The plan was passed in a 12-0 vote. It also tasks the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to report every six months on the transition to renewable energy to the City Council’s Energy, Climate Change, Environmental Justice and River Committee.

In March, the city of Los Angeles released the LA100 Study, one of the largest studies of its kind conducted by the federal government, that explored potential pathways Los Angeles can pursue to achieve a 100% clean energy future. First introduced in 2016, the study was conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in partnership with the LADWP and USC.

Video via National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on YouTube

The study states that Los Angeles could achieve 98% clean energy within a decade and 100% clean energy by 2035. Meeting its goal would require a massive expansion of wind and solar resources, which also calls for shutting down local gas power plants. While this transition is expected to cost between $57 billion and $87 billion, LADWP General Manager Martin Adams notes that much of the investment would overlap with existing infrastructure repairs. 

In addition, the council approved an equitable hiring plan, which calls on the LADWP to focus on “ensuring project labor agreements, prevailing wage and targeted hiring requirements” and increase hiring from environmentally and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.