Starting January 1, 2025, Chicago has successfully transitioned [1] its city buildings to 100% renewable energy. This includes over 400 municipal buildings, such as O’Hare International Airport, Midway International Airport, City Hall, 98 fire stations, 81 library locations, and 25 police stations. The city’s real estate portfolio also includes two of the largest water treatment plants in the world.
The transition to clean power is expected to reduce Chicago’s carbon footprint by approximately 290,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to taking 62,000 cars off the road. This move is part of a broader effort to combat climate change and leverage the city’s buying power to spur new clean energy development.
The initiative began nearly a decade ago when then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel set the goal of sourcing the city’s power purely from carbon-free sources in 2017. Mayor Lori Lightfoot continued this effort by striking a deal in 2022 with Constellation, an electricity supplier, to purchase renewable energy from Swift Current Energy starting in 2025. Swift Current Energy constructed the Double Black Diamond Solar project, a 3,800-acre, 593-megawatt solar farm in central Illinois, which is now the largest solar installation east of the Mississippi River.
Chicago’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Angela Tovar, emphasized that the plan addresses climate action and creates new opportunities for Chicagoans and the state. The city plans to cover the remaining 30% of its municipal buildings’ electricity needs through the purchase of renewable energy credits.
This milestone is a significant step towards Chicago’s goal of ensuring all electricity consumed in the city is sourced from clean, renewable sources by 2035.
Sources:
[1] Chicago keeps its New Year’s resolution: All city buildings now use 100% clean power https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/solar/utility-scale/chicago-keeps-its-new-years-resolution-all-city-buildings-now-use-100-clean-power/
