Rochester, MN - 100% Renewable Energy by 2031

Downtown Rochester reflected in south Silver Lake. Photo credit: Phthalogreen, CC BY 3.0

100% Renewable Energy Goal:
100% renewable energy in electricity, heating/cooling, and transportation sectors community wide by 2031
Location:
City of Rochester, Minnesota
Summary:
Rochester, Minnesota is a small city of approximately 107,000 people located near the southeast corner of the state of Minnesota in the midwestern United States. In 2015, the city's Mayor issued a proclamation declaring the city's commitment to transitioning to 100% renewable energy in the electricity, heating/cooling, and transportation sectors by 2031.
Citing climate protection, feasibility, a habitable planet, and the political importance of setting a 100% renewable energy target as its reasons, the proclamation calls for several actions to support the 100% renewable goal: prioritizing energy efficiency, electrifying the heating/cooling and transportation sectors, maximizing citizen participation and development of new business models, educating the community, and adopting an integrated approach to energy, economic, and infrastructure policy.
While the proclamation is not legally binding, the hope is that it has created and will continue to create political momentum that is needed to set the City of Rochester on a path toward 100% renewable energy.
- Links:
- Read the Proclamation here:
- https://www.rochestermn.gov/Home/ShowDocument?id=9421
-
- MRES Minnesota Renewable Energy Society
- www.mnrenewables.org