What Happened?
Understanding there is an economic and social benefit to many energy efficiency policies, municipalities are becoming more focused on sustainability than ever before. Here are some new updates.
Fort Collins
The Fort Collins City Council in Colorado is considering a proposed update to its 2008 Climate Action Plan that combines economic development with environmental policies. The original Climate Action Plan was designed to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions through investments in, and improvements to:
- Transportation
- Energy efficiency
- Waste reduction
- Green building strategies
As is, the Climate Action Plan sets a goal for an 80 percent reduction in local greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The newly updated version of the Climate Action Plan would push that goal further to an 80 percent greenhouse gas emission reduction by 2030 followed by achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
The proposal also calls for an increase in the community’s economic resiliency against all impacts of climate change such as agricultural setbacks and severe weather. The city council is considering including economic drivers into the Climate Action Plan that would enable the city to remain economically resilient by:
- Creating a continuum of jobs focused on developing a diverse economy
- Deploying enhanced sustainable practices for existing businesses
- Increasing availability of green and clean technology jobs
Job creation is a major component to the revised Climate Action Plan. Fort Collins would like to assist the private sector in creating more jobs in:
- Green building
- Solar construction
- Geothermal
- Energy storage
- Smart grid management
- Electric vehicles
- Low-energy lighting
- Productive waste conversion
To achieve this job growth, the city plans to aggressively attract and retain clean energy research companies that will create economic opportunities for residents.
New York
The New York Power Authority recently announced its Five Cities Energy Plans that will pilot a variety of energy efficiency initiatives in the cities of Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers. The goal of the project is to reduce overall energy costs and consumption while strengthening the resiliency of each city’s energy infrastructure. Furthermore, the strategies aim to create jobs in clean energy while promoting long-term, sustainable practices.
The $35 million program will be a five-year competition between the cities to see which can generate the most energy savings while improving the lives of residents. The winning city will receive up to $20 million to support its projects. The New York Power Authority will work with each municipality to develop and implement new energy efficiency strategies, as well as help connect local leaders to state agencies and authorities for technical expertise and support. The state will provide finance grants to facilitate implementation of the strategies.
Ann Arbor
The Ann Arbor City Council approved a deal with a local energy provider to construct the largest solar array in Michigan. The 14-acre facility will be housed at the Ann Arbor Municipal Airport and generate 1.6 megawatts of energy in the initial phase, with plans to increase total installed capacity to 2.15 megawatts – which would be enough energy to power about 300 homes, MLive reported.
Under the 20-year agreement, the energy provider would pay Ann Arbor $38 per kilowatt of system capacity, or at least $41,800 annually. Once the solar array is at full capacity, Ann Arbor stands to generate up to $81,700 per year through the deal, MLive reported.
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