Climate Action
Power to the People: 3 Cities Leading the Way on Local Energy Control
July 21, 2025
When we think about the future of clean energy, it’s easy to focus on national headlines and federal climate commitments. But the real transformation is happening closer to home in cities and towns quietly redesigning how energy is produced, stored, and shared.
From microgrids and municipal utilities to solar-powered schools and equitable electrification, these cities are proving that renewable energy is a blueprint for rethinking how power flows, who controls it, and who benefits.
Ann Arbor, Michigan: Pioneering a Community-Owned Clean Energy Utility
In Ann Arbor, the climate conversation does not solely pertain to cutting carbon, spanning to discussion of who owns the transition. Through its A2Zero plan, the city has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030, but it’s doing so in a way that prioritizes energy democracy. Rather than relying entirely on investor-owned utilities, Ann Arbor is laying the groundwork for a locally owned and operated solar utility that would supply renewable electricity directly to residents and small businesses. This project marks one of the most ambitious attempts in the U.S. to build a municipal solar provider from the ground up.
The utility will allow Ann Arborites to opt in to solar energy sourced from local installations, many of which will be built on city-owned properties such as fire stations, schools, and parking structures. What makes the model particularly innovative is its emphasis on accessibility for low-income households, who will be eligible for subsidized rates, and renters will be included through community solar options. Beyond its climate impact, the city views this initiative as an investment in local control, cost savings, and long-term resilience.
Public engagement has been central to the process, with Ann Arbor’s Office of Sustainability hosting regular town halls and inviting residents to shape the vision. In a state where utilities have long dominated the energy landscape, Ann Arbor is showing that cities don’t have to wait for top-down solutions, but they can build their own.
San Juan, Puerto Rico: Solar Microgrids for Resilience and Self-Determination
San Juan’s clean energy leadership was born out of crisis. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017, Puerto Rico’s centralized energy grid collapsed, leaving millions without power, and in some cases, for nearly a year. That experience catalyzed a grassroots movement for energy sovereignty, particularly in the capital city of San Juan. Today, the city is emerging as a leader in solar microgrid development, installing distributed renewable systems with battery backup to protect critical infrastructure and empower communities.
These microgrids, many of them powering schools, clinics, and community centers, allow neighborhoods to operate independently from the unstable central grid during outages. Nonprofits like Casa Pueblo and organizations such as the Solar Libre collective have worked closely with residents to deploy these systems in ways that center energy justice and joint participation.
San Juan’s clean energy transformation is systematizing building resilience in the face of climate disasters and reimagining who controls energy access. The city has also secured federal funding through the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund to expand its solar infrastructure to specifically target solar and battery storage installations for frontline communities and low-income households.
As mainland U.S. cities begin to confront increasingly frequent grid disruptions due to wildfires, storms, and heatwaves, San Juan’s decentralized, community-first approach offers a compelling and replicable model.
Cleveland, Ohio: Community Solar, Green Jobs, and a Vision for Energy Justice
Cleveland — a city that once symbolized industrial might and later, economic decline — is now emerging as a blueprint for what a just energy transition can look like in post-industrial cities. With its Clean and Equitable Energy Future plan, Cleveland is working to reduce carbon emissions 80% by 2050 while addressing deep-seated inequalities in access to clean energy, good jobs, and healthy environments.
One of the city’s most ambitious projects is a community solar initiative designed specifically for low-income households. Through strategic partnerships with nonprofits and housing organizations, Cleveland is installing shared solar systems that allow residents, even those without rooftops, to benefit from reduced utility bills and clean power access. Called the Solar for All program, it is structured to deliver monthly bill credits, creating real financial relief for families most burdened by energy costs.
Cleveland’s emphasis on equity extends beyond energy generation. The city has committed to training a green workforce, with programs within its 2025 Action Plan that link clean energy investments to job creation in neighborhoods historically cut off from economic opportunity. The Cleveland Climate Action Fund and local organizations like the Black Environmental Leaders Association have been instrumental in steering resources to BIPOC-led projects, ensuring that the clean energy transition doesn’t simply replicate old patterns of exclusion.
On the policy side, Cleveland is taking steps to phase out natural gas in municipal buildings, electrify its transit fleet, and strengthen energy efficiency standards in affordable housing. Rather than treating decarbonization as a standalone goal, Cleveland views climate action as a lever for repairing systemic harms, revitalizing local economies, and building collective power.
Power Starts at Home: How Local Action is Redefining the Clean Energy Movement
These cities are modeling what it looks like when local leadership meets climate ambition. They’re centering justice and ownership in the clean energy transition, and showing that building a better energy future starts right at home.
In Ann Arbor, public town halls and energy democracy are driving a new municipal solar utility. In San Juan, grassroots resilience is rewriting the rules of disaster recovery. In Cleveland, a post-industrial city is proving that the shift to clean power can repair past inequities while building new economic opportunities.
Together, these communities offer blueprints for how the clean energy revolution isn’t just about new technologies and distant policy goals. It’s about shifting power—literally and politically—into the hands of people most affected by climate change. It’s about making sure the benefits of clean power reach renters, frontline neighborhoods, and future generations.
Want your community to reap the benefits of solar? Send a letter telling your state lawmakers to invest in renewable energy.
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