A tremendous achievement for Hanover, New Hampshire, as residents voted on Tuesday, May 9, to commit to producing a goal that will transition the town to 100 percent clean and renewable energy by 2050. In addition to this exciting step towards their sustainability efforts, residents of Hanover also committed to a community-wide goal of transitioning to 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030—talk about steps toward making a change!
The use of the renewable energy sources such as wind, water, and solar to power electricity, transportation, heating, and cooling will make this transition possible.
“This is a great day for Hanover. I am so proud to be a resident of Hanover—the first town in New Hampshire to make a commitment to 100 percent renewable energy and the first municipality in the country to have done it by a vote of its citizenry. I look forward to supporting next steps here in Hanover and helping to spread this campaign to our neighbors throughout the Upper Valley,” said Judith Colla, resident and member of a local Sierra Club committee in an online publication
What are the possible projected benefits of transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy?
According to a projection infograph of New Hampshire by The Solutions Project that campaigns to promote the transition of states to 100 percent wind, water, and solar sustainability:
- There will be an increase in the number of construction and operation jobs lasting 40 consecutive years
- The use of burning fuel will drop 44 percent
- Mortality and illness cost will drop substantially
- 171 deaths will be avoided every year from air pollution
- The savings from annual energy, health, and climate, will be $6,732 per person
- The plan will pay for itself in three years from the savings generated by the transition
Hanover is one of 28 cities or towns in the U.S. to commit to 100 percent renewable energy. This major step toward sustainability will hopefully help galvanize a nation-wide commitment to make change for the betterment of the environment.
