Alachua County Energy Conservation Strategies Commission AARP presentation 02.04.2008
Alachua County Commission• “Board of County Commissioners of Alachua County wishes to do its part to reduce or mitigate the effects of Global Climate Change and promote the
long-term economic security of its citizens through the implementation of policies that enhance energy efficiency”
• Adopted Resolution 07-18 (March 27, 2007) & created Energy Conservation Strategies Commission (ECSC)
• Appointed ECSC members (May 22, 2007)
• ECSC final report due August, 2008
ECSC Mission
“To draft a comprehensive report on energy use, its relationship to climate change and local socio-economic impacts, including actions that can be implemented by the Board of County Commissioners and the community at large.”
ECSC Membership
•Twelve energy conservation experts “Possess demonstrated expertise and/or advanced training in the areas of energy demand side management, LEED or Green Building Code standards, renewable energy technologies, or a related field.”
•One representative of the University of Florida•One former elected City of Gainesville Commissioner•One former elected Alachua County Commissioner•One alternate position
ECSC Membership
Energy Conservation experts•Dwight Adams •Ed Brown •Fred Depenbrock •Christopher Fillie •Ken Fonorow•Pattie Glenn
•Harry Kegelmann•Tom Lane•Mark Spiller•Ruth Steiner•Eduardo Vargas•One Vacancy
ECSC Membership
University of Florida Representative•Stephen Mulkey
Former elected City of Gainesville Commissioner •Warren Nielsen
Former elected Alachua County Commissioner •Penny Wheat
Alternate Member•Bill Shepherd
ECSC Expertise
Over 200 years of collective experience• Green Building and Energy Efficiency• Climate Change, Adaptation and Mitigation• Transportation• Community Design and Planning• Alternative Energy• Policy Development and Implementation• Design and Engineering• Energy Utility• Local Entrepreneurs
Community Challenges• Escalating energy costs• Climate change: global and local
Climate change refers to the variation in the Earth's global climate or in regional climates over time. It describes changes in the variability or average state of the atmosphere over time scales ranging from decades to millions of years. These changes can be caused by processes internal to the Earth, external forces (e.g. variations in sunlight intensity) and, more recently, human activities.
• Peak oil production“Peak Oil means not 'running out of oil', but 'running out of cheap oil'. For societies leveraged on ever increasing amounts of cheap oil, the consequences may be dire.”Energy Bulletin: http://www.energybulletin.net/primer.php
Escalating energy costs• Cost of oil and gasoline
Oct 2001: $19.13/barrel $1.44/gallon gas
Oct 2007: $73.65/barrel $2.84/gallon gas
• Monthly Cost of Food for a Family of 4
Oct 2001: $612
Oct 2007: $750
• Average residential retail price of electricity
2001: 8.63 cents/kWh
2007: 10.61 cents/kWh
97%
23%
23%
Climate changes
Peak & Decline - Oil Production• Peak Oil doesn’t mean 'running out of oil', but running out of
cheap oil'.
• Increased cost to extract and refine remaining petroleum reserves.
• US GAO report (2007): “While the consequences of a peak would be felt globally, the United States, as the largest consumer of oil and one of the nations most heavily dependent on oil for transportation, may be particularly vulnerable.
Therefore, to better prepare the United States for a peak and decline in oil production, we are recommending that the Secretary of Energy take the lead, in coordination with other relevant federal agencies, to establish a peak oil strategy.”
Peak Oil Time Frame•Opinions differ: some think a peak has already happened or will occur soon.
•Some believe the peak will occur in the next 10 to 15 years.
•Optimistic opinions place the peak around 2030 to 2040.Lower estimates tend to come from petroleum geologists and physicists, the higher estimates from economists.
Descending the Oil Peak: Navigating the Transition from Oil and Natural Gas pg 51 http ://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=145732
United States Oil Imports
•This chart depicts the sources of American oil imports. While the United States gets about 45% of its oil from the Middle East and North Africa, these regions hold over two thirds of the oil reserves worldwide.”
Driving the Future of Energy Security http://lugar.senate.gov/energy/graphs/oilimport.html
Peak Oil Production & Decline
Implications• Heating & Cooling Costs – The economic
squeeze.• Transportation within our community?• Fertilizer & Food- Production declines, higher
prices• Trucking – Ripple effect throughout local economy• Individual Travel – Reduced discretionary travel,
including air travel and tourismDescending the Oil Peak: Navigating the Transition from Oil and Natural Gas pgs 55-56
http://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=145732
Community Opportunities
Some ECSC initial themes:• Create an ‘energy self-sufficient and resilient
community.’
• Develop local economy based on low-energy consumption.
• Develop multi-mode sustainable mobility infra-structure, with focus on public transportation.
• Maximize local food production.
• Maximize local, non-fossil fuel based energy production; create community employment opportunities.
ECSC Subcommittees • Commercial, Governmental, Industrial & Institutional
Buildings
• Land Use & Transportation
• Locally-applicable Alternative Energy Options
• Residential Buildings (inc. Low-Income Housing & Rental Properties)
• Waste & Energy Implications
ECSC Subcommittee
Commercial, Governmental, Industrial & Institutional Buildings
Goal: Reduce energy consumption and maximize efficiencies in existing buildings. Develop ‘best practices’ for new County buildings and leased Alachua County facilities. Focus on the jail, which is 50% of Alachua County’s total energy consumption.
ECSC Subcommittee
Residential Buildings (inc. Low-Income Housing & Rental Properties)
Goal: Reduce high utility bills and consumption of energy wasted by inefficiencies. Solutions will be quantifiable, based on current building science, and implementable. Work with community partners to leverage existing capital and volunteer expertise.
Energy Issues: Buildings
“Data from the US Energy Information Administration illustrates that buildings are responsible for almost half (48%) of all energy consumption and GHG emissions annually; globally the percentage is even greater.” http://www.architecture2030.org/current_situation/building_sector.html
Energy Issues: Buildings
“Seventy-six percent (76%) of all power plant-generated electricity is used just to operate buildings. Clearly, immediate action in the Building Sector is essential if we are to avoid hazardous climate change.” http://www.architecture2030.org/current_situation/building_sector.html
Energy Issues: County Buildings
Buildings in Alachua County Government
•48 Alachua County Facilities (not counting leased space) totaling approximately 980,000 sqft
•19,257,309 kWh Total Electric Consumption (2005) up 2.9% from 2004.
•$1,458,796.54 Total Electric Cost (2005)
Bringing the Global Perspective Home:
Creating a case for high performance green buildings in Alachua County government.
http://www.alachuacounty.us/assets/uploads/images/epd/documents/ECSC/GreenBldg_12-08-06.pdf
Top Ten Energy Consuming Buildings
ECSC Subcommittee
Land Use & Transportation
Goal: To plan and adapt to community threats and opportunities, and recommend policies and strategies designed to create integrated, sustainable ‘best practices’.
Energy Issues: Transportation
Alachua County Government
• 437 total vehicles (FY 2005-2006)includes cars & hybrids, utility vehicles, light & electric pickup trucks, vans, medium and heavy trucks, heavy equipment and trailers.
• 482,812 total gallons of fuel used (FY 2005-2006) for this fleet. (Diesel= 344,943 gallons; Gasoline=137,869 gallons.)Review of Alachua County Fleet Management; Looking at number type and fuel consumption of vehicles.
http://www.alachuacounty.us/assets/uploads/images/epd/documents/ECSC/Fleet_08-10-07.pdf
Energy Issues: Transportation
2007 Alachua County
•193,588 vehicles
2005 Florida
• 15.6 million vehicles
• 10,418,160 (Thousands of gallons)
1998 Alachua County
• Consumed 88.1 million gallons of gasoline
• Consumed 6.5 million gallons of diesel
ECSC Subcommittee
Locally-applicable Alternative Energy Options
Goal: Increase use of renewable energy sources applicable within Alachua County.
ECSC Subcommittee
Waste & Energy Implications
Goal: Use waste materials for creation of locally-needed products; and/or power production. Consider examples of other communities (i.e., the City of Bern, Switzerland uses methane extracted from municipal sewage sludge to power city buses.)
Waste & Energy Implications
Contact the ECSC
• ECSC meetings: 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month at 5:30 PM in the County Administration Building, Second Floor, Grace Knight Conference Room.
• ECSC subcommittee meetings: Weekly on Tuesday & Wednesday. (call for details)
• Phone: 352-264-6800 • Address: ECSC, 201 SE 2nd St., Suite 201,
Gainesville, FL 32601• Email: [email protected]
Energy Conservation Resources
•Energy Bulletinhttp://www.energybulletin.net
•Energy Information Administration; Official Energy Statistics from the US Governmenthttp://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/petro.html
•CRUDE OIL: Uncertainty about Future Oil Supply Makes It Important to Develop a Strategy for Addressing a Peak and Decline in Oil Production. United States Government Accountability Office, February 2007http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07283.pdf
Energy Conservation Resources
•The New York Times Magazine August 21,2005 The Breaking Point, by Peter Maasshttp://www.petermaass.com/core.cfm?p=1&mag=124&magtype=1
•National Geographic, The End of Cheap Oil by Tim Appenzeller http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0406/feature5/fulltext.html
