BERKELEY, California, US. The California city of Berkeley has released a
plan which calls for increased use of renewable energies as a solution to
global warming.
The ‘Climate Action Plan’ invites residents to respond before a final plan
is voted by city council in April. In November 2006, Berkeley voters
supported ballot Measure G which requires the city to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by 80% by 2050, through development of a plan with interim
targets.
The draft plan calls for new and existing buildings to achieve net zero
energy consumption through increased energy efficiency and a shift to
renewable energy sources by 2050. Other components include personal vehicles
to run on alternative fuels or electricity, public transit or walking as
primary means of transportation, zero waste sent to landfills, the majority
of food consumed in Berkeley to be produced within a few hundred miles, and
the “social and economic benefits of the community’s climate protection
effort (to be) shared equitably among everyone.”
The city would help with financing energy-saving tactics, and a chief
component would be a previously-announced city program to enable residents
to finance solar installations through assessments on their property tax
bills in the expectation that the extra assessment would be offset by
savings on electric bills. Requiring zero net energy use would be achieved
through gradual improvement in standards that build on the city's current
energy-efficiency requirements for buildings.
Reduced energy use in buildings is the first section of the plan, and
include measures to “increase residential and commercial renewable energy
use; increase energy efficiency and renewable energy use in public
buildings” and enhance energy efficiency services and standards for existing
residential and commercial properties.
Increased energy efficiency and use of renewables in buildings would reduce
GHG emissions by 111,875 tons by 2020, more than half of the target. The
balance (95,421 tons) would come from sustainable transportation and land
use.
"We are sources of global warming pollution, known as anthropogenic sources;
fortunately, we can also be the source of solutions,” the report explains.
“By driving less, creating more energy efficient buildings, shifting to
renewable sources of energy and by committing as a community to the actions
laid out later in this plan, we can collectively start to turn this problem
around.”
"One city cannot solve the problem on its own but, if Berkeley leads, as it
has done so often in the past, others will follow,” it adds.
Energy efficiency actions “can often save more energy in a given building
than decentralized alternative energy systems (eg: solar or wind) can
provide in new supply” and it is most efficient for a building to be
retrofitted for energy efficiency before any renewable energy systems are
installed. Developing local sources of renewable energy requires consumer
information, technical expertise and reliable programs to deliver turnkey
solar electric and solar thermal services, as well as financing to help
building owners pay for the services.
"On a per capita basis, our community already has the highest number of
solar photovoltaic installations in northern California,” with 1,400 kW of
solar PV systems installed or approved for installation at 383 different
sites within the city, including 22 kW at two municipal sites. “While these
installations represent a good start, many more decentralized solar systems
must be installed for the community to achieve its GHG reduction goals.”
Solar and wind are contained in the plan because “these technologies are
becoming increasingly competitive in the marketplace as alternatives to
fossil fuels,” but the city should also track the potential of other
renewables such as geothermal, biomass, hydrogen fuel cells and tidal
energy, it urges.
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