The First American City to Run on One Hundred Percent Renewable Power

In twenty fourteen, Burlington became the first city in the United States to power its electric grid entirely from renewable energy sources. The city's electric department was already buying wind, solar, and hydro from around the region, but the turning point was a twelve-million-dollar bond measure that Burlington voters approved to purchase the Winooski One hydroelectric plant on the nearby river. Once that plant came online, the math closed. One hundred percent.

The sources are a patchwork that reflects Vermont's landscape. Wood from sustainably managed local forests powers the McNeil Generating Station in Burlington's Intervale, a plant built in nineteen eighty-four after voters approved it in nineteen seventy-eight, when the city was looking for an alternative to coal. Wind turbines turn on the ridge lines of nearby Georgia Mountain. Rooftop solar panels cover the high school, the airport, and several municipal buildings. The Winooski hydro plant provides the seasonal balance.

Burlington had been moving in this direction since the nineteen seventies, when voters approved a wood-fired plant to replace an aging coal plant. In roughly twenty-four years, the city went from twenty-five percent renewable to one hundred percent. Burlington has since set a goal of eliminating fossil fuel use entirely across all sectors by electrifying heating and transportation.

The story here is also a story about municipal ownership. Burlington Electric is a publicly owned utility, accountable to voters rather than shareholders. The decision to buy a hydro plant, to issue a bond, to make that bet on a fully renewable future, was made by the citizens of Burlington, not by a corporate board in another city. That structure is unusual. The result speaks for itself.