Just after President Donald Trump was inaugurated, the mentions of renewable and clean energy where removed from the White House’s website. 

Solar, wind, hydro and geothermal power gave way instead to “clean coal technology,” as well as shale oil, gas and other fossil fuels.  

Then, in June 1, 2017, Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. The agreement, which was adopted by 195 countries in 2015, aims to hold the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above preindustrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C. It also calls for boosting climate change adaptation measures, among other efforts. An October 2018 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states that limiting global warming to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels would require rapid and far-reaching transitions in energy and other systems that “are unprecedented in terms of scale.”

Assuming that Trump makes the Paris accord exit official to the United Nations in November, the earliest effective date of that withdrawal is 4 November 2020, the day after the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

But two years after the much- criticized announcement, “red” and “blue” states, cities big and small, in urban and rural areas, have taken the lead in the efforts to reduce carbon emissions and replace fossil fueled-power with green energy. It’s not just the liberal enclaves of California setting goals of 100% clean electric power by 2045 or sooner. Colorado, Nevada, South Carolina, and Washington state all recently passed renewable energy legislation, going against the federal government and the Trump Administration.

The Rocky Mountain Institute, an organization focused on research, publication, consulting, and lecturing in the general field of sustainability, with a special focus on profitable innovations for energy and resource efficiency, has published a list of some of the larger cities that are also contributing to this green effort.

They include Albuquerque, New Mexico; Boise, Idaho; Cleveland, Ohio; Missoula, Montana; and Orlando, Florida.  

Albuquerque, the largest city in New Mexico, has an ambitious climate action plan to reach 100% renewable energy in its municipal operations by 2022, reduce air pollution and citywide emissions, and reform its transit and buildings sectors. The city is also working with the local utility, Public Service Company of New Mexico, to receive electricity from a new 50 megawatt (MW) solar facility—half of which will power the city and the other half of which will go to other statewide municipalities and entities through the utility’s Solar Direct program. Once approved, Albuquerque plans to subscribe to 25 MW of electricity annually, which will initially cover 58 percent of its energy needs.

In April, Boise became the first city in Idaho to set a 100% community-wide clean energy by 2035 goal. In addition, Idaho Power, the electric utility for the City of Boise, recently announced its own goal of 100 percent clean energy system-wide by 2045.

The City of Missoula became the first to commit to 100% clean, renewable sources by 2030. Missoula will need to replace roughly 300,000 MWh of electricity with clean energy sources to achieve its carbon-free goals.

Orlando has pledged 100% renewable energy citywide by 2050 and they are planning to do this by investing in floating solar panels, putting them on public rooftops and parking lots, and also at Orlando International Airport. 

Last September, Cleveland became the first city in Ohio to adopt a 100% renewable energy goal by 2050.

But there are lesser known communities doing their part, as well, in the unlikeliest of places. Tiny Clarksville, Arkansas, with a population of 9,618 will become the first city in The National State to power all of its government operations with solar energy after it installs a second solar power plant on more than 13 acres in the city this year.

Montgomery, Alabama (a state that Donald Trump won with 62.1% of the vote in 2016) is looking at a $125 million solar project that would install more than 350,000 photovoltaic (PV) modules across 800 acres to power more than 20,000 homes in the area. 

Cities are at the frontlines of climate change, and, across the country, the wave of communities working together to address it keeps growing, says Rocky Mountain Institute.

Indeed. 

Mindy Lubber, CEO and president of Ceres, a sustainability advocacy organization based in Boston, said in an Earth and Space Science News (EOS) article that despite Trump’s plan to withdraw from the Paris accord, many people and groups in the country are still striving to adhere to the goals of the agreement. “As unfortunate as it was that our administration chose to suggest we are not in the Paris accord, I would argue much of the country believes we are. Perhaps not literally. They are not the ones that signed the piece of paper. But they are in there looking at getting to the goals of the Paris agreement, and I think we are making progress despite an administration [that] has tried to do otherwise.”

You can also do your part by putting solar panels in your property. You can find out how much it will cost by accessing the Hahasmart price checker. Just provide your address and your average monthly utility bill and you’ll get the actual price of solar panels and inverters - which are the most critical parts of a solar powered system - as well as provide you with an estimated cost of installation based on thousands of completed solar projects in your area. 

They’ll even explain the estimated buyback period, the point where the electricity savings achieved with your solar array cover the purchase of your residential solar panels and your system becomes free.

In addition, they’ll connect you with their installer network to get your residence equipped with solar power as quickly as possible.  

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