Steve Behnke, the chair of the Juneau Commission on Sustainability’s Energy Committee, speaks to the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly Committee of the Whole on Monday, Jan. 29, 2018. The committee voted to forward the Renewable Energy Strategy to the full Assembly, and the Assembly unanimously approved the adoption of the plan on Monday. (Alex McCarthy | Juneau Empire)

Steve Behnke, the chair of the Juneau Commission on Sustainability’s Energy Committee, speaks to the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly Committee of the Whole on Monday, Jan. 29, 2018. The committee voted to forward the Renewable Energy Strategy to the full Assembly, and the Assembly unanimously approved the adoption of the plan on Monday. (Alex McCarthy | Juneau Empire)

City sets goal to be 80 percent renewable by 2045

On Monday night, city officials officially set a goal for Juneau to rely on 80 percent renewable energy by 2045.

The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly members unanimously adopted the Renewable Energy Strategy. The Juneau Commission on Sustainability drafted the plan, which outlines goals for the future of the city’s energy usage.

As of now, the JCOS reports in the plan, fossil fuels supply about 80 percent of the city’s “internal energy,” a term referring mostly to heating buildings, fueling cars and other forms of transportation. The JCOS wants to flip that percentage.

It wants the city to set a goal of having 80 percent of Juneau’s energy come from renewable sources by the year 2045. It sets checkpoints along the way, including the aim of having 50 percent of the city’s energy come from a renewable source by 2035.

The JCOS follows in the footsteps of the 2011 Juneau Climate Action and Implementation Plan that focused on tracking and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Assembly passed a resolution in August recommitting itself to the goals in that plan.

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