Energy & Sustainability Blog
February 2010
The Energy Independence Program had its quarterly review before the County of Sonoma Board of Supervisors this month. Our hard work and the example we set with our SCEIP program was celebrated. There are many exciting energy efficiency projects coming this way, and we have been working together with our nine cities.
Liz reported over $21 million dollars in energy and water efficiency that to date has been funded through the Energy Independence Program within our County. Other Cities and Counties are modeling their programs after ours. John Haig, Rod Dole and Liz Yager have been working hard to help these new programs succeed.
January 2010
We continue to work with our Pilot Agency on Best Practices for Energy Efficiency. We completed our Audit for the Glen Ellen Fire Department and have provided recommendations.
Hope has her hands full this month meeting the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) deadline for reporting. She has been working with Facilities Operations toward maximizing our rebates and incentives for our efficiency work.
She and Vince are working on expanding our Compost Program by Feb. 1st. Her next step is submitting an application for California Solar Initiative Program for the PV solar project at Los Guilicos.
John is presenting at the Virtual Energy Forum to discuss the work that has gone into the many firsts the County of Sonoma has contributed to Energy Efficiency and greenhouse gas reductions.
We presented our Climate Protection Action Plan and Commute update to the County of Sonoma's Board of Supervisors. We reported that we have been successful and will reach our 20% GHG reduction target.
Many long days (and nights) were spent preparing our recent grant applications. We worked closely with the Sonoma County Water Agency to work on retaining funding opportunities for SCEIP.
Sam is working with local fire departments and looking at ways to increase energy efficiency. He has been working with Facilities Operations on efficiency retrofits and also the County's parking lot light conversion to LEDs.
November & December 2009
The Glen Ellen Fire District has been selected. We will assist them in the development of their own Climate Protection Action Plan. Utility and fuel use data has been gathered for 2000 baseline and an energy audit has been conducted through SCEW. Our meeting with Brown and Caldwell will help decide their next steps.
Hope is working on the Climate Protection Action Plan update with a commute focus to go before the Board next month. She is also working on finding rebates for water from the City of Santa Rosa.
Liz Yager reported $17 million dollars in energy efficiency work funded through SCEIP!
October 2009
We selected the BAAQMD Utility Management Project pilot agency, Glen Ellen Fire District, and convened a kick-off meeting to assist them in developing a Climate Protection Plan and utility management tool to track utility consumption and greenhouse gas reduction efforts.
We broke ground on the County’s fuel cell project as planned; and Dave Head, our Fleet Manager, gave an informative webinar on electric vehicles and charging stations.
September 2009
It is the six month anniversary to the initial opening of the office for the County of Sonoma’s Energy Independence Program (SCEIP), and we are excited to report nearly 30 million dollars in efficiency and clean generation improvements have been applied for. We continue to work on our own energy efficiency improvements for County operations and plan to break ground soon on the County’s fuel cell project. John Haig conducted a Sustainable Energy Best Practices workshop for the Town of Windsor’s planning and public works staff. Thank you to all of those that attended.
August 2009
Energy & Sustainability's own John Haig made time in his busy schedule to man a table at the Sonoma County Fair. Inside the Sustainability tent, John was not shy about encouraging fairgoers to visit our table and learn more about our programs.We made many friends and are looking forward to doing another stint in the Sustainability tent next Summer!
July 2009
Energy & Sustainability joined forces with the County Information Officer to work on some videos to promote the climate protection efforts within the County. Look for the videos this holiday season!
June 2009
This month, Brown & Caldwell and the County of Sonoma conducted two Sustainability Energy Practices for Public Agencies Workshops. After extensive research and the compilation of the Guidebook, we were excited to have an opportunity to share our knowledge.
The Solar Fair was a great event. We had more visitors to our tables than ever before, gave away everything we had to give, and talked about the Sonoma County Energy Independence Program (SCEIP) so much that John Haig and Liz Yager lost their voices. We had some wonderful volunteers this year who really gave their all; we couldn't have done it without them! John Haig, Rod Dole, and Shirlee Zane all spoke about the County of Sonoma's successes in GHG reductions, the 9 million dollars in energy efficiency improvement funding that has come through SCEIP, and the great team work between the cities and the County toward these efforts.
The County of Sonoma has been a leader in our green efforts. The County of Sonoma was awarded a 2009 NACo Achievement Award for the program entitled Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction and Sustainability Initiatives. The award was in recognition of the County’s hard work to promote quality,and its efficient, and responsive management and administration. As a result of this award, the County of Sonoma’s award-winning programs will be highlighted in County News, Focus on Achievement column on the NACo web site.
May 2009
Bike to Work Day was an amazing success this year. Cindy Lewis did a wonderful job (as she has every year), and there were almost as many volunteers as bike riders! A total of 140 County employees participated by taking an alternate form of transportation to work on May 14th. This year, Parking Enforcement donated a double bicycle locker as a prize to the County department with the most registered employees. PRMD was the grand prize winner with 23 participants, Health Services was a close second and General Services came in third.
Thank you to all who participated in this event, either by working the energizer station or by leaving your car at home. You're encouraged to continue the green effort to reduce your carbon footprint and vehicle congestion, increase your physical fitness, as well as save gas money and wear and tear on your car.
April 2009
Spring is a busy time for the Sonoma County Energy Independence Program. Solar contractors have taken on the job of marketers, and are helping their customers fill out applications for SCEIP funding. We have had many events keeping us busy. It is great to be getting out into the public with our programs,and making a difference.
We joined forces with Community Bikes at one event, and Michael came out to show anyone and everyone who happened by how to change their bike tires if they need to. Community Bikes has been a great help in the development and support of the County's Bike to Work efforts.
511 Rideshare has been helping us formulate our commute plan, and we've got some interesting work ahead!
March 2009
The Sustainable Energy Practices Guidebook is here! At long last we are pleased to announce the arrival of our Guidebook. Not only will all of our efforts help, but now we have the tool we need to reach out to other organizations and help them green their fleet, buildings and commute!
This month the County of Sonoma took a giant step towards reducing its GHG Emissions when we launched the Sonoma County Energy Independence Program (SCEIP). SCEIP will allow property owners in Sonoma County to make energy and water efficiency upgrades to their properties through assessments on the property. This has spurred great interest in the County to install Solar, Smart Water and many other efficiency-minded changes that will reduce the County’s dependence on fossil fuels. We are encouraging everyone to reduce the need for energy in their properties before they produce energy (e.g.: solar), with our “Reduce before You Produce” promotion.
Sonoma is the first County to implement a program based on AB 811, and we have had our work cut out for us. Our goal is to not only attain our regional GHG reduction goals, but go above and beyond in every way possible. This program will play a huge role in making this possible. Liz Yager is managing the SCEIP program, and the PG&E partnership “Sonoma County Energy Watch”. She is doing a great job to make change possible. As Liz says, “the planet is going to be here, let’s work to save humanity.”
Hope Marshall, our new Assistant Energy & Sustainability Manager, hit the ground running with extensive research and planning in order to bring several topics, (including our County’s Alternative Commute Plan) before our Board of Supervisors in the near future.. With Hope’s help, we are well on our way to a cleaner tomorrow!
On March 17th, José Obregón and John Haig attended the Green California Leadership Awards, where Sonoma County received the prestigious Climate Change Award. “The County of Sonoma is recognized for its efforts to address its greenhouse gas emissions footprint, improve the sustainability of internal county operations, and provide a regional and collaborative approach to climate change.” -Green Leadership Awards
February 2009
Fewer days in the month did not mean less work for the County's Energy & Sustainability team. Busy ramping up for the opening of AB 811(SCEIP), the beginnings of our Sonoma County Energy Watch(SCEW) partnership with PG&E, and Commute Planning have been at the forefront this month. We have a new Assistant Energy and Sustainability Manager, Hope Marshall, coming to join us next month. Things are never dull in our department.
We were happy to participate in the BEA breakfast, with our table offering tips on energy and sustainability to all who would listen... Also, we set up shop at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Breakfast to talk about our programs and AB 811. There continues to be progress on the County employee alternative commute plan we have been working on.
A meeting with Sonoma County Transit was informative and inspired hope. They now have a 100% natural gas fleet, and have their own source for the gas they use. We hope to engage Sonoma County Employees in a series of alternative transportation seminars to provide the information they need to make great commute choices. Onward and upward!
January 2009
With a new year always comes new hope. As we prepare for Spring, it is more important than ever before that we meet our GHG reduction goals. So far this month we have planned a free bicycle maintenance seminar, with the idea that we could encourage more people to ride their bikes if they knew how to work on them.
We also have great plans for the Innovation Showcase scheduled for January 21st. We will showcase our newest addition to our fleet, a plug-in conversion. Also this month, we have put together a great energy-saving tips calendar. If we can get more people making simple changes in their lives, such as unplugging their cell phone chargers when they're done charging, we as individuals can make a difference in the climate protection challenge.
