The City of St. Petersburg is now the first city in Florida to commit to transitioning to 100 percent clean, renewable energy.
- St. Petersburg becomes first Florida city to transition
- $250K from BP oil spill settlement used to reach goal
- The plan builds on mayor's executive order to establish a net-zero energy goal for the city
The city council voted to use $250,000 from the BP oil spill settlement fund to reach this goal.
The "Intergrated Sustainability Action Plan" (ISAP), will chart a roadmap to 100 percent clean, renewable energy in St. Petersburg. The plan also incorporates components of a climate action plan, a resiliency plan and strategies for St. Pete to achieve a 5 Star community rating.
The 100 percent clean energy roadmap builds on Mayor Rick Kriseman's Executive Order establishing a net-zero energy goal for the city.
In a statement, Mayor Kriseman wrote:
"The Integrated Sustainability Action Plan builds on my Executive Order on Sustainability by creating a roadmap to achieve the City's long-term sustainability goals. This is the most robust, comprehensive climate planning initiative St. Petersburg has ever undertaken. Working towards 100% clean energy and zero waste is just one way we continue to build our city of opportunity where the sun shines on all who come to live, work and play. We still have a lot of work to do, but I want to thank City Council for their partnership and leadership in unanimously voting to pass this plan."
In addition to the $250K allocated for the Integrated Sustainability Action Plan, two other projects have been allocated from the reserved $1 million from the BP Oil Spill settlement funds. $250K has been allocated for an energy efficiency audit and energy retrofits for City facilities. $300K has been allocated for collaboration with Pinellas County in developing a vulnerability assessment and modeling program that will asses the impacts and risks from potential future scenarios, like sea level rise and direct hurricane hits.