Texas city fully commits to 100 percent renewable energy goal by the year 2020

The city of Denton, Texas has officially become the latest in a long list of U.S. states that have decided to adopt a long-term strategy for the use of renewable energy sources. That is, the city has now fully committed to transitioning to renewable energy for 100 percent of its energy needs, as stated in a new announcement on the official Sierra Club website.

The announcement notes that Denton is now the second city in the state of Texas to commit to its goal, following Georgetown, as it sets its sights on new objectives. According to a report, the Denton City Council voted successfully to revise the city’s old Renewable Denton Plan, which has been changed to add a goal of producing enough energy from renewables to meet the city’s current needs by 2020.

According to Ed Soph, a Denton resident and Sierra Club member, this marks a new era in the city in which he lives. “This is the beginning of an energy transformation in Denton,” he remarked. “The foundation has been laid for the day when Denton has its own renewable generation capability with community and utility-scale solar installations.”

Meanwhile, Cyrus Reed, the Conservation Director of the Sierra Club’s Lone Star Chapter, stated that the council deserves thanks and recognition for their efforts. “The Sierra Club applauds Denton City Council for its leadership and pragmatism,” he said. “They could have easily let their current plan ride, but they decided to take a closer look at their options and make smarter decisions that will save people money on their bills.”

Indeed they could have, as there are a lot of existing conventional power sources available to the city, which is why it has taken them so long to adapt to the changes brought forth by renewable and clean energy sources in the first place. However, if you take a look at the state of the current market, you will find that there are plenty of new and provable reasons to trust that clean energy is the way to go moving forward.

For one thing, it will always cost money to maintain existing power plants, and as it turns out, they cost a lot more than alternative clean and renewable energy sources. There have been many reports pointing to the fact that this year could be the year that renewable energy finally takes over, so it’s a good thing that the city of Denton has caught on and decided to change their plans accordingly.

Another benefit of going all-in for clean energy is the fact that it’s much more friendly to the environment than the usual sources of electricity. The likes of solar, wind, and battery storage are referred to as clean for a reason – they are known to be sources of electricity that don’t harm the environment to the extent that oil or coal currently does.

The fact that they are so cheap is merely a welcome bonus. They should provide a viable way of transitioning to a cleaner Earth in the future. As Reed further states, “We encourage city leaders and Denton Municipal Electric to take the next step to transition away from relying on the Gibbons Creek coal plant, as well as ensuring their next renewable energy investments include community solar projects and energy storage.”

Find out more about clean energy in Power.news.

Sources include:

SolarIndustryMag.com

SierraClub.org