Pinellas County city of Largo becomes the 75th in U.S. to commit to 100% clean energy

(UPDATED) City commissioners in the Pinellas County city of Largo approved a proposal Tuesday night to transition the community away from relying fossil fuels and more towards a 100% renewable, zero emission energy future.

The proposal is being advocated by the Suncoast Sierra Club as part the national group’s “Ready for 100” campaign that began in 2015 to persuade leaders in U.S. cities to pledge to adhere to a clean renewable energy portfolio sometime in the future.

According to the Sierra Club,  Largo is now the 75th city nationwide to have agreed to establish some renewable energy standards in the future, including Orlando, Tamarac, Sarasota, and St. Petersburg, which became the first Florida city to sign on to the pledge in 2016.

“Moving towards 100% clean energy will require significant community wide efforts,” said Sharon Wright, St. Petersburg’s sustainability coordinator, shortly after the city council agreed to sign on.

Largo officials now say they will commit to achieving 100 percent renewable, zero emission energy by 2030, including at least 50 percent by 2035.

“I am proud to support our vision of being the community of choice in Tampa Bay through a transition to 100 percent renewable energy. This will lower electricity costs and provide our residents, businesses and visitors with less pollution and more economic and job opportunities,” says Laura Thomas, Sustainability Coordinator for Largo. “This commitment will assist us in improving local air and water quality and protect public health, particularly for the most vulnerable across our community.”

“I am extremely happy to see that Largo is willing to take this step to help in what hopefully, one day, be a worldwide conservation effort,” said Largo City Commissioner Jamie Robinson. “The process will be a journey, but I can’t wait to start to see the implementation of this plan both for the City of Largo and the community.”