Bringing CarbonFree Energy to Life - Cambridge’s Vision Becomes Power

On a sunlit summer morning, Cambridge Climate Strategy and Implementation Manager Meghan Shaw stepped out of her rental car onto a dirt road outside Urbana, Illinois. The mirrored sweep of solar arrays filled the horizon.

“It’s incredible to see something so vast—and to know it’s directly tied to our community’s work back home,” Shaw said, walking past rows of panels in a hard hat and steeltoed boots.

The site was Prairie Solar: an 800acre site where 315,000 solar panels have been installed to deliver new, clean electricity.

More than a thousand miles away, in North Dakota, the Bowman Wind project has already spun to life—74 turbines generating enough energy to power 90,000 homes. Bowman Wind exists because of the Consortium for Climate Solutions, an innovative collaboration led by Harvard, Mass General Brigham, and MIT, in partnership with the City of Cambridge and others. Together, they pursued largescale renewables with one goal: accelerate real, measurable climate progress through shared action.

Why There—and Why Now

Illinois and North Dakota were chosen for their exceptional solar and wind resources—and for their ability to deliver the highest climate impact. Because climate change is global, generating clean power in more carbonintensive grids reduces emissions at scale and benefits everyone.

Through these projects, Cambridge and its partners receive Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), allowing them to count this new generation toward reducing local greenhouse gas emissions. With Bowman Wind online, Cambridge’s municipal electricity use is now net zero—a milestone that ensures the City’s schools, libraries, streetlights, and municipal buildings are fully balanced by clean energy.

“To make all of that carbonfree is a really meaningful accomplishment we’re very proud of,” said Ellen Katz, Cambridge’s Director of Fiscal Affairs & Energy Resources.

Power for People

Beyond municipal operations, both projects will supply RECs to Cambridge Community Electricity (CCE), the City’s group buying program, pushing electricity used by residents and businesses to 75% renewable by default—more than ever before. The approach relies on Virtual Power Purchase Agreements (VPPAs)—longterm contracts that finance new wind and solar projects. At a high level, when electricity is used in Cambridge, an equal amount of clean energy is generated elsewhere, and the environmental benefit is credited back through RECs.

The Prairie Solar VPPA is the largest ever undertaken directly by a U.S. city to reduce community emissions through CCE. Cambridge’s share will generate enough renewable energy to cover the average annual consumption of more than 25,000 Cambridge homes—nearly half of the City’s households. “Cities almost never take on VPPAs of this scale,” said Chief Climate Officer Julie Wormser. “What makes this achievement even more unusual is that the clean energy generated will lower residents’ energy bills along with their carbon footprints.”

A Shared Future

Standing amid Prairie Solar’s rows of panels, Shaw summed up the journey: “This is what cleaner air, more stable energy prices, and a more resilient future for Cambridge families actually looks like.”

From the winds of North Dakota to the fields of Illinois, these projects are more than infrastructure—they’re commitments made real, proving that local leadership, regional partnerships, and community ambition can build a just, affordable, carbonfree future that lasts for generations.