City of Vancouver votes to go 100% renewable

CleanTechnica

The Canadian city of Vancouver in British Columbia recently became the first city in the country to aim for 100% renewable energy in the electricity sector — following on a unanimous decision/vote by the City Council there.

That vote — which took place on Wednesday, March 26 — explicitly makes it clear that the city’s leaders are in favor of eventually getting all of the city’s electricity needs met via renewable energy generation.

The recent decision by the city council there means that Vancouver is now amongst the company of Sydney, Australia; San Diego, California; San Francisco, California; Stockholm, Sweden; Munich, Germany; and others — all cities which have set aim on 100% renewables.

Despite the comments I made at the top of the article, it’s not just a goal aiming for 100% of electricity from renewable energy sources — but also a goal aiming for 100% of heating + cooling coming from renewable energy sources as well in this case. And, apparently, the city council has also directed staff to investigate the feasibility of transportation going 100% renewable. (Given the city and province’s apparent love of hydrogen vehicles, though, I wonder if they’re going to consider hydrogen cars to be in line with the goal of 100% renewables.)

As far as timelines go, staff feedback on that count is set to be provided to the city council sometime in September — outlining what an actual implementation timeline could look like.

As it stands currently, around 90% of Vancouver’s electricity is already generated via renewable energy sources (hydroelectric). When heating + cooling + transportation is included, though, this figure falls to just 32%. So there’s certainly work to be done.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson commented: “Cities around the world must show continued leadership to meet the urgent challenge of climate change, and the most impactful change we can make is a shift toward 100% of our energy being derived from renewable sources.”

On that note, it’s worth mentioning that CleanTechnica‘s director and chief editor, Zachary Shahan, will be speaking, moderating a panel, and leading a workshop at the Renewable Cities conference in Vancouver roughly a month from now. So, those in the area (or beyond) may want to set aside some time for the conference if you are interested in this matter. CleanTechnica readers can get a 10% discount off the entry fee, too. Just use the following code: Cleantechnica100RE

Source: CleanTechnica. Reproduced with permission.