GREEN BAY (WLUK) — City leaders are continuing to advance clean energy efforts in Green Bay.

In honor of the first anniversary of the city’s Clean Energy Plan, Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich and other officials held a news conference Wednesday to highlight the progress that has been made in the past year.

As part of the Clean Energy Plan, the city has implemented strategies to reduce carbon emissions, promote renewable energy and create a more sustainable future.

“There were 36 goals or recommendations included in the comprehensive energy plan and we’ve already, as a city, completed or made progress on 16 of them,” Genrich said.

One of the city’s goals is reducing fleet emissions by 15% by 2030. Genrich said it has worked to address this item by introducing electric vehicles at the Green Bay Police Department, and in 2025, the city will debut an EV bus to the Green Bay Metro Transit, with more to come in the near future.

Another goal is transitioning 65% of electricity to be carbon-free by 2030. According to Genrich, the city’s capital improvement plan for 2025 includes funding for the installation of solar panels on Green Bay Public Works Department garages.

Thanks to these efforts, Green Bay was designated as a SolSmart Silver Community, which recognizes communities for streamlining solar energy development and supporting solar energy businesses and residents.

Wednesday’s event also served as a launch for “Energize Green Bay” — a new campaign aimed at expanding clean energy access, improving energy efficiency and fostering sustainability across the city.

“Over the next year and a half or so, I’ll be out in the community a lot, talking at public meetings and taking advantage of every opportunity that I can find to connect residents and small business owners and nonprofits to resources that are available to help them upgrade their homes, make them more energy efficient and connect with clean energy,” explained Alex Galt, who serves as the city’s clean energy connector.

The news conference was held at Villa West, a Green Bay apartment community managed by the Wisconsin Housing Preservation Corporation. It has installed solar panels partially financed with federal tax credits.