Local Energy Rules

More than 80 U.S. cities have now made commitments to reach 100 percent renewable energy with deadlines set in the 2030s or beyond. Of these, few have secured ambitious policies and funding sources that will help them reach these goals and center equity in the decision-making process, however. A unique campaign in Portland, Oregon, illustrates a new tool for cities considering a transition to 100 percent renewable energy. In our fifth episode of Voices of 100%, a multi-part series of Local Energy Rules, Alan Hipólito, director of Verde, a local environmental and social justice nonprofit organization based in Portland, Ore., speaks with co-director of ILSR and Energy Democracy initiative director John Farrell about the Portland Clean Energy Initiative, a ballot measure coming in this November’s midterm elections. On November 6th, voters in Portland will decide the fate of this “first-of-its-kind“ initiative. The proposed policy could raise $30 million annually through a surcharge levied on big business to he