Charlotte City Council will vote on updates to the city’s energy and climate goals later this month. The city has made significant strides toward electrifying its buildings and improving energy efficiency — but with the federal government cutting spending, the question is whether can the city still meet its ambitious emissions-reduction targets?
The Office of Sustainability will present the updated plan to Charlotte City Council next Monday.
The changes push some goalposts back, such as electrifying city vehicles by 2050 instead of 2030. But they would also add other objectives, like installing 600 megawatts of renewable energy generators.
During a committee meeting Monday, council member Ed Driggs asked Charlotte's chief sustainability officer Heather Bolick if she has concerns over ongoing federal funding.
"We just applied for a grant through the North Carolina Clean Tech Center, that is moving forward. And so, we remain hopeful," she said.
The funding cuts announced so far won’t impact initiatives like Solarize Charlotte-Mecklenburg, a group-purchasing program for residents to buy solar installations at a lower rate. That program is set to launch later this spring.
