FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 07, 2008

Boulder County, Louisville, Consortium of Cities adopt Sustainable Energy Plan

February 7, 2008

CONTACT: Ann Livingston, Boulder County Sustainability Coordinator, 303-441-3517 or Patricia Demchak, Boulder County Public Information Officer, 303-441-3399

Boulder County, Louisville, Consortium of Cities adopt Sustainable Energy Plan

A countywide plan recommending key strategies to vastly reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions throughout Boulder County has received official approval from Boulder County, Louisville and a consortium representing the city, county and town governments in Broomfield and Boulder counties.

The Boulder County Commissioners approved the adoption of the Boulder County Sustainable Energy Plan on Tuesday, one day after the Louisville City Council passed a resolution pledging Louisville’s support of the plan. Yesterday, the plan also received the official nod from the Boulder County Consortium of Cities, an organization with representatives from Boulder County, every municipality in the county, and Broomfield. The consortium passed a resolution urging all of its member jurisdictions to support the plan.

“It’s a very well thought-out, ambitious plan, and I think it reflects the desires and aspirations of many Boulder County residents to make a real difference in this arena,” Boulder County Commissioner Will Toor said during the approval of the resolution.

The Sustainable Energy Plan is a collaborative, countywide guiding document that recommends 35 actions for local governments and others in Boulder County to take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make our communities sustainable. The plan focuses on the dominant sources of emissions identified in a countywide greenhouse gas inventory: residential buildings, commercial buildings, transportation and industrial operations. Together these four sectors account for 91% of the county’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The Sustainable Energy Plan was forged by the Boulder County Consortium of Cities Energy Strategy Task Force, working in concert with subject-matter experts and representatives of local businesses, environmental organizations and communities. With the final draft completed, the plan is now being brought forward to each participating city, town and county for adoption.

The Plan provides an outline of the recommended means for achieving Boulder County’s goal of reaching compliance with the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement that sets targets for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to 7% below 1990 levels by the year 2012. Although the United States has not ratified this protocol, Boulder County and other local governments are not waiting for Federal action to reduce harmful emissions; instead, they are joining the 780 other local governments nationwide that have already passed resolutions pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout their communities.

Boulder County conducted an inventory of countywide greenhouse gas emissions in 2005. In addition to identifying sources and quantities of emissions, the inventory extrapolated a “business as usual” trajectory. This trajectory predicts that in 2012, if significant action is not taken to reverse energy consumption and pollution trends, countywide emissions will equal approximately 5,830,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, which is about 85% above the Kyoto goal.

Combined, and accounting for overlap between strategies, these plan’s key strategies are expected to result in:

· Emissions reductions in 2012 of more than 1.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent

· Emissions reductions in 2020 of more than 3.6 million metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent

· Annual cost savings that will grow to exceed $445 million dollars by 2020

· Nine-year payback for all 20 actions (5 years for all actions except vehicle-to-grid).

If implemented, the top 20 strategies outlined in the Sustainable Energy Plan will bring the county nearly halfway toward achieving the Kyoto Protocol target. In the longer term, these strategies will reduce emissions even more significantly. By 2020, for example, the SEP strategies will enable the county to reduce GHG emissions 11% below 1990 levels. Putting this in terms of Governor Bill Ritter’s Climate Action goal, the SEP will result in a reduction of emissions 40% below 2005 levels in the year 2020. This is a reduction nearly twice that called for by the Governor.

“The Sustainable Energy Plan outlines a set of action-based, achievable strategies that will significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of local governments, businesses, and residents in Boulder County as well as have a positive economic impact,” said Boulder County Sustainability Coordinator Ann Livingston. “It prescribes achievable actions that we can implement today to begin having an immediate impact, but it’s also a living document that we can amend to include additional strategies as the technology and funds become available.”

Key actions recommended by the plan include:

· Conduct neighborhood energy awareness sweeps

· Offer discounts on high efficiency light bulbs and residential energy audits

· Develop residential green building codes and ordinances for new and existing residential, commercial and governmental buildings

· Promote industrial combined heat and power technologies

· Encourage statewide participation in the Western States Climate Initiative

· Implement controls and policies to limit idling of municipal and county vehicles

· Install light emitting diode (LED) traffic signals

· Promote sustainable biofuels

· Promote vehicle-to-grid power connection

· Implement a Clean Car Incentive program

· Adopt a statewide Clean Car Standard

· Develop a sustainable energy financing district

· Target utilities, including use of incentives and a renewable portfolio standard

· Maximize the use of rebate incentives for sustainable energy

· Create energy budgets and rate structures

· Create a revolving loan fund for sustainable projects

· Offer “climate offsets credits” and use to build community wind

· Implement Energy Performance Project for businesses

The Consortium of Cities resolution requested that the final plan adopted by member jurisdictions include a requirement to complete a greenhouse gas inventory update within the next five years and to provide annual progress reports by the jurisdictions.

To view the entire final draft Sustainable Energy Plan, visit www.bouldercounty.org/sustain.

-END-

Dan Rowland, Communications Specialist
Boulder County Commissioners’ Office
drowland@bouldercounty.org
303-441-3399

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