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Concord, New Hampshire's 2030 mitigation plan for 100% Renewable Energy.
By Miles Hurlbutt Sunday, April 16th, 2023.
As a class, we had to research climate mitigation or climate adaptation future plans for our hometown or future college. As I am a junior at Proctor, I am not committed to any colleges. I took a look at my hometown, Andover NH, but quickly realized there is not much happening here. I went to the next place that I thought of, Concord NH, where I had lived for a few months with my Grandmother as our house was being built. After researching Concord New Hampshire, I found out that they have lots of future goals and plans to combat climate change. Concord has a 2030 climate change plan. In 2018, the city released a goal that the city will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. Also stating that Concord will have 100% renewable thermal energy by 2050, and more efficient transportation. However, I will be mostly focused on Concord's renewable energy plan. I took a look at the 100% Renewable Energy Goal Strategic Plan, produced by The Concord Energy and Environment Advisory Committee (CEEC). This plan was enacted by a unanimous vote of the city council.
A picture of the Concord Energy and Environment Advisory Committee (CEEC).
Photo Credit: https://addup.sierraclub.org/campaigns/concord-is-ready-for-100-renewable-energy
The CEEC has produced a strong plan regarding the future of Concord. Stating that "The plan outlines strategies and action steps toward achieving the City’s 100% renewable energy goal, including electricity, transportation, and thermal energy. It addresses strategies for reducing energy consumption through efficiency as a means of facilitating a transition to 100% renewable energy. If this plan is fully implemented, it will reduce Concord’s community-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions/carbon footprint substantially, perhaps by as much as 70 to 80%" (City of Concord). The CEEC states that this plan is not set in stone and will be extremely accurate timeline-wise. With the ever-changing renewable energy technologies advancing and prices changing, it is quite difficult to make long-term plans. The committee also says that they are sticking to short-term plans because of the changing markets and technologies. Concord also has a goal of reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. Turning Concord to 100% renewable energy would make the carbon emissions goal more obtainable in the next few decades before it's too late.
In the committee's 2030 plan, multiple strategies were listed with lots of information and ideas for them. However, the 1st strategy stuck out to me. Being something that can be achieved in such little time seems like a great first step in solidifying the future of Concord. As stated in the plan "To help achieve the community-wide 100% renewable electricity goal, the EEAC recommends moving the City government’s electricity consumption to 100% locally-generated renewable energy. This step could be achieved within the next two to three years and would set a visible and powerful example for the rest of the community, signaling that the transition to renewable energy is feasible and is already underway" (City of Concord). With this strategy, and a projected only couple of years to fully implement into Concord, this could be the first deep dive into 100% renewable energy that Concord can do. The easiest way to accomplish this is by adding solar energy to municipal buildings, city-owned properties, or even on top of closed landfills or the wastewater treatment plant on Hall Street in Concord (mentioned in the plan).
The pictures below show some of the renewable energy already powering Concord. On the left, "In Penacook, three hydroelectric plants (11.2 mW in aggregate) owned by Briar Hydro Associates on the Contoocook River in Penacook" (City of Concord). These hydroelectric dams have been around for years producing power for Concord. The picture on the right shows the Unitarian Universalist church solar project that has recently been done, producing 32 kW. Although these renewable energy sources are quite small, they signify change and a step toward a better Concord and a better future.
A picture of two renewable energy sources contributing towards cleaner energy usage in Concord.
Reflections:
Concord's 2030 plan includes 100% renewable energy by 2030, all clean transportation by 2030, and 100% renewable thermal energy by 2050. The Concord Energy and Environment Advisory Committee (CEEC) produced this plan and many strategies to achieve this very bold plan as it is only 7 years away. With Concord already having around 17% renewable energy, it is going to take a lot in these next 7 years to achieve the goal of 100%. With cleaner energy comes cleaner transportation to Concord. Also included in the plan is adapting the city for EVs with many charging stations around the city. It will be interesting to see the first big changes to Concord in these next few years, as not much has happened yet, besides Concord's downtown renovation a few years ago. I am excited to see what comes next.
When I first heard of Concord's 2030 plan, I was very intrigued. Living in New Hampshire my whole life, I have probably been to Concord a hundred times. My grandmother also lives in Concord's suburbs and I have spent a good amount of time there as well. As for the 2030 plan, before I began to research the plan, I didn't even know it was a thing. I have never heard of this plan that is supposed to have 100% renewable energy for Concord in 7 years. Reading through the plan, I had a hard time finding specific examples of things that are going to be done to reach this goal. I found a lot of vague strategies but not many actual ideas or things that will happen. On a good note, this 2030 plan was very informative and holds a bright future for Concord and the rest of the word, going towards clean renewable energy and helping combat global climate change.
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