May Newsletter: Local governments lead the way on clean energy

Solar booms in American cities

The amount of solar power in just nine U.S. cities today exceeds the amount in the entire country just 10 years ago. That’s one of the main findings of the 2022 edition of Shining Cities, a survey of the solar capacity of cities across the nation. The report also found that 15 cities have increased their solar capacity tenfold since 2014, with Honolulu, Las Vegas and San Diego leading the nation in solar capacity per capita. Shining Cities was covered by CNN, Yahoo! News, and The Sacramento Bee.

How Texas local governments can lead on renewable energy

Local governments in Texas and around the country are eager to lead the charge toward an energy system powered by renewable energy. Cities and counties have access to an array of tools and mechanisms to help drive that transition away from fossil fuels. Our recent white paper, Clean Energy Pathways for Texas, explored the tool most commonly used today – renewable energy credits (RECs) – and argued that RECs need to be complemented by other approaches to maximize the difference local governments can make in promoting clean energy.

On the blog

Analyst James Horrox explains why gas taxes should be treated like any other tax, and why the revenues from them should go towards the most pressing needs rather than be earmarked for roads … Senior Analyst Tony Dutzik digs into the energy-intensive cryptocurrency mining industry, where many companies are trying to claim environmental friendliness by using renewable power. He argues that using a huge amount of renewable energy – especially for little or no social benefit – isn’t helpful.