PORTSMOUTH – The City of Portsmouth NH recently received the Bronze Award designation from the national SolSmart program for encouraging the growth of clean, affordable solar energy at the local level.
In announcing the award, SolSmart noted that Portsmouth has achieved the Bronze designation by meeting established criteria that are based on national best practices for building solar- friendly communities. The program offers free technical assistance and resources to help communities put these practices into action.
Those who meet the criteria are awarded Platinum, Gold, Silver, or Bronze designations. Portsmouth adopted those best practices to advance the adoption of solar energy and worked with SolSmart's advisory team to increase local knowledge of solar energy for the benefit of the entire community.
“As an eco-municipality and following the goals adopted in Portsmouth’s Climate Future – the City’s climate action plan – the Planning and Sustainability Department encourages enabling and promoting the installation of local renewable energy systems. Additionally, the Department and the City advance the implementation of actions, such as Portsmouth Community Power, that allow customers to opt-up to a higher renewable energy mix, increasing the supply of renewable energy into the electric grid and energy market serving the City of Portsmouth. We anticipate additional initiatives now underway will contribute to our earning the Silver award,” said Planning and Sustainability Director Peter Britz.
SolSmart is led by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office. Over 500 cities, towns, counties, and regional organizations in 43 states, the District of Columbia, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico have achieved SolSmart designation since the program launched in 2016. Any city, town, county or regional organization is eligible to join the program. Interested communities can learn more at SolSmart.org.
CAPTION: SolSmart cited the City's recent climate action plan in awarding the Bronze designation.
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