April 26, 2021
As the world reels from the financial blow of COVID-19, local governments in the United States are under huge pressure as cities and counties face severe budget shortfalls. This is forcing cuts to crucial spending on education and infrastructure as well as layoffs, furloughs and hiring freezes. Losing critical funds could have seriously hindered U.S. local governments’ continued progress on renewable energy.
Despite the immense obstacles, U.S. local governments bought more renewable energy in 2020 than ever before, according to new data from the Local Government Renewables Action Tracker. Nearly 100 cities and counties across 33 states completed 143 deals, adding 3,683 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy capacity. This is a 23 percent increase from 2019 and represents enough energy to power 811,000 households annually.