South Miami Commits to Running on 100 Percent Renewable Energy by 2040

Earlier this year, South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard went "off the grid" for seven days and lived entirely on energy from the solar panels attached to the roof of his home. Stoddard, a longtime critic of Florida Power and Light who is also a Florida International University biologist, told the Miami Herald last month he unplugged from the power grid as a "trial run" for potential outages during this year's hurricane season. After succeeding on his own, Stoddard is taking the entire city with him. Yesterday, the South Miami City Commission unanimously passed a resolution saying the city will transition to 100 percent clean, renewable energy by the year 2040. “South Miami's new commitment to a 100 percent clean and renewable energy supply community-wide is the natural extension of our history of commitment to the planet, our children, and the natural world," Stoddard said in a media release. "Now we have to roll up our sleeves, fill out our budget, and move this commitment from paper to reality. We invite our neighboring municipalities to join us in transforming our economy and infrastructure to a more sustainable way of life.