Providence a city to watch in clean energy

A new scorecard from the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) reveals that while U.S. cities are ramping up their clean energy efforts, most cities with climate goals are either not on track to achieve them or are not yet tracking progress. The 2019 City Clean Energy Scorecard ranks 75 cities on more than 50 metrics and this year for the first time, includes policy efforts to advance renewable energy in addition to energy efficiency. Boston retains its first-place ranking, followed by San Francisco, Seattle and Minneapolis. Three cities, including Providence, Rhode Island, this year’s location for SSTI’s Annual Conference, were also named as Cities to Watch. Providence was deemed a city to watch in part because of its adoption of several major clean energy policies and programs, as well as its commitment to engage low-income communities and communities of color in its environmental process.

The report cautions against comparisons to its previous rankings and scores due to extensive changes including the addition of 24 cities to the scorecard and expanded metrics. Lois DeBacker, managing director of The Kresge Foundation’s Environment Program and a major scorecard funder, said in a press release accompanying the report’s release that the scorecard “offers a clear guide for local leaders to learn from one another how to transition to clean energy in an equitable manner.”

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Those that are interested in clean energy initiatives should attend SSTI’s Annual Conference this year, where we will feature leaders in clean tech and welcome keynote speaker, Thomas Brostrøm, President, Ørsted North America; CEO, Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind. You can learn more about the conference, held Sept. 9^th through 11^th in Providence, Rhode Island, here.