Illinois Cool Cities leader receives national Sierra Club award

I'm excited that Lonnie Morris is being recognized for her work as Illinois Cool Cities Chair! Cool Cities gave a boost to environmental efforts across the state.

Cool Cities brought Springfield environmental leaders together to work on the goal of reducing local carbon emissions. Mayor Tim Davlin embraced the program by signing the Cool Cities pledge and appointing a Mayor's advisory council. Like many other cities, it helped strengthen Springfield's environmental movement while facilitating more action by the city.

Here's part of a press release about why she was recognized but be sure to read the whole thing here.

When environmental activist and long-time Lombard resident Lonnie Morris won the Sierra Club’s highly competitive Special Achievement Award, she could have accepted the Club’s offer of a free trip to San Francisco for herself and her husband Andrew Cohen with luxury accommodations and a glitzy awards ceremony. She could have worn her slinky red dress and silver shoes.
But to minimize her carbon footprint, she opted instead to receive the award locally at Sierra Club’s Moving Planet Day which will take place on Sept. 24 at Rugaard Gazebo in Villa Park.
She will ride her bicycle to it. No red dress.

Morris said the local, less environmentally impactful presentation was fitting because she received the award for her work as chair of Illinois Sierra Club Cool Cities, a program that encourages towns and counties to reduce their carbon footprint.
“I am thrilled and honored to receive this award,” said Morris. “But it makes sense to receive the award in DuPage County at Moving Planet Day, which is all about getting beyond carbon-based fossil fuels.

My guest editorial on Springfield's energy future

The State Journal-Register published my guest editorial today.

...

We were warned.

In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a major report representing the scientific consensus on impacts of man-made climate change.

For the Midwest, the report warned of heavy rainfall and unpredictable storms that would result in more severe flooding, delays in the planting season for farmers and disruption during harvest season. It perfectly described the weather trend of every year since the report was issued. One-hundred-year floods and extreme storms are part of the nation’s weekly weather report. It’s impossible to ignore the dramatic disruption to Earth’s natural climate patterns as extreme weather disasters are becoming the new normal.

Globally, we’ve seen that the panel’s predictions were not entirely accurate. Scientists now admit that the impacts of climate change are happening faster than many expected. Illinoisans are currently measuring the consequences of climate change in flooded homes, lost livelihoods, and reduced crop yields.

Coal power plants are the top source of man-made pollutants that cause global warming. While Congress has failed to take decisive action, Springfield and the state of Illinois can be proud of our leadership in the transition to clean energy. Illinois’ renewable energy portfolio standard requires a gradually increasing amount of our power to come from clean sources.

The standard already has created local jobs in the rapidly growing wind industry.

City Water, Light and Power became a national model by investing in wind energy, ramping up customer energy efficiency programs, shutting down an outdated coal plant and improving pollution controls on its other plants. And providing clean power hasn’t stopped CWLP from offering more reliable service and cheaper rates than neighboring utilities.

Others will be compelled to follow Springfield’s example. Operators of outdated coal plants will increasingly be forced to bear the true cost of pollution, whether it’s through a cap-and-trade program or EPA regulation that requires plant upgrades. Utilities that choose to be overly reliant on obsolete coal plants will be hit hardest by these changes, while those who make early investments in clean energy will benefit most.

As owners of our public utility, the people of Springfield must decide our energy future. The use of wind energy helps to green our current power supply, but Springfield has yet to make a significant investment in clean energy sources within city limits.

Now is the time for CWLP to begin offering incentives for distributed renewable energy, such as rooftop solar panels. As a source of peak power supply during hot summer days, small-scale solar will help CWLP remain financially sound while helping customers lower their utility bills and increase property values. In addition to customer rebates, other communities have launched innovative financing programs that allow property owners to install clean energy projects with little up-front cost and repay on their utility or property tax bill. As we grow, the city should explore ways to encourage the use of clean energy in new buildings as well, especially those receiving TIF district funds.

City leaders should take note that other communities are receiving significant state and federal funds to build large-scale solar projects. The opportunity to create jobs with a similar project can only be realized if the city is seeking those opportunities.

Being the owner of a public utility presents Springfield with unique opportunities for economic development. The refrigerator rebate program already helped to attract an appliance recycling center. Similarly, we can attract more green jobs by building infrastructure for electric cars, developing a mo-dern smart metering system, making it easier to install sources of clean energy, and pursuing further recommendations by the Cool Cities Advisory Council.

The most successful area of national economic growth is in green jobs, whether it’s installing wind farms, manufacturing solar panels, or building hybrid cars. Springfield can protect the environment and create jobs at the same time if we have the courage to choose a new energy future.

Will Reynolds is chairman of the Sierra Club Illinois Chapter.

Incentives for rooftop solar and plug-in hybrids could be coming to Springfield

City Water Light & Power's Smart Energy Forum on Tuesday featured previews of forward thinking programs that could be coming to Springfield soon if they're approved by the city council.

The first portion of the meeting focused on existing efficiency programs including a limited time rebate for efficient appliances. The new project manager for water conservation programs was present as well.

Two renewable energy programs are being developed. One would add incentives for distributed renewable generation such as rooftop solar panels. CWLP would add to existing state and federal incentives to lower the up-front costs.



Distributed solar would help develop more clean energy locally so that we don't have to rely on buying wind power from other states. One benefit of distributed generation is that it uses power more efficiently because it doesn't require transporting energy across long distances. Also, solar will produce the most energy on long, hot summer days when energy demand is high. That's why even the coal plant engineers like it better than wind power that peaks at night.

The next program would provide rate incentives and develop infrastructure for plug-in hybrid and electric cars. This is an economic development opportunity if we use it to attract businesses with plug-in hybrid fleet vehicles. There aren't many on the road yet, but it's a chance for Springfield to jump ahead of other cities.

Besides facilitating vehicles that pollute less it could also promote the market for wind power. One drawback to wind is that it often produces the most output at night when power demands are lower. So, when does it make sense to power up a plug-in vehicle that drives around all day? Oh yeah! Overnight when utilities are trying to figure how to use all that extra wind!

That makes it a good plan for tree-huggers like me who want more wind farms and are concerned about how much extra power demand electric cars will create. It also makes sense to the utility engineers who want to balance out demands on their energy load.

Both programs are in the development stage so contact the Energy Services Office for more details. All of this will need approval by the Springfield city council. Since there's a city council election happening right now this would be a good time to ask candidates where they stand on developing Springfield's clean energy future.

Letter to the editor on Springfield's environmental movement.

What good is having a blog if I can't post my published letters to the editor. The Illinois Times published my response to a column they ran last week.


GREENER THAN YOU THINK
I appreciate James Krohe Jr.’s effort in his column encouraging Springfield residents and city government to be more ambitious about clean energy programs [see “Greener than thou,” Sept. 16]. However, I’m disappointed that he did so by belittling the actions of numerous community groups and ignoring much of what’s already happening in Springfield.

Mayor Tim Davlin deserves credit for showing leadership on energy issues, but it’s a mistake to call this a one-man movement. Over a year ago, for example, a dozen local organizations submitted petitions to the city council with 500 signatures in support of Springfield becoming a Cool City. Additionally, CWLP has conducted an energy audit of the city that will help guide a climate action plan, and it’s being done with the help of citizen members representing the environmental community. If Mr. Krohe peruses back issues of Illinois Times he’ll find many excellent articles about local citizens organizing to promote clean energy.

There are several aspects of the city’s agreement with the Sierra Club that the column did not mention, such as a mechanism to fund new energy efficiency projects, which have the potential to reduce our global warming emissions even more than the wind power purchase. The agreement called for CWLP to hold quarterly public forums to provide updates on progress and seek feedback. The next forum is Nov. 30. The public is also invited to learn more about the growth of green jobs in central Illinois at a panel discussion hosted by the Sierra Club Sept. 28, 6:30 p.m. in Lincoln Library.

There’s no need for anyone to remain nostalgic about past glory days of environmental activism with so many current opportunities to be involved. The environmental movement is stronger and more diverse than it has ever been.

Will Reynolds
Chair, Sierra Club Sangamon Valley Group
Springfield

Mayor Davlin: Let's make Springfield #1 green city

Mayor Tim Davlin spoke to the new Cool Cities Advisory Council Wednesday and said he wants to see Springfield ranked as a top environmental city.

NRDC recognized Springfield earlier this month as one of only 22 "2010 Smarter Cities" leading the way on clean energy. It's the latest in a string of recognitions the city has received for investing in wind power and energy efficiency.

Mayor Davlin said he's happy to see Springfield often named on lists of top green cities, but he wants to do more. He asked the Cool Cities Advisory Council to help find new ways to make Springfield #1!

Mayor names Springfield Cool Cities Advisory Council

The Springfield environmental community has been anticipating the formation of a Cool Cities Advisory Council for Springfield. Mayor Tim Davlin announced the committee today, and believe it or not, I'm one of the members.

The chair is Bob Kobylarz, Vice President for Sustainability at Bunn-o-Matic. He has been an active supporter of the Smart Energy Forums that the Energy Services Office holds to update the public on CWLP's progress on energy efficiency and other clean energy efforts.

Bunn-o-Matic is known for its active involvement in the community and Bob leads their effort to green up their operations. Cool Cities is meant to have community-wide focus, so I hope that Bob's involvement as chair will lead to more engagement with the business community.

Springfield has already made tremendous progress with investments in renewable energy, efficiency programs and shutting down the old Lakeside coal plant. I would like to see the Cool Cities advisory council help to develop a plan and build momentum for taking the next steps forward.



Here's the official announcement from the city.

MEMBERS NAMED TO COOL CITIES ADVISORY COUNCIL

Mayor Tim Davlin has named nine individuals to serve on Springfield’s Cool Cities Advisory Council. The purpose of the council is to provide guidance and direction on a variety of issues as they relate to the Cool Cities initiative and the use of renewable energy.

“This Council will be essential in helping us move forward with our initiative to doing our part to reduce the threat of global warming,” Mayor Davlin said. “When we signed onto the U. S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, we committed to do our part to expand green initiatives and curb emissions. This Council will be critical in facilitating this initiative.”

Those appointed to the Cool Cities Advisory Council are:

Robert Kobylarz, Chairman, Vice President for Sustainability at Bunn-o-Matic
Robert Cusick, P. E., S. E., Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Officer for Hanson Professional Services
Kevin Greene, Manager of the Office of Pollution Prevention at the Illinois EPA
Robert Ruff, Senior Public Service Administrator, IDNR
Bryan Johnsrud, Senior Civil Engineer with Hanson Professional Services, Inc.
Melody LaMar, former Owner/Broker, Exceptional Realty Services
Jay Neposchlan, Special Services Manager of the Illinois Department of Revenue
Will Reynolds, Vice Chair of the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club and Director of the Community Volunteer Center
David Saladino, Environmental Protection Specialist, Illinois EPA

The council will study and develop a local climate action plan. The plan would include a variety of initiatives aimed toward reducing carbon emissions and improving energy conservation. The council will work to develop a solutions plan that can reduce emissions while lowering energy costs for our community. That can include such things as expanding Green Vehicle Fleets, improving Energy Efficiency, and developing Renewable Energy solutions. These solutions will be used to form the foundation of our community’s comprehensive energy-saving plan.

The Council will also study and work to develop a mechanism to monitor the progress being made toward these climatological goals.

Cool Cities is a volunteer collaboration between community members, organizations, businesses, and local leaders to implement clean energy solutions that save money, create jobs, and help curb global warming.

Normal makes progress as a Cool City

Happy Earth Day!

The Illinois Sierra Club's Cool Cities campaign chair, Lonnie Morris, recently emailed an updated on what's happening in Normal, Illinois. They're taking action on a number of issues being discussed in Springfield, so I'm going to post her full email here.

Springfield is ahead of Normal in some areas, such as CWLP's purchase of renewable wind power. In other areas, their forward thinking innovation is an example of what should be the new norm in downstate Illinois.

Vision and Planning Pay Off for Cool City

Normal, Illinois

The pleasing mix of buildings and open space at the center of Normal's business district conceals the green construction technologies and highly efficient infrastructures making this quiet, heartland city a model of sustainable development.

The seeds of Normal's achievements as a Cool City were planted with a vision and plan to rejuvenate a failing city center several years before Mayor Koos signed the Climate Protection Agreement. In 2000, the city sent out a routine RFP for a downtown renewal plan with an open ended request to “do something about the downtown”, opening the door for a partnership with Doug Farr, a leading proponent of “New Urbanism” and early advocate for expanding LEED certification beyond individual buildings to include entire neighborhoods. "There is so much effort that goes into designing and building this one small thing, this single green building," Farr said to Charles Shaw, of Grist, "The same amount of effort goes into planning two square miles of regular neighborhood, and that will serve us for the next 200 years. [The focus on individual buildings] just doesn't make any sense."

The plan Farr Associates submitted led the city to passing an ordinance in 2002 requiring new, public or private construction in the Uptown District over 7,500 square feet to meet LEED standards. LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a third party verification program of the US Green Building Council, certifying buildings and neighborhoods as meeting certain standards of performance in energy efficiency, water conservation and overall environmental sensitivity. The Uptown District was certified as LEED Neighborhood Development silver (LEED-ND) in 2009.

For ten years, Normal has been guided by its commitment to smart growth with visible success. “Once you have sustainability as a goal, the decisions become easier”, said Geoff Fruin, Assistant City Manager and Green Team member.

Smart growth principles have shaped a wide range of decisions, from building construction standards to how traffic flows through uptown. A traffic “roundabout” located at the center of the Uptown District performs a variety of functions from being a model of fuel efficiency and housing an innovative storm water management system to enhancing street-scape aesthetics. Installing the roundabout converted a difficult intersection into a highly efficient method for managing traffic. Figures are not yet available for fuel savings from Normal but a 2000 study conducted on a one lane, three legged roundabout in Montpelier, Vermont found fuel savings of 339,000 gallons per year over a signaled intersection. (Modern Roundabouts, Global Warming, and Emissions Reductions: Status of Research, and Opportunities for North America, Tony Redington)

Harnessing renewable energy resources figures prominently in the city's vision of sustainability. Solar panels will be installed this year on the roof of the city-owned Children's Discovery Museum which was built with the necessary infrastructure for accommodating solar arrays. Solar Bees, solar powered mixers, are used for mixing drinking water held in municipal tanks and solar powered trash compactors have reduced the number of trash pick ups in the business district from 5 times per week to once a week while eliminating the problem of overflowing trash at popular businesses like the local ice cream shop. With a municipal waste service, the decreased pickups have saved the city the cost of fuel, staff time, street wear and tear along with reductions in air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Setting ambitious goals is a powerful tool for innovation as they clearly define the envisioned future. Normal set a far reaching goal with a commitment to purchasing electricity with a 25% renewable mix by 2010. The two local utility companies currently provide a 5% renewable electricity mix, meeting the state's renewable energy portfolio standard 2010 target. With the Illinois Renewable Energy Center at Illinois State University supporting research and development and growing wind energy production in Illinois, the state is well on its way to achieving 25% renewable energy by 2025.

City planners are preparing for the next generation of automobiles. The Uptown District will become electric vehicle friendly when charging stations are installed later this year. When electric cars hit the market, shoppers and diners will be able to charge their cars for free while visiting Normal businesses.

Community Connections

Sustainable communities thrive when businesses, city planners and major institutions share a vision and cooperate in turning it into “just the way we do things here.” A local group called the Sustainability Forum (SF) includes representatives from Mitsubishi, State Farm, Illinois Farm Bureau, Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan, the public schools, Ecology Action Center, Country Financial, City of Bloomington and McClean County. The SF meets quarterly to share and brainstorm green ideas. At a recent meeting, State Farm passed along the results of its rigorous green cleaning products testing, enabling all members to benefit from their research. The city was inspired to purchase a “bulb eater”, a recycling device that safely captures mercury from fluorescent bulbs after hearing about State Farm's positive experience with theirs.

In addition to participating in the Sustainability Forum, Illinois State University (ISU) has made a commitment to reducing its carbon footprint by signing the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment (http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/), a program similar to the US Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement in scope and structure. In 2009, ISU completed a greenhouse gas inventory for its campus and is currently working on creating a climate action plan based on the results.

As part of their renewable energy studies course work, several ISU students have undertaken practical, field based projects this year, including evaluating 4 facilities, (city hall, the public library, 2 maintenance buildings) for the feasibility of installing solar arrays, conducting simple residential energy audits, providing information to homeowners on the availability of tax incentives and grants for renewable energy projects and reaching out to large retailers such as Wal-Mart.

Having learned about the value and rewards of becoming more energy efficient, Normal is making similar steps accessible to community members by creating a revolving loan fund administered by the Economic Development Council and capitalized with $100,000 of EECBG funds. Low interest loans will be made available for approved projects and loan repayments will support future efforts.

“The amount will continue to grow and fund sustainable projects in the private sector,” said Geoff Fruin, “This makes it possible to have one time grant funds live on forever.”

On a side note, if you haven't been to Medici in downtown Normal yet, then you need to go! It's in partnership with the Chicago restaurant of the same name and they're excellent.

Springfield getting more energy efficient

Like most public utilities, Springfield's CWLP has worked on energy efficiency for many years, and those efforts are reaching a new level. Several new funding sources are about to dramatically increase investments in saving energy and reducing global warming emissions.

The CWLP agreement with the Sierra Club states that a portion of power sales from the new plant will go toward an environmental initiatives fund. At least half of the fund is designated for energy efficiency projects for CWLP customers. The rest can be used on other initiatives that reduce carbon emissions, such as renewable energy or improving pollution controls on their existing coal plants.

The Energy Services Office has already seen a significant budget increase following the Sierra Club agreement and more money will be on the way now that the new Dallman 4 plant is going online. The bad news is that the slumping economy means demand for power sales is much lower than what everyone expected a year ago. The good news is that the federal stimulus bill contains money for municipal energy efficiency projects.



CWLP was ready to apply for extra stimulus dollars partly because they were already working on new programs and had previously hired RLW Analytics to conduct a community energy usage study. You may recall that one city alderman voted against conducting the study because it cost more than the original estimate in the Sierra Club agreement. Thankfully, he was outvoted and now that early investment will continue to pay off in the form of lower utility bills, cleaner air, and new green jobs.

Some of the funds awarded were announced in a press release I received earlier today from the city. Below is the full text.

Springfield Awarded $1.2 million for Efficiency Projects

Mayor Tim Davlin announced today that the City of Springfield has been awarded an Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant allocation of $1,225,600 from the U.S. Department of Energy’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act announced this past March.

“These funds will further bolster CWLP’s activities to save energy, reduce greenhouse gasses, and create jobs locally through many important energy efficiency projects.” said Mayor Tim Davlin. “Every dollar that we can invest into smart energy solutions is a win for the city in that Springfield homes and businesses are less expensive to heat and cool and it’s an opportunity for local energy efficiency related firms to expand business in tight times.”

This grant, specifically allocated to Springfield, originated from a Department of Energy program totaling almost $1.8 billion nationally. Energy efficiency projects funded through this grant will provide both significant energy savings and reduce the carbon footprint for City Water, Light and Power (CWLP) electric customers.

“With this funding, we particularly look forward to expanding our efficiency and rebate options we can offer to our residential and business customers,” said CWLP General Manager Todd Renfrow. “Every kilowatt saved is money to be earned for being a smart consumer.”

CWLP will utilize these funds to undertake one new energy efficiency programs and reinstate two others, which include a high efficiency air conditioner rebate program, a commercial retro-commissioning program and bringing back a commercial lighting retrofit program, CityLights. These programs will be managed by CWLP’s Energy Services Office and will lead to substantial energy and cost savings for many CWLP customers.

The 2009 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act was signed into law by President Obama in February.

Department of Energy’s EECBG Program
www.eecbg.energy.gov

Lincoln gets green power at home

At last night's CWLP Energy Forum, Bill Mills spoke about the new program to offer customers renewable energy credits (RECs). An official announcement should happen next week.

Since federal offices are encouraged to use renewable energy, CWLP already has their first customer: Lincoln Home National Historic Site.





Who knows what Abe would have thought about today's energy debate but buying renewable energy at his home respects his environmental legacy. Lincoln took the first step toward establishing the National Park system when he signed a bill granting federal land to protect the Yosemite valley. Sierra Club founder John Muir would be instrumental in making Yosemite an official National Park in 1890.

You can buy RECs for your home or business by contacting CWLP's Energy Services Office.

Carrotmob

TreeHugger blog named Carrotmob "Best Consumer Activism" in their Best of Green guide.

Carrotmob is a method of activism that leverages consumer power to make the most socially-responsible business practices also the most profitable choices. Businesses compete with one another to see who can do the most good, and then a big mob of consumers buys products in order to reward whichever business made the strongest commitment to improve the world. It’s the opposite of a boycott.

Springfield has some good residential energy efficiency programs and more are gearing up with new investments by CWLP. But the city hasn't done as much to promote efficiency in the commercial sector. Maybe the Mayor's new Cool Cities Advisory Council could help promote something similar to Carrotmob. The store that commits to doing the most to reduce their energy use would get the recognition and extra business from a Carrotmob. It could be a regular event once every month or two. They'd just have to figure out a way to de-Californize it.

Springfield's wind farm

In case you hadn't noticed, CWLP has pictures of the wind farm that provides Springfield with renewable energy. Here's a scaled down preview of the Hancock Farm from CWLP's pics.





My new banner image is also taken from CWLP's Hancock Farm pics.

Springfield has renewable energy choice

Something big passed the Springfield city council Tuesday without much notice or fanfare. An ordinance approving the Renewable Energy Choice program will allow CWLP customers to purchase renewable energy credits (RECs) through their monthly utility bill. The voluntary program will increase the use of renewable energy beyond the 120MW of wind capacity already being used by CWLP

CWLP is partnering with a company called 3Degrees.





They describe REC's this way:

* Since it’s virtually impossible to request only the “green” electrons be delivered to your home or business by your electricity provider, RECs provide a low-cost mechanism for individuals and businesses to capture the environmental benefits (zero emissions, etc) of the green power and claim it as their own.
* Each MWh of clean, renewable electricity reduces the need for one additional MWh of pollution-causing conventional power; therefore a REC represents the environmental benefits of this displacement.
* Green-e Energy Certified RECs are audited to ensure that only one customer claims credit for each MWh of renewable electricity

The sale of RECs generates additional funds that improve renewable energy project economics, making them more competitive with other fossil fuel sources, like coal and natural gas.

CWLP agreed to do this program as part of the power plant agreement with the Sierra Club, and it keeps Springfield on the leading edge of communities that support reducing global warming emissions. They're behind the target date originally set for offering it, but that's understandable since the Energy Services Office is doing a large amount of new work in a short period of time.

One benefit of the CWLP program is that customers will be able to buy RECs at a cheaper rate than normal retail offerings. That makes it a good option for people who want to make a one-time purchase of RECs even if they don't include it on their monthly bill.
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I'm not sure when they'll do a publicity launch of the program so keep an eye out for it.

Renewable news and Cool Cities

Last night was one of the more exciting Community Energy Forums CWLP has hosted. At least two or three announcements deserve their own news headlines. I'll write about a few of the highlights that stuck out for me.

Cool Cities
Mike Schneider, an intern from UIS, presented the results of the community greenhouse gas emissions inventory that calculated Springfield's carbon footprint. The inventory estimates city-wide global warming emissions for today and in 1990 to determine a goal for reducing our carbon footprint to Kyoto Protocol levels. This is an important first step for creating an action plan.

The study showed that half of our goal will already be met by more efficient power plant operations and the wind energy purchase following the Sierra Club/CWLP agreement regarding the new power plant.





The next steps will be planned with help from the Mayor's newly announced Cool Cities Advisory Council. TV20 did a good story on that today.

Wind Power and Renewable Energy Credits
CWLP is now using all 120 MW of wind power capacity called for in the Sierra Club agreement. There were several questions about whether that specific power is physically used in Springfield. The grid works in such a way that we can't even know that power generated by CWLP plants is necessarily used in Springfield. It all goes onto the grid.

The Renewable Choice program begins soon. CWLP will offer renewable energy credits that can be included on your monthly bill. The program allows people to pay a little more to know that all power used for their home or business comes from renewable sources which increases market demand for clean energy.

This will be beyond the approximately 19% of wind energy CWLP is already purchasing to supply its customers. Bill Mills expects an ordinance approving the program to be considered by the city council in a week or two.

Power Plant Progress
The new Dallman 4 power plant is expected to be finished ahead of schedule. They plan to fire the first boiler in April and have it able to sync to the grid in May. Although they're ahead of schedule with the new plant, they appear to be behind schedule with their commitment to reduce polluting emissions from their existing Dallman 1-3 coal units.

Obama's Stimulus Package
For some reason, Mills seemed reluctant to use the vaguely suggestive name for Obama's stimulus package. He outlined money the stimulus package is ready to unload on Springfield and CWLP related to renewable energy and efficiency programs, plus possibilities for additional funds from competitive grants. I've read articles about the massive shot of money the bill dishes out for renewable energy and green infrastructure but the presentation was an eye opener to how many ways it could be used locally.

I came away feeling very good about the fact that CWLP is doing these meetings. The next one is June 11, 6:00pm at the Illinois National Bank conference center, at 4th and Jackson Street in Springfield.

Smart Energy Forum Wednesday

Springfield residents have unique opportunities to confront the problem of climate change because we have a publicly owned utility making major commitments to efficiency programs and renewable energy. The smart energy forums are a way to find out what's new and help shape what comes next.





Here's the city press release of Wednesday's meeting...

CWLP COMMUNITY ENERGY MEETING TO INCLUDE PRESENTATION ON CARBON FOOTPRINTING, COOL CITIES INITIATVE

City Water, Light and Power’s Wednesday, March 11 Community Energy Meeting will include a presentation on Cool Cities and the City’s recently calculated greenhouse gas inventory. Also on the agenda, CWLP’s Renewable Choice Program under development and information to date on the recently announced federal stimulus package (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009).

The meeting will be held at the University of Illinois at Springfield at 6 p.m. in the Public Affairs Center, Conference Room G.

The CWLP Community Energy Meetings are designed to provide updates to the public on progress made regarding environmental and energy saving activities and to solicit suggestions and ideas from the community regarding energy programs and related issues. CWLP is using the input received from these meetings to enhance existing programs and develop new energy efficiency and conservation programs.

Public participation is encouraged to help CWLP develop the most effective and practical programs for its customers. CWLP customers wanting more information on this forum may call 789-2070.

National Teach-in on Global Warming at UIS

UIS is participating in the national teach-in on global warming with an afternoon of events on Friday, February 6th. The last part of the program will be a panel discussion about taking local action on global warming with myself and Bob Croteau.





I'll give a little background about the Sierra Club clean energy agreement with CWLP, Cool Cities, and how those programs provide Springfield residents with unique opportunities to take local action. It's open to the public so students from other schools and non-students are invited.

The organizers sent me this schedule:

Global Warming Teach-In
Friday, February 6th, 1:00-5:00 PM
UHB 2008 (refreshments in second floor lobby)

1:00-1:30 View webcast of The First 100 Days featuring David Orr, Hunter Lovins, and youth climate leaders Billy Parish and Wahela Johns

1:30-1:45 Discussion of webcast

1:45-2:00 Coffee break with cookies

2:00-2:50 Carbon footprint exercise

2:50-3:00 Coffee and cookie break

3:00-4:00 Keynote address "Lessons in Climate Change from the Geologic Record" by Dr. Dennis Ruez, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies

4:00-5:00 Local actions on global warming panel by Will Reynolds (Sierra Club) and Bob Croteau (CWLP)

Springfield's energy efficiency study

I'm a little surprised that the SJ-R did a story about CWLP's study on energy efficiency conducted by RLW. They even put the full 108 page report on their website. I don't image that headlines about energy conservation make papers fly off newsstands.

The study is meant to provide direction for CWLP to enact the most cost effective efficiency and conservation programs as part of the agreement with the Sierra Club. Projects will be paid for by sales of excess power from the new Dallman 4 power plant.



(Dallman 4 under construction in October 2007)

I didn't see it mentioned in the news stories, but the Mayor's blue-ribbon committee on city finances acknowledged the commitment to new efficiency and conservation projects in the city's agreement with the Sierra Club. In writing about wholesale power sales, the report stated:

Along with the purchase of wind power, CWLP will invest $4.8 million in energy conservation efforts as part of the City’s agreement with the Sierra Club. Effective conservation efforts will constrain growth in retail demand and preserve CWLP’s ability to sell into the wholesale market. Although the energy conservation component of the Sierra Club agreement expires in 2015, which will free up revenue for other uses, the Committee recognizes that it is good public policy to promote energy conservation in and of itself, but also to the benefit of electric customers and taxpayers. Residents of Springfield should be well aware of the value of CWLP’s generating capacity and the usefulness of electric conservation in minimizing energy costs and tax burdens in Springfield.

Cool. CWLP announced today that 500 people have already participated in the refrigerator rebate and recycling program, which the RLW study identified as an area with high potential for energy savings. So, more programs like that one will provide opportunities for people to save money on their utility bill, regardless of whether there's a rate cut in the future.

Cool City petitions presented

Say "petitions presented" ten times fast.

Six groups were represented Tuesday night when the Cool Cities coalition presented over 500 signatures in support of Springfield becoming a Cool City. They were collected at events and a few stores over the past year.





After a winning baseball team left, most of the remaining audience had Cool City stickers on like the image above, including Mayor Davlin. Thank you to everyone who came to show your support!

We tried to be quick since it was the end of the meeting so we only had two speakers. I ended up stammering through most of my comments while I tried to shorten things up. I don't know if we made it clear to the aldermen what Cool Cities is, but hopefully we got them interested enough to find out more. Each of them were given a copy of a letter thanking Mayor Davlin for making Springfield a Cool City plus additional statements from Sustainable Springfield Inc, Faith Based Business Network, and SAGE. Any significant action that requires an ordinance change will go for a vote to the city council so it's important that they know people want them to support efforts to reduce global warming emissions.

Grant Middle School Solar Panels

When I went to Grant Middle School I remember thinking that it was the ugliest building on earth. That was partly because I didn't enjoy middle school (does anybody?) but it really was an eyesore. They did some improvements after I went to school there that helped, but the building is looking much better to me now that they're adding solar panels.

Solar panels make a lot of sense for schools. Electricity demand is high during hot, sunny summer days when many schools aren't being used. With CWLP's buy-back program they can sell the unused solar power they generate back to the utility.

The Tennessee Valley Authority has an aggressive clean energy program with solar panels on many schools and colleges in their territory. This has already worked in other areas.

It makes even more financial sense with incentives from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation and CWLP. The Grant panel is a good, small start but if larger solar panels were put on every school in the district they could spend more money directly on educating children and less on paying utility bills.

Large turnout for cool forum

CWLP holds Smart Energy Forums every two months and last night's meeting was the largest turnout I've seen since the one held at UIS last year when a crowd of students came. Besides having a good crowd, I was happy to see leaders from the business community show interest. I met new people that I don't know from the Sierra Club, and that's important because this needs to be an effort that reaches beyond environmental activists.

Mayor Davlin declaring Springfield a Cool City has already produced results by signaling to local leaders that renewable energy and efficiency efforts are a major priority for the city and that it needs to be a community-wide effort. I was very encouraged by how many new faces came to learn about the Cool Cities program and the detailed questions they asked.





After my power point presentation on Cool Cities, Bob Croteau, from the CWLP Energy Services Office, gave an update on everything their office has been working on recently and what's coming in the near future. One highlight is the new rebate and recycling program for old refrigerators. New refrigerators are much more energy efficient so CWLP will pick up older units and recycle them for you. More details about that program will be available soon.

Bob also mentioned that CWLP will soon sell renewable energy certificates (RECs). Customers who want more of their energy to come from renewable sources will be able to purchase RECs to promote additional clean energy use on the grid. Plus, there's too much happening for me to summarize on my blog so come to the next meeting in November for all the news.

Twice now, I've heard Mayor Davlin brag about Springfield being named one of the top 30 greenest cities in America and say that he wants us to be named one of the top ten. Springfield is already doing much, especially following the CWLP-Sierra Club power plant agreement, and I get the exciting feeling that the city is about to reach a new level of environmental action.

Springfield becomes a Cool City!

Springfield joined the Cool Cities program today when Mayor Davlin signed the US Council of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Cool Cities calls for cities to measure their global warming emissions and develop a plan to reduce carbon dioxide pollution to Kyoto Protocol levels (7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012).

At the announcement, Mayor Davlin said the clean energy agreement between CWLP and the Sierra Club is something the city can be proud of, and becoming a Cool City will increase Springfield's reputation as an environmental leader. This is a way for the city to evaluate what needs to be done and work with the community to plan the next steps.

The press release from the city quotes the Mayor as saying:

“We have already taken the first steps toward achieving some of these goals. Now, we must rally the entire community to creatively find additional ways to reduce emissions and make our planet a better place to live for our children and their children.”

IEPA Director Doug Scott spoke after the Mayor, followed by myself speaking for the Sierra Club. Scott spoke about the city providing wind power for state buildings as called for in the Sierra Club agreement and how Springfield is being recognized for its actions.

A coalition of groups have been spreading the word and passing petitions in support of Cool Cities, so a lot of people are very happy about today's announcement. For individuals, this means the city will make it easier for people to reduce their personal global warming emissions.

The next CWLP Smart Energy Forum will focus on the Cool Cities program and give people an opportunity to offer suggestions and hear new ideas about what Springfield can do next. It happens Thursday, September 18, 6 p.m., Illinois National Bank, Fourth and Jackson Streets.

This is big news for Springfield as we act locally on a global problem!