Savannah’s move to clean energy celebrated, offered as model

Officials say federal funding helped city become statewide leader.

Whether it’s the Bryan County Hyundai megasite or a new electric vehicle in the city’s municipal fleet, Savannah is quickly going green.

City leaders and local climate advocates recently met at a Climate Action Campaign event to celebrate how federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan Investment and Jobs Act are making Savannah a statewide and regional leader in clean energy.

Climate Action Campaign is a coalition of a dozen major national environment, environmental justice and public health groups advocating for a quicker transition to clean energy and sustainability.

“Savannah is the epicenter of climate resilience, not only in Georgia but across the Southeast,” Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said. The city’s initiatives, such as the 100% Savannah campaign to have all energy consumed in the city

sourced from clean renewables by 2035, make Savannah a model for an equitable transition to clean energy.

Communities at large are impacted by climate change through floods, poor air quality and increasing temperatures, and children are no different.

Denise Grabowski, District 1 representative and vice president pro tem of the Savannah Chatham County School Board, said in December the district received a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean School Bus Grant award of more than $9.8 million. With that money, she said the district will swap out 25 diesel buses with electric buses.

“We also know that asthma is one of the No. 1 reasons why students miss school, and if you’re not in school, then you can’t learn,” Grabowski said. Diesel school buses contribute to poor air quality for students as well as faculty and staff, which the new electric buses will help alleviate.

Beyond the buses, Grabowski said the school district is transitioning its police department vehicles to electric, installing LED lights and solar panels at its facilities.

Johnson also noted the opportunity for Savannah to explore how the city’s clean energy transition can be aimed at equity.

In a city where there is a significant number of low-income neighborhoods and people living in poverty, he said electricity prices can be a huge burden. Johnson said the city can focus in on how electrification and its clean energy savings can benefit those struggling the most with rising energy prices.

With the arrival of the Bryan County Hyundai site, which will produce all-electric vehicles, Johnson said the region is also going to see an influx of sustainable, good-paying

Jeanty MARISA MECKE Denise Grabowski (from left), Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, Savannah Tree Foundation’s Zoe Rinker, AJ and Nick Palumbo speak at a Climate Action Campaign event Feb. 16.