Encouraging efficiencies, renewable energy and innovation: Council adopts County Energy Plan

October 25, 2010

Summary

Plan focuses on reducing energy use in county operations combined with renewable energy production and public education

Story

Working to reduce the use of fossil fuels throughout King County, the Metropolitan King County Council today adopted an energy plan that calls for a collaborative effort to find energy efficiencies in county operations and county households.

“Energy is a major cost for every part of county government operations—from buying diesel for Metro buses to heating and cooling our courtrooms,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, prime sponsor of the ordinance. “Becoming more energy efficient and exploring greener alternatives makes sense not only for reducing our carbon footprint and environmental impacts, but also for ensuring that King County is using taxpayer dollars to provide critical services in the most efficient way possible.”

“The 2010 Energy Plan enhances legislation we already have in place,” said Council Vice Chair Jane Hague. “It’s a perfect two for one deal – we have a chance to minimize King County’s environmental impact and, most importantly, save money.”

The Energy Plan sets the policies and goals that will help the county achieve energy efficiencies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The adopted ordinance builds on legislation approved by the Council in 2006 that asked the Executive to develop a proposal for minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, conserving energy, increasing renewable energy purchases, and continuing to develop renewable energy sources.

The adopted Energy Plan places a new emphasis on the environmental and economic benefits of producing renewable energy using the waste byproducts of certain county operations, such as wastewater treatment and waste disposal, to produce renewable energy. It also focuses on facility and equipment efficiency upgrades, energy considerations in procurement and construction, increased transit use by the community while improving transit fleet efficiency, and positions King County as a leader and early adopter of innovative energy technology for buildings and vehicles.

The 2010 Energy Plan sets specific energy saving benchmarks for County operations and facilities:

• Reducing county energy use by 10 percent in county buildings and facilities,
• Ten percent reduction in energy use by county vehicles (including Transit) by 2015,
• Producing or procuring renewable energy–such as harvesting the methane gas produced by the Cedar Hills Land—that is equal to 50 percent of total county energy requirement by 2012.

This year the Council, led by Councilmember Phillips, encouraged Executive Constantine to review the 2006 Energy Plan and submit an updated version. The legislation approved by the Council today represents a thorough overhaul by the Executive.

“This Energy Plan is an essential piece of our reform agenda for county government,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “It’s a blueprint for continuous improvement in energy efficiency that will save money and protect the environment.”

The plan includes input collected by the Council from environmental groups and Council efforts to widen the energy plan to encourage public involvement in the reduction of greenhouse gases. These ideas range from emphasizing alternatives to driving alone (such as public transportation) to promoting energy efficiency and the use of energy efficient lighting in homes.


The adopted ordinance advances the Council’s priority of Environmental Sustainability