A Plan for Energy | Green Energy News

May 4, 2008 – Vol.13 No.7

A PLAN FOR ENERGY.

There may be a basic reason why individuals, businesses, communities, states even national governments are having such difficulty reducing energy consumption and cutting greenhouse gas emissions: They don’t have a grand plan. They don’t have a guideline to follow or the steps to take. They have a mishmash of information from a variety of sources, not one unified plan to follow.

Now, at least for governments large and small, there’s a plan drawn up and published by a group of local governments in Colorado that could become a plan or outline to follow by other local, even state governments. While drawn up for use by these Colorado governments, others elsewhere could adopt it, modify it for their own special needs and fill in the point-by-point details.

The Consortium of Cities Sustainable Energy Plan is a collaborative, countywide guiding document that recommends 35 strategies and actions for local governments and others in Boulder County to take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make their communities more sustainable. Resolutions pledging to support and work towards implementing the plan have been adopted by Boulder County, the city of Boulder, Lafayette, Louisville, Longmont, Lyons, Nederland and Superior.

The Sustainable Energy Plan was forged by the Boulder County Consortium of Cities Energy Strategy Task Force, composed of subject-matter experts and representatives of local governments, businesses and environmental organizations. If implemented as laid out in the plan, the top 20 strategies, or “key actions,” will result in a reduction of emissions 40 percent below 2005 levels in the year 2020. This is a reduction nearly twice that called for in the state’s Climate Action goal as set forth by state’s governor.

The plan should, of course, be studied in its entirety. Here’s a list of the 35 Strategies and Actions broken down by sectors.

Residential Sector Strategies:

--- High Efficiency Lighting Program. Early Action: Implement CFL and LED discounts.

--- ClimateSmart Neighborhood Energy Sweeps. Early Action: Conduct neighborhood-wide “sweeps” installing energy efficient devices and educational information.

--- Residential Energy Audit Program (REAP). The county and participating municipalities provided low cost, energy-efficiency evaluations for Boulder County homeowners. Action: Continue this action.

--- Residential Green Building Codes and Ordinances for New and Existing Buildings. Action: Develop a “Green Building” code for new construction and a “residential energy conservation ordinance” for existing buildings.

--- Net-Zero Energy Home (ZEH). Action: Explore the creation of building codes and ordinances requiring that all homes over a certain size be required to achieve net zero energy use and the expansion of this requirement, over time, to all new home development.

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