hydroelectric facility in September 2014. Burlington generates approximately 20 percent of its electricity from wind and solar, 33 percent from woody biomass waste, and about 45 percent from hydropower. Burlington’s efforts coincide with Vermont’s overall goal of generating 90 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2050. For more information on Burlington, VT
Two other municipalities are fully powered by renewable energy, Scituate, MA (pop. 17,863) and Greensburg, KS (pop. 785). A 3 MW solar array and a 1.5 MW wind turbine have powered Scituate since 2013. In Greensburg, a 12.5 MW wind farm more than powers the city that was rebuilt for resiliency after tornado decimation. All buildings are LEED platinum that use 40 percent less energy than a code building. Aspen, Colorado is currently at 86 percent local renewable energy with a goal to be 100 percent renewable powered by the end of 2015. For more information on Scituate, MA, Greensburg, KS, and Aspen, CO