Four Weeks to Keep Athens’ Clean Energy Vision Alive
Athens has made a bold commitment to its future—one rooted in clean energy, equity, and community leadership. In 2022, Athens-Clarke County adopted the Clean and Renewable Energy Plan, a community-driven roadmap designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while improving affordability, public health, and long-term resilience.
But plans don’t implement themselves.
That’s why the Clean and Renewable Energy Study Group exists—to help keep Athens’ clean energy vision alive, understood, and actively supported by the people who helped shape it.
A Space for Shared Learning and Community Engagement
Now entering its third year, the Clean and Renewable Energy Study Group offers a welcoming, participatory space for Athens residents to come together, learn, ask questions, and stay engaged as the community moves from planning into real-world decisions.
This four-week study group is not a lecture series. Instead, it is a facilitated learning experience that brings the Clean and Renewable Energy Plan off the page and into lived experience—connecting policy goals to everyday life in Athens.
Plans only matter if people continue to talk about them, understand them, and show up when it counts.
What Participants Will Explore
Over four Wednesdays in January, participants will build a practical understanding of Athens’ clean energy journey, including:
- The story behind Athens’ clean energy commitments and where the plan stands today
- The difference between goals, plans, and implementation—and why community engagement remains essential
- How equity and energy burden are central to local energy decisions
- How clean energy connects to everyday issues like energy bills, housing quality, public health, and community growth
Whether you are new to the Clean and Renewable Energy Plan or have followed it for years, the study group provides space to deepen understanding and ask meaningful questions.
Athens’ Clean Energy Goals
Athens’ commitments are ambitious and community-driven:
- By 2035: 100% clean and renewable electricity for all municipal properties, government operations, and community-wide buildings
- By 2050: 100% clean and renewable electricity to meet total community electricity demand
Reaching these goals requires informed residents who understand how local and state-level decisions shape what is possible—and who are prepared to engage when those decisions are being made.
Who Is Facilitating the Study Group?
The Clean and Renewable Energy Study Group is facilitated by the Southern Sustainability Institute (SSI), a local nonprofit dedicated to advancing education, understanding, and community action around sustainability in Athens and beyond.
SSI has supported this study group year after year to ensure that Athens’ clean energy transition remains grounded in community knowledge and participation.
Event Details
Location:
Covenant Presbyterian Church
1065 Gaines School Rd
Athens, GA 30605
Dates & Time:
Wednesdays — January 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2026
11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Why This Study Group Matters
The Clean and Renewable Energy Plan was built through years of resident engagement. Sustaining it requires the same level of care, curiosity, and commitment.
Four weeks. Shared understanding. A vision kept alive.
If you care about where Athens is headed and want a meaningful way to stay connected to a community-led clean energy future, this study group offers a place to plug in.
👉 Sign up here: https://bit.ly/4pL5azO
