SierraScape Double Issue - 2019
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BY HENRY ROBERTSON
Climate breakdown is a global problem but it's finding local solutions. The governments in Washington DC and Jefferson City don't care, so city governments are picking up the slack. In 2017 the St. Louis Board of Aldermen resolved to make the city run on 100% clean energy for electricity (wind, solar and efficiency) by 2035. St. Louis is not the only city in the region to pledge to go 100% renewable — University City, Maplewood, and Dellwood are others — but it is the biggest, and it's where the Sierra Club is concentrating its efforts. If you live in one of our innumerable suburbs and would like to get your town moving in that direction, we'll support you!
St. Louis plans to have city operations running on clean energy by 2025 and the whole city — all its neighborhoods and businesses — by 2035. That's a tall order, and it will take the cooperation of one of the coal-heaviest utilities in the nation, Ameren Missouri. The key is demand. We demand action and Ameren meets the demand. One big motivator is corporate demand. When companies like AB InBev, Wal-Mart, Amazon, Apple and Google start demanding renewable electricity, utilities can hardly say no. They respond with "green tariff" programs. They provide wind energy and let companies subscribe to it.
Ameren has a green tariff called Renewable Choice. An offering of 400 megawatts (MW) of new wind, yet to be built, was fully subscribed in no time. Ameren allowed cities as well as companies to subscribe, so St. Louis put in its non-binding expression of interest. The wind farms and contracts will follow. A combination of energy efficiency programs, rooftop solar and green-tariff wind will get city government running on clean energy. Jobs and justice are key components of St. Louis' 100% clean energy drive. Wind farms are remote, but efficiency programs and solar panels get right down into our neighborhoods. The fastest growing job in Missouri is solar installer, and equipping buildings with energy-efficient lighting, appliances, and insulation promises even more jobs.
"Ameren will need no urging here; they're salivating at the thought of this big new market."
Putting solar panels on your house is great, but not everyone can do it. Your house may not have good solar exposure, or you may be a renter or a condo owner or can't afford the upfront cost. The answer is community solar, installations that serve multiple customers. Where the utility is a monopoly like Ameren, this must be provided by it.
Ameren has dipped its toe into this market with a program to build a 1 MW solar farm near St. Louis Lambert airport. Customers could sign up for blocks of solar electricity up to one- half of their household's average usage. Like the green tariff, it was quickly subscribed, even at a higher price than the usual residential rate. We as individuals need to demand more. If Ameren builds at a larger scale like 10 or 20 MW, they should be able to charge less. There's no excuse for making people pay more for renewable electricity in this day and age. Notice that St. Louis' resolution only applies to electricity, not transportation. But what if we make transportation electric? Electric vehicles (EVs) are the trending thing. They have the huge advantage of eliminating the tailpipe pollution that we all breathe every day. Ameren will need no urging here; they're salivating at the thought of this big new market. The trick will be to get them to charge EVs on renewable electricity. We can't settle for less. As you can see, there are many ways to meet the climate challenge and roles for everyone to play — city governments, businesses and citizens. The Sierra Club is a player in this game, and we invite you to pitch in.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Ask your municipality's elected officials to pledge to go 100% renewable! Contact Henry Robertson at henryr874@gmail.com for how to get started & details.