Wednesday
September 18, 2024 
Characterized as “striking a blow for the future,” Buckingham has adopted an Energy Transition Plan that commits to 2035 and 2050 benchmarks for moving to 100% “clean and renewable” sources.
The transition would begin with its electricity sector, and then for the rest of its municipal operations, including heating and transportation. The action was taken by the board of supervisors at its May 15 public meeting.
Former township Environmental Advisory Commission Chair Andrea Strout, recognized as the ETP’s author, noted that it “is still in draft form, and always will be,” to allow for taking advantage of further advances in renewable technology.
The benchmark years were noted as part of a “worldwide consensus” toward averting the worst consequences of climate change, while being “happy to go faster” with the transition. Strout is continuing as a member of the commission, which is now co-chaired by Jim Walter and Diane Smith.
A 2020 township resolution had already established the overall 2050 objective, and at a meeting last year, supervisors noted they had “already demonstrated a commitment to reducing fossil fuel energy in municipal operations through the installation of cost-saving LED lighting for their streetlights,” within a commitment to complete the electricity sector by 2035.
The township’s effort derived from a nationwide, 2014-2022 campaign for communities to move away from extracted fossil fuels to the 100% renewables goal.
Buckingham is one of 43 municipalities in southeastern PA to adopt the commitment. Next steps included participating in Clean Energy Strategic Planning workshops and related efforts, by both committee members and township staff, that keyed the township’s resulting ETP.
The adoption of Climate Action Plans (CAPs), which add “resilience and adaptation planning” to ETPs, were noted as growing in the area, including with municipalities contiguous to Buckingham, as well as the county as a whole. Buckingham’s commitment to the initiatives were noted as within its conservation commitment, and related to its sustainable wastewater system, with officials estimating its CAP progress at “75%.”
Officials claimed a status of 50% renewables-based already for the township’s electricity sector, with all-North American original sources including solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biogas, and low-impact hydro, accomplished in a “seamless switchover.”
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