Mayors from all over the country are making strides in their communities to be at the forefront of clean energy development. Mayor Quinton Lucas of Kansas City, Missouri, and Mayor Rick Osbon of Aiken, South Carolina, are prime examples of leaders working to find innovative ways to combat climate change and strengthen the American energy grid.
Mayor Lucas is a strong advocate for implementing renewable energy sources, including solar, where possible. “Not only are we working to construct Kansas City’s first utility-scale solar farm, but families across the city are also installing panels on their homes to lower their power bills,” Mayor Lucas wrote in an op-ed celebrating 2023 National Clean Energy Week. “Clean, renewable solar energy should be available to each and every home in Kansas City, and we are working to expand the opportunity for everyone.”
In another National Clean Energy Week op-ed, Mayor Osbon highlighted the impact investing in solar, hydropower and other renewable energy sources has had on the economy and energy grid of South Carolina. “We are putting historic investments to work by upgrading the entire power infrastructure to make the grid more resilient and capable of supporting clean energy while also further developing clean energy technologies like advanced nuclear, clean hydrogen, carbon capture and battery storage.” South Carolina’s clean energy jobs have grown by 16% since 2021, and renewable energy now accounts for 7% of the state’s total generation.
As Mayor Lucas works to combat climate change in Kansas City and Mayor Osbon proves the benefits of investments in solar, hydropower, and other renewable energy sources in Aiken, it is clear it takes an all-of the-above energy approach to lower global emissions to leave the planet better than we found it.