St. George already has a diverse energy portfolio, one that other cities should envy and emulate.

The city has traditionally been powered by a variety of fuels -- coal, but also clean-burning natural gas and renewable hydroelectric power.

But starting last fall, southwest Utah's principal city really began to burnish its progressive power credentials, adding solar-power generation to the mix with an innovative public/private partnership that allows residents to purchase power from a communal solar-panel array.

Now, fueled by $390,000 in federal stimulus funds, the city will expand one clean, green energy initiative, and study the feasibility of starting yet another.

About $190,000 will be used to expand the solar power project, launched last fall in cooperation with Dixie-Escalante Electric. Residents can purchase units of solar power without having to install costly panels on their homes.

And, in a joint project with the Washington County landfill, the city will spend $200,000 to investigate burning methane from the landfill to create enough electricity to power about 500 homes.

The landfill accepts about 700 tons of trash per day that, as it decays, generates methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. The feasibility study will gauge the quality and quantity of methane being produced, and if the gas is found to be suitable, determine the best type of equipment to capture and burn it.

This project represents recycling in the purest sense of the word: burn methane from rotting waste to turn turbines that produce electricity. The fuel is also renewable. Come rain or shine, the garbage keeps pouring in, and will continue to do so until 2060. And the power is reliable. Unlike solar and wind power, which requires the sun to shine and the wind to blow to produce electricity, garbage rots and produces methane around the clock in any type of weather.

City leaders say the move to renewable energy sources is a hedge against possible state and/or federal requirements that a percentage of electricity come from clean-energy sources. We hope those long-rumored requirements become a reality, and St. George is wise to be proactive.

Transitioning to clean energy is also the right thing to do for the planet. Utilizing renewable resources reduces air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and the environmental devastation that results from mining and drilling.

Only by taking little steps like these can the nation complete the long journey to energy independence, and reduce its carbon footprint. St. George is on the right trail.