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Las Vegas Now Runs Entirely On Renewable Energy

The city has been working towards this since 2008.

The so-called 'City of Sin' is now squeaky clean, at least in one regard — as of last week, Las Vegas is powered entirely by green energy.

On December 12, the city switched on Boulder Solar 1, a massive solar project outside the city. All of the city's buildings, streetlights and parks now run on 100 per cent renewable energy.

Las Vegas began working on renewable energy projects in 2008, reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Since then, it's reduced its energy consumption by over 30 per cent.

The city wrote on its blog that it is the largest city in the U.S. to move entirely to renewables.

"Energy savings from our efforts save the city five million dollars annually. They’ve also led to a positive effect on our community: the city’s carbon footprint is the size today that it was in 1950, despite an unprecedented population boom since then," the post reads.

The city has also inspired casinos to take a chance on solar. MGM Resorts, Wynn and Las Vegas Sands have all announced plans to use more renewable energy, The Guardian reported.

Lights shine along the Las Vegas strip. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Vegas isn't the only city pushing forward on clean energy. In November, 48 U.S. mayors signed an open letter to president-elect Donald Trump, suggesting that they would be willing to forge ahead on climate action with or without federal support.

Burlington, Virginia, Aspen and Colorado, have also moved to entirely renewable energy, and others, like San Francisco, Calif., plan to achieve that goal in the next few years.

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