April 1, 2021
Clean energy and a brighter, healthier future: That’s the opportunity in front of Columbus residents and small businesses with Clean Energy Columbus, Columbus’ voter-approved electric aggregation program.
And it starts this summer. Columbus set a goal to provide 100 percent clean, renewable energy -- based right here in Ohio to power our homes and small businesses by 2022.
It’s a key component in our aggressive goal of making Columbus carbon-neutral by 2050. It is also critical for building equity into our civic infrastructure because the effects of climate change are a social justice issue. We know it disproportionately impacts our most vulnerable residents and neighborhoods.
Right now much of our electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, which leads to more pollution and drives climate change.
But a better way is on the horizon with Clean Energy Columbus. Using clean energy from the wind and sun protects our health, and helps preserve the earth, air, and water for our families and future generations. This clean energy program is the equivalent of removing over 300,000 cars from our roads and has the same benefits of nearly 1.8 million acres of forests.
Here’s how the program will work: The City has engaged a supplier, AEP Energy, to buy electricity generated from clean energy sources such as the sun and wind. Ultimately, that cleaner, greener electricity flows onto the Ohio power grid, and your local utility, AEP Ohio, continues to deliver it to you over existing power lines. They’ll continue to maintain the lines and provide customer service and billing, and customers will be using cleaner energy.
By bringing everyone together, the City can provide clean energy, healthier air and environment, and good paying clean energy jobs at competitive rates. And the program is always voluntary. You can opt-out at any time with no fees or penalties.
Columbus is known for being at the forefront of innovation, finding ways to do things better. And now we can all do our part to meet our city’s climate goals and create a healthy future with Clean Energy Columbus. We are grateful to the nearly 80 percent of Columbus voters this past November sided with innovation in approving this program.
To learn more about this effort and about the benefits of clean energy in Columbus, please go to www.CleanEnergyColumbus.org.