Gainesville’s Efforts in

Addressing Climate Change

Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan, P.E

For the Alachua County Energy Strategy

Commission

Presentation Overview

Gainesville Demographics and Geography

The University’s Neighborhood

Challenges and Opportunities

Local Government Actions on Climate Change Introduction to Gainesville What we’re doing and why What climate funders can do to help cities reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Local Government Actions Cities for Climate Protection

- ICLEI U.S. Conference of Mayors

Climate Protection Agreement

Control over decisions on transportation infrastructure, land use and zoning, building codes, landscaping, waste management, land conservation, and, in some cases, power generation

Cities for Climate Protection - ICLEI

Worldwide movement of local governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and enhance urban sustainability

Gainesville joined in 1998

Cities for Climate Protection1. Establish an inventory and forecast of key sources of

greenhouse gases in the City’s operations and community;

2. Set a cost-effective, feasible and meaningful greenhouse gas emissions goal that balances multiple air emissions criteria, considers regional and global implications, and takes into account achievements attained to date;

3. Develop and adopt a local greenhouse gas action plan to achieve those reductions;

4. Begin implementation of the plan;

5. Monitor and report on greenhouse gas emissions and the implementation of actions and measures.

United States Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement

1. Strive to meet or beat the Kyoto Protocol targets in their own communities, through actions ranging from anti-sprawl land-use policies to urban forest restoration projects to public information campaigns;

2. Urge their state governments, and the federal government, to enact policies and programs to meet or beat the greenhouse gas emission reduction target suggested for the United States in the Kyoto Protocol -- 7% reduction from 1990 levels by 2012; and

3. Urge the U.S. Congress to pass the bipartisan greenhouse gas reduction legislation, which would establish a national emission trading system

USCM Sign-on Status Today, almost 730

cities have signed the USCM agreement, representing over 25% of the U.S. population

In Florida, about 70 of the 410 mayors have signed; Gainesville joined in 2005

Introduction to Gainesville Economy,

Environment, Demographics

Actions on Climate Change

City population is + 122,000 in 55 square miles

County population is + 243,000 in 928 square miles

Home to the University of Florida

Municipal Utility - 2 power plants, 2 wastewater plants, water, natural gas and telecommunications

Police, Fire/EMS, Public Works, Parks, Planning, Economic Development, Cultural Affairs, etc.

Community Overview

189,568

119,410

95,225

67,698

65,050

64,523

64,131

63,339

57,022

53,042

49,207

42,451

36,176

- 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 140,000 160,000 180,000 200,000

Miami Beach

Ft. Lauderdale

West Palm Beach

Clearw ater

Port St Lucie

Miramar

Cape Coral

Hollyw ood

Coral Springs

Pembroke Pines

Tallahassee

Lakeland

Gainesville

PEER CITY COMPARISON: TAXABLE PROPERTY VALUE PER CAPITAAs of September 30, 2005

Low Property Tax Base, Reliance on Public Utility

Magnolia P lantation B & B

In 2004, it became evident the future might look different from the past…

In 2004, Rejected a Plan to Expand our Coal Generating Capacity Hired ICF to look at all

conservation and energy generation options

Adopted new standards for conservation programs and dramatically increased funding

Hurricanes Frances

and Jeanne in 2004

Areas of Focus for Carbon Reduction

Implementing Energy Conservation Reforming Energy Supply Rethinking Transportation Integrating Land Use Planning Reinvesting in the Urban Core Expanding Land Conservation Planting Trees Pursuing Partnerships and Following

the Leaders

Changes To

CarbonEmissions

J. R. Kelly Repowering of Unit 8to Combined Cycle

108,204 tons of CO2 Offset

Traffic Light Sequencing91,691 Tons of CO2 Offset per Year

(At Project Completion)

LED Traffic Light Conversion3,053 Tons of CO2 Offset per Year

(166 Intersections)

Current Conservation

106,519 tons of CO2 Offset per Year(through 2006)

Rebates and Incentives Low Interest loans for HVAC

improvements, water heaters, insulation, solar photovoltaics, duct repair, etc.

Rebate programs for all of the above Whole house program for low income

residents Site-specific rebates for businesses; up to

$40,000 per site, for up to 50% of cost 25% building permit discount and fast-

track permitting for meeting LEED standards

CRA incentives allow reimbursement for LEED buildings

A/C Trade In Program

Light Bulb Replacement Program

In-Store Lighting Promotion at Home Depot

Effect of Demand Side Management with Adopted

Conservation Plan

2007 Reduction of 15,091 MWh Which equates to: 13,439 tons of CO2

2020 Reduction of 227,000 MWh Which equates to: 202,144 tons of CO2

Landfill Gas to Energy

4,179 tons of CO2 Offset per Year57,120 tons of CO2 Equivalent using 23:1 ratio for Methane

(Landfill Gas Consumption Rate of 300 CFM)

10,000 Acres of Forest Preservation33,917 tons of CO2 Offset per Year

Land Conservation for Carbon Sequestration, Quality of Life, Sprawl

Control

The Sprawl Factor

Where we build is as important as what we build

This map shows urban growth in North Florida in 1973, 1995 and 2020 based on building permits and growth plans.

Mixed Use Redevelopment

Green Building – County courthouse built to meet LEED standards

Green Development

Distributed Generation and CHP

Energy Efficient Transformers 19,302 tons of CO2 Offset per year

RTS Impact on PersonalVehicle Use

6,150 Tons of CO2 Offset per Year

Based on 2003 Data and Statistics

Police Department Upgrades – 943 tons of CO2 Offset per year

Solar PV Systems - 17 tons of CO2 Offset per year

GRU Customers Support Solar

Would you support or oppose GRU’s efforts to encourage solar energy investments in your community if it would add one dollar or less per month to all customers’ utility bills?

Source: RKS Research on behalf of GRU, sample of 403 residential customers

Support 75%

Oppose 17%

Not Sure 8%

Walmart 250KW Solar Array – A Partnership

* GRU only eligible for 4%

Approximate % of Capital Cost

Potential Partner 30%

GRU Capacity Credit 15%

State and Federal Incentives 30% *

3rd Party Financed or Other (Grants, etc.)

25%

Total 100%

Source

Black & Veatch8

Black & Veatch9

Estimated Cost $2.2 - $2.7 million Includes structure and panels

Black & Veatch10

Other Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Efforts

Tree Planting for Beautification,

Carbon Reduction, Creating Shade

UNIVERSITY AVE

ARCHER RD

WAL

DO R

D

13TH

ST

HAWTHORNE RD

MAI

N S

T

16TH AVESW

6TH S

T

Neighborhood Retention Basin

RFP on the Street for Biomass, based on Burlington, VT Model

Now requesting biomass-based energy optionsThe nuclear question

So, where are we?

Summary of Current CO2 OffsetsCurrent CO2 Offsets (tons/yr)

JRK CC1 Repowering 108,204Conservation 74,00010,000 Acre Forest Preservation 33,917Energy Efficient Transformers 19,302RTS Impact on Personal Vehicle Use 6,150Landfill Gas to Energy 4,179GPD Building Upgrades 943LED Traffic Lights (35+ Intersections) 644Solar - Photovoltaic 17Total 247,355

Future CO2 Changes (tons/yr)Demand Side Management (2007) 12,157Demand Side Management (2020) 202,144LED Traffic Lights (166 Intersections) 3,053Traffic Light Synchronization 91,691

Summary of Future CO2 Changes

Equivalent CO2 (tons/yr)

1,881,219

2,455,218

1,749,5342,207,863

0500,000

1,000,0001,500,0002,000,0002,500,0003,000,000

1990 KyotoBaseline

1999 CCPBaseline

Kyoto Goal 1999 CCPBaseline

(backcasted) (w/oreductions)

(2012) (w/ \currentreductions)

The Goals are Ambitious – Especially for a Growing Community

Gainesville Residents produce 64% as much carbon as U.S. Averages

1999Baseline Gainesville United States

Comm./Ind. 5.97 12.60Transportation 5.69 6.94Residential 3.91 5.23

Equivalent CO2 (tons/person/yr)

But we still have far to go…

With all of our actions to date and plans, we will still have a 29% shortfall relative to our USCM Kyoto goal to be 7% below 1990 levels by 2012

With increasing population and energy demand, our challenge is tremendous

What More We Can Do Futher Pursue Accurate, Accepted

Methodologies for Carbon Inventories and Reduction Calculations

Assist citizens and employees with access to educational materials (Inconvenient Truth idea?)

Provide speakers and sessions at general meetings of the National League of Cities, NACO, USCM, Conferences of State Legislatures

What More We Can Do Focus on those changes that have

substantial impacts with short pay-back periods

Help local governments and businesses adopt changes that don’t require an on-going change in behavior, but are a “do it once” solution

Work with other USCM/CCP Signers via FLC/FLM, NLC, USCM

Help implement statewide changes in building codes; change our own

What More We Can Do Help with access to capital for

building retrofits particularly for lower-income residents and renters

Encourage and take advantage of efforts to help bring down costs of solar technologies, and energy efficiencies equipment (Clinton Foundation)

Preserve More Land

What More We Can Do Sponsor competitions and awards

to encourage citizens, businesses and others to expand their efforts

Help established businesses, educational institutions, hospitals and other “big players” to see themselves as part of the solution

Assist those non-profits working at local, state and national levels to create a climate for climate change legislation!

What More We Can Do Adopt Changes in practices at Our

Own Facilities and Those of Sister Governments

Look for Implementation Opportunities in the Community

Continue Citizen Outreach and Public Education (Fostering Sustainable Behavior)

Continue Outreach to other governments and agencies

Thank You!

Questions and Comments?

Pegeen Hanrahan, P.E.Mayor@cityofgainesville.org352-665-5939 mobile