Here’s the FAQ!
Table Of Contents
- Background Information Factsheet
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Factsheet: Fredericksburg is Ready for 100% Renewable Energy
A Dependence on Fossil Fuels is Causing Global Warming
- An overwhelming majority of scientists agree that global warming is real, that contemporary warming trends are primarily driven by human activity, and that the consequences of inaction are dire.[1]
- In order avoid worst-case climate change scenarios, we must rapidly transition away from fossil fuels, the burning of which produces the carbon pollution that is a key cause of global warming.
- Transitioning away from fossil fuels will produce other benefits, such as improved air quality, less ocean acidification, and no need for environmental hazards like coal mines, coal ash ponds, and oil and gas pipelines.[2]
A Transition to 100% Renewable Energy is Possible
- We have the technical capacity to produce 100% clean energy—from the sun and wind—right now. The ability to store renewable energy in large rechargeable batteries is making remarkable advancements on a yearly basis.
- The cost of solar panels, wind turbines, and storage batteries falls on an annual basis, already rivaling the cost of fossil fuel-driven energy production. Once the transition to renewable energy ramps up, production will increase and prices will drop further.[3]
Fredericksburg Should be Part of this Transition
- Fossil Free Fredericksburg is building support for a city council resolution that pledges to ensure that all electrical power supplied to Fredericksburg comes from 100% renewable energy by 2050. In the resolution, the city should also commit to help provide affordable options for motorists and homeowners to transition to electric vehicles and renewable energy-generated heating sources.
- Support for the Ready for 100% pledge is building across the nation.[4]
- Towns in blue states like Pueblo, Colorado, and towns in red states like Abita Springs, Louisiana have already pledged to become 100% fossil free.
- Big cities like Atlanta and small towns like Hanover, New Hampshire have also committed to renewable energy.
- The city of Blacksburg was the first municipality in Virginia to commit to become 100% fossil free.
- The California legislature has already made a similar pledge for the entire state.
Ready for 100% Renewable Energy: Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the “Ready for 100% Campaign?”
Fossil Free Fredericksburg is building support for a city council resolution that pledges to ensure that all electrical power supplied to Fredericksburg comes from 100% renewable energy by 2050. In the resolution, the city will also commit to help provide affordable options for motorists and homeowners to transition to electric vehicles and renewable energy-generated heating sources.
Q: What about Stafford and Spotsylvania Counties?
Our effort is focused exclusively on a resolution from the City of Fredericksburg itself, but we hope that once Fredericksburg makes the pledge, governments in surrounding counties will follow suit.
Q: Won’t this be too expensive? Can the City afford it?
The price of renewable energy and renewable energy storage is falling each year, now rivaling fossil fuel produced energy.[5] Furthermore, the 2050 date to become 100% fossil free will allow this transition to be completed in an affordable manner. It’s important to remember that, ultimately, failing to effectively respond to climate change will produce catastrophic costs for our economy.[6]
Q: Isn’t it Dominion Energy, not the City of Fredericksburg, that decides how to produce our electricity, and what kinds of power sources to use?
Yes, this is true. But a non-binding resolution from Fredericksburg’s city council will still have value. It will mean that city leaders would pledge to promote the use of renewable energy in the city to the extent they are able, while also working with other city and county governments to pressure Dominion to transition away from fossil fuels.
Q: Why focus on Fredericksburg? Doesn’t it make more sense to focus on policy-making at a national level?
The importance of effective national climate legislation can’t be overstated. But we don’t have time to sit around and wait for it. It’s for this reason that cities and towns across the nation are making pledges to commit to 100% renewable energy and finding ways to begin the transition.[7] Ultimately, the passage of these resolutions across the United States can create a groundswell that energy company CEOs and federal lawmakers can’t ignore.
Q: What can I do to help?
Fossil Free Fredericksburg needs your support to make the Ready for 100% Renewable Energy Campaign successful. Please sign a petition and join our mailing list, attend one of our regular meetings, write a letter to the editor, and talk to your city council representatives. Together, we can make clean energy affordable and available to everyone in our city.
[1] American Association for the Advancement of Science. 2014. “What we Know: The Reality, Risks, and Responses to Climate Change.” http://whatweknow.aaas.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/whatweknow_website.pdf
[2] Union of Concerned Scientists. 2018. “Benefits of Renewable Energy Use.” https://www.ucsusa.org/clean-energy/renewable-energy/public-benefits-of-renewable-power#.XAbGCidRdE4
[3] Dudley, Dominic. 2018. “Price of Renewable Energy will be Consistently Cheaper than Fossil Fuels by 2020.” Forbes, Jan 13. https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2018/01/13/renewable-energy-cost-effective-fossil-fuels-2020/#92667f14ff2e
[4] Sierra Club. 2018. “100% Commitments in Cities, Counties, and States.” https://www.sierraclub.org/ready-for-100/commitments
[5] Dudley, Dominic. 2018. “Price of Renewable Energy will be Consistently Cheaper than Fossil Fuels by 2020.” Forbes, Jan 13. https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2018/01/13/renewable-energy-cost-effective-fossil-fuels-2020/#92667f14ff2e
[6] U.S. Government. 2018. Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II: Impacts, Risks, and Adaptations. https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/
[7] Sierra Club. 2018. “100% Commitments in Cities, Counties, and States.” https://www.sierraclub.org/ready-for-100/commitments
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