Mayor Jon Mitchell Wins National Award for Climate Protection at US Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting

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Earlier today at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell received the First Place 2016 Mayors’ Climate Protection Award. This program recognizes mayors for their energy and climate protection efforts, and awardees are selected by an independent panel of judges from a pool of mayoral applicants.

“As a prominent East Coast port, New Bedford has a lot at stake when it comes to sea-level rise and climate change. That’s why I’ve always thought it is important for us to lead by example. Whether it’s our nation-leading solar program or our efforts around offshore wind energy, we’ve tried to demonstrate that much can be accomplished when there is a strong local consensus and sustained commitment to big renewable energy goals. New Bedford is honored to receive this recognition for our efforts.” said New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell.

Mayor Mitchell was chosen for this award because New Bedford’s solar and wind energy initiatives have established the city as national leader. With more than 16 Megawatts of solar projects having been constructed to provide power for municipal facilities, New Bedford, on a per capita basis, has more installed solar capacity than any city in the continental U.S. As a result, utility costs to city government have been cut by nearly $1 million, with $22 million in savings projected over the next twenty years. New Bedford has also been a leader in the conversion of its municipal fleet to electric vehicles; and the city is poised to play a prominent future role in the offshore wind energy industry as wind projects now in development look to the city’s specialized port terminal as a key staging area. ($15,000 for 1st Place in the Small City Category – population under 100,000)

Watch Mayor Jon Mitchell Receive the US Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Award

Read the US Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Awards Press Release

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One comment

  1. Congratulations Mayor Mitchell! I’m sure you have a great team behind you to help achieve an award such as this.

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