Chicago’s City-Owned Buildings Set to Use 100 Percent Renewable Energy by 2025

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Department of Assets, Information and Services (AIS) has announced that by 2025, all city-owned buildings and facilities in the city will be fully operated with clean, renewable energy. At the moment, Chicago is one of the largest cities in the United States to reduce the city’s carbon footprint at such a scale, and has already began the process of transitioning its transportation busses and cars to all-electric vehicles by 2035. The agreement demonstrates the city’s plans to “drive high-impact climate action, build the clean energy workforce of the future, and equitably distribute meaningful benefits to foster the local clean energy economy for all.”

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The announcement comes after the finalization of a multi-million dollar partnership with Constellation Energy and Swift Current Energy. The 3-year plan includes: an energy supply agreement with an initial five-year term with Constellation beginning in January 2023; the City will partially source its large energy uses such as the airports, Harold Washington Library Center and Jardine Water Purification Plant with clean, renewable energy from a new solar generation installation currently being developed by Swift Current Energy; construction of the solar project is expected to start before the end of 2022 generating hundreds of job opportunities; and the City will procure Renewable Energy Credits from other sources for its remaining power uses, such as small and medium-sized buildings and streetlights.

The agreement was initially proposed by AIS in September 2020 to reduce Chicago’s carbon footprint and accelerate the transition to clean, renewable energy outlined in the 2022 Chicago Climate Action Plan (CAP). The 2022 CAP details an interim 62% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 through direct investment and action by the City of Chicago. By relying on solar energy for city operations, the city is expected to reduce its carbon footprint by more than 290,000 metric tons per year, equivalent to emissions associated with 62,000 passenger vehicles.

With this deal, Chicago will become one of the largest cities in America to power its municipal operations entirely from renewable energy — a direct result of the City’s ambitious vision, innovative procurement process, and commendable persistence through challenging market condition. By strategically leveraging its purchasing power to invest in renewable energy, quality Illinois jobs, and community programs, Chicago continues to demonstrate how cities can lead by example and shape an equitable, clean energy economy. — Matthew Popkin Manager of Urban Transformation at RMI

As part of its 2050 Carbon Neutral Agenda, New York City has also made a similar plan to purchase 100 percent clean energy for all city government operations by 2025. In line with the United Nations agenda of climate neutrality by 2050, Rome has also announced the establishment of a Laboratory titled “Laboratorio Roma050 – il Futuro della Metropoli Mondo”, a project proposed and led by Italian architect Stefano Boeri, which aims to draw up an ecological vision for Rome in 2050.