This week, Park City joined a growing list of ski communities across the country, from Salt Lake City to Aspen and Burlington, that are taking charge to confront the threat of climate change by transitioning to 100 percent clean and renewable energy. Park City is the 19th city in the United States to commit to 100% clean, renewable energy like wind and solar.
On September 22, the Park City Council unanimously approved a measure committing Park City to powering the community with 100 percent clean, renewable energy. On Tuesday, Mayor Jack Thomas formalized the city’s commitment when local leaders officially joined the I AM PRO SNOW campaign.
From the Wasatch Range to the Appalachian Mountains, winter tourism plays a vital role in the economy, the culture, and the way of life of communities across the country. Winter tourism represents a $12.2 billion dollar industry, supporting thousands of jobs and sustaining the economies of communities throughout the country.
Yet as snowpacks recede, many of these places are facing threats to the jobs, culture, and way of life that have sustained communities across the country. To combat this threat, winter sports cities and towns across the United States are taking action to protect local communities and create more sustainable economies by transitioning to 100 percent clean, renewable energy.
Communities across the country are demanding more clean energy. Collectively, cities like Salt Lake City and Park City are banding together to push local utilities even further to accelerate the transition to 100 percent clean energy. In Salt Lake City and Park City, local leaders have committed to working with the local electric utility, Rocky Mountain Power, to see that these commitments move forward.
As seen in cities and communities throughout the country, while there is no single path to achieving this goal, there is a common purpose in cities seizing control over local energy choices to power communities with 100 percent clean, renewable energy.
There are also common benefits. Clean, renewable energy not only reduces reliance on dirty power that endangers our climate, it creates good local jobs, provides energy security for families and businesses, and protects our air and water from toxic pollution.
"Utah is one of the ten sunniest states in the union and in the last few years we've really crossed a threshold where the economics of solar have become really feasible both for rooftops all the way up to large scale utility projects. And so the time is right now to develop based on our local resources, drive local clean energy jobs and really make a win not just for Salt Lake City and Park City, but Utah as a whole,” said Salt Lake City's Sustainability Program Manager Tyler Poulson.
Through local leadership in communities like Park City, local leaders are paving the way toward a safer, more vibrant economy, particularly in those places that are already facing the threats of climate disruption like ski towns and communities that are reliant on winter tourism.
The Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign congratulates Park City and I AM PRO SNOW for achieving this important and historic commitment.