NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY
NREL Partners To Identify Strategies for a More Equitable Clean Energy Transition in Los Angeles

LA100 Equity Strategies Identify Pathways for Underserved Los Angeles Communities To Reap Benefits of Transition to 100% Clean Energy

Imagine the sun slowly rising over the vast metropolis of Los Angeles, a city that stretches from the ocean to the mountains. As Angelenos wake up for the day, they turn on lights powered by 100% clean electricity. Their homes are cool, protected from the sweltering heat of the California summer. Workers commute to their jobs via electric vehicles, buses, and bikes. Everybody knows that they have a voice in energy decisions of their city.

This is the future that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) envisions for all City residents. Some think that this goal of clean air, well-paying jobs, economic opportunity, and affordable, accessible energy for everyone is a dream reserved for optimists. But researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) disagree.

Developed over two years of community engagement, modeling, and analysis, the LA100 Equity Strategies project outlines strategic, community-driven approaches that can help that dream become a reality for Los Angeles.

When NREL released its Los Angeles 100% Renewable Energy (LA100) study in 2021, data showed that the city could reach its 100% clean energy goals as soon as 2035 but the study also revealed that improving equity in the clean energy transition would require intentionally designed policies and programs.

Following the release of the LA100 study, City leaders committed LADWP to achieve 100% carbon-free energy by 2035 in an equitable way, with minimal adverse impact on ratepayers. The City's pledge to produce electricity without generating harmful greenhouse gas emissions specifically prioritizes communities most impacted by environmental harm and aims to shift energy benefits to renters at equitable rates.

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By Brooke Van Zandt and Julia Medeiros Coad | Contact media relations