When a city or municipality decides to transition away from fossil fuels and towards cleaning renewable energy, there is always a lot of interest and some concern. While it may seem difficult to imagine an entire city kicking its addiction to fossil fuels, there are actually a lot of reasons why switching to solar energy is not only the smart move from a moral standpoint but from an economic one as well.
Fewer missions and cleaner air are certainly not the only reasons why cities or municipalities should seriously consider going within global energy. In fact many decide using local solar projects to achieve major community benefits now and in the future.
If a municipality is thinking about making the switch from fossil fuels to solar energy, here are some of the top ways that solar energy projects can benefit them.
You can save prices and avoid risks
Generating solar energy is becoming increasingly more competitive or even cheaper and other forms of energy. What that means is it switching to solar energy helps municipal governments save their taxpayers money. While municipalities may be concerned about the short-term costs that are necessary to install these renewable energy sources, the long-term price benefits are becoming increasingly more clear.
Solar energy stimulates the economy and creates well-paying jobs
Did you know that in 2018 the United States added over 100,000 net new clean energy jobs? And did you know that the number of job creation outpaced the number of jobs created in fossil fuel energy by about three jobs to one? Through this small sample size alone, it is abundantly clear how great the job creation options are when it comes to solar energy. If a municipality considers switching over to solar energy, they’re also thinking about creating tens of thousands of new jobs.
Expanding to solar energy gives access to residents who can’t install on their own
Another reason why municipalities need solar energy is because it may have a large number of residents who are interested in the benefits of solar energy who are unable to take advantage due to the high cost of installation. If a municipality takes it upon itself to just switch over to solar energy there will likely be many residents or very grateful for that change based on its ability to help save money and save the environment.
Solar energy contributes to local resilience
It can be a major problem for local governments to depend on one form of energy that looks like fossil fuels. Being able to depend on several different kinds of energy to meet the municipality’s energy needs helps create far greater energy and economic resilience. This is especially key in the event of an economic downturn, a change in oil prices or some form of natural disaster. Being able to count on local sources of solar power they get their energy from solar allows for less dependence on the grid in general. This can give both the residents and government leaders major peace of mind.
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