A new group to help US small towns lead the clean energy transition
A North Carolina mayor launched a coalition for small-town leaders to pool resources and advocate for clean energy policies, addressing funding and membership gaps in national organizations.
Mondale Robinson, mayor of Enfield, North Carolina, aims to power his town of 2,000 with solar energy, upgrade its substation, and install a geothermal network to cut high electric bills. However, Enfield’s poverty and Robinson’s $500 monthly salary limit his ability to advance these plans without external support. Legal and academic partners from nearby Chapel Hill and Durham are assisting, but many opportunities remain inaccessible to small-town leaders like him.
Frustrated by the exclusion of small towns from national organizations like the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Robinson announced the formation of the National Conference of Small Cities and Rural Mayors at a Canary Media summit. The coalition targets municipalities with fewer than 30,000 people, a threshold that excludes Enfield from full membership in larger mayoral groups despite representing 93% of U.S. incorporated towns and housing 60 million people.
Robinson highlighted the disparity in philanthropic investment, noting that 90% of donations flow to urban areas. He emphasized that rural communities, if united, could rival California in population but lack proportional funding. The coalition’s immediate goal is to recruit 100 founding mayors and secure anchor foundations to build collective bargaining power and shared expertise.
The coalition plans to develop training programs, peer networks, and regional collaborations to help small towns test clean energy models. Enfield has already formed a nonprofit, Enfield Energy Futures, and secured a seed grant for its geothermal project, which could become the first of its kind in the Southeast if successful.