As of January 1, Chicago's more than 400 municipal buildings will be powered 100% by clean energy, as reported by Grist and WBEZ.
Chicago's city buildings — including 98 fire stations, two of the largest water treatment plants on Earth, and both international airports — require about 700,000 megawatt hours of electricity every year. Starting in 2025, all of that power will come from renewable energy sources such as Illinois' new massive solar farm.
By switching the buildings to renewable energy, the city is reducing its carbon dioxide output each year by 290,000 metric tons (roughly the equivalent of removing 62,000 cars from the road).
With the incoming Trump administration, it's becoming increasingly important for local governments to take climate action. Donald Trump has vowed to reduce federal support for addressing the climate crisis.
The Biden administration set a goal of getting the United States to net-zero emissions by 2050, and it appears more cities will need to follow in the footsteps of Chicago and take bold climate action to get the country to the 2050 finish line.
Renewable energy sources are often more affordable and more reliable. They decrease the demand on the energy grid, making communities more resilient in the face of extreme weather events that frequently cause power outages.
Green energy also helps reduce pollution, making the air cleaner and curbing rising global temperatures.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot made a deal with Constellation, an electricity supplier, in 2022 to buy the city's energy from Swift Current Energy starting in 2025.
This $422 million agreement led to the beginning of construction for the 3,800-acre, 593-megawatt solar farm in central Illinois — the Double Black Diamond Solar project, per Grist and WBEZ.
|
Do you think more places of worship should embrace clean energy?
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Yes — it sets a positive example ⛪ As the largest solar installation east of the Mississippi River, the project can provide electricity to more than 100,000 homes, according to Swift Current's vice president of origination Caroline Mann.
Chicago will buy about half the project's total output, covering roughly 70% of its municipal buildings' power requirements. To cover the remaining 30%, the city will purchase renewable energy credits.
"It's a plan that gets the city to take action on climate and also leverages our buying power to generate new opportunities for Chicagoans and the state," said Angela Tovar, Chicago's chief sustainability officer, per Grist and WBEZ. "There's opportunities everywhere."
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
