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By Zach Church and Holly Kaufman

Sustainable energy – using less energy and generating a greater portion of what we do use from renewable sources – will make our economy stronger and more efficient, prevent shortages and decrease dependence on uncertain energy supplies.  Producing and using energy wisely will also help protect coastal areas, like San Francisco, from rising seas and other effects of climate change.

The tools to develop a sustainable energy system are available to us in San Francisco today, and the City is already implementing many of them. San Francisco has abundant ocean, wind and solar energy potential, compact development that presents opportunities for efficient transportation, and citizens possessing an entrepreneurial spirit, technological know-how, and a commitment to environmental progress. San Francisco can continue to promote sustainable energy solutions that will help achieve Mayor Newsom’s 20 percent greenhouse gas reduction target, save money, create jobs, strengthen the local economy and increase the quality of life in our City.  Each of the suggestions below should be part of the City’s comprehensive, integrated climate change and energy plan. 

Energy Conservation and Efficiency

Energy efficiency is the quickest, cheapest, cleanest way to extend energy supplies, protect the climate, achieve a healthier economy, and reduce dependence on imported oil. San Francisco must do everything it can to accelerate the adoption of measures that reduce energy demand and use energy intelligently. Therefore, the measures below are among the first ones that San Francisco should implement:

•    Strengthen and Develop New Energy Codes. Buildings account for about one half of San Francisco’s energy use. The City’s Residential Energy Conservation Ordinance (RECO) requires property owners to get an energy inspection and install energy-saving equipment as a condition of sale for any residential property, which occurs on average every five years. The City is in the process of strengthening this ordinance now to help meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals. Similar requirements for commercial buildings should be established to accomplish the intent of the Commercial Energy Conservation Ordinance that was removed from the building code in 1995. By requiring commercial buildings to optimize energy use periodically consistent with the latest technologies, this measure would present enormous opportunities for energy and cost savings as well as help meet our greenhouse gas reduction goals.

•    Establish a Green Building Requirement. The City’s Resource-Efficient Buildings Ordinance requires a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver rating from the U.S. Green Building Council for major municipal construction and renovation projects. Green buildings use fewer resources, save money, and create healthier environments for people, leading to higher productivity and less absenteeism. Following the recommendations of Mayor Newsom’s Green Building Task Force, the City should require commercial and residential buildings to meet or exceed these same environmental standards which would save at least 60,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

•    Provide Energy-Efficiency Assistance to Small Businesses and Low-Income Families. The City’s Energy Watch program, a partnership with PG&E, provides free energy assessments and subsidies to help small businesses and multi-family buildings to realize cost savings of energy conservation. With a one-time ratepayer-financed investment of $11 million in efficient lighting and appliances, this program is projected to help participants save $6.5 million on energy costs each year. This City should work with PG&E and the California Public Utilities Commission to extend this essential program beyond its present expiration date in 2008, and make it available to all willing participants. Additional subsidies should be provided to low-income families who might have difficulty affording the up-front costs of energy-saving equipment.

•    Provide Funding for Energy-Efficient Schools. San Francisco’s schools face energy costs that compete for scarce resources with educational needs. The City should provide at least $100,000 from Hetch Hetchy Power revenues to every City-owned school – from kindergarten through community college – to purchase the most efficient lighting, weatherization, and heating equipment. The energy savings from these measures should be used to educate kids. We should also fund indoor environmental quality in schools, particularly daylighting and healthy air quality, which also improves student performance.

•    Deploy More Efficient Lighting. In February 2007, Mayor Gavin Newsom called for a citywide ban on the use of old-style fluorescent tube lights in commercial buildings. According to the San Francisco Department of the Environment, replacing all of the remaining T-12 fluorescent lights in the City with newer T-8s would save enough energy to power 7,200 homes. The City should adopt this ban. San Francisco should also institute a comprehensive collection and recycling program for all types of florescent lights, including compact fluorescents. These bulbs contain mercury, which can create environmental and health hazards if not disposed of properly.

Renewable Energy

San Francisco’s ocean and bay-side location, high winds and abundant sunshine provide a ready supply of renewable energy resources. The City should continue to embrace these technologies and expand their use in future:

•    Increase Usage of Renewable Electricity Resources.   The City should move as quickly as possible to adopt the Community Choice Aggregation program proposed by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the Department of the Environment in April 2007. Under this program, the City would purchase renewable electric power for residents and businesses. PG&E would continue to distribute the power and bill customers. Clean energy would make up one half of San Francisco’s power use by 2017. This level should be raised to 100 percent by 2020. The City should also continue to study the feasibility of harnessing advanced energy resources within the City’s boundaries, such as the tides under the Golden Gate Bridge.

•    Require New Buildings to Install Renewable Energy Sources. New buildings should be required to supply a portion of their power from renewable sources, where feasible. The City recently launched a web site that gives people an estimate of the amount of solar energy that could be generated by their home or business, and the estimated savings of electricity. A similar project should be initiated for rooftop wind power, along with an expedited permitting process. Funding for this measure could be provided from the $100 million renewable energy and energy efficiency bond that San Francisco voters passed in 2001. The City invited renewable energy companies to suggest projects for this funding in February 2007 and will issue a Request for Proposals later this year.

•    Launch a Clean Energy Incentives Fund. San Francisco should adopt a program to reward innovation in the clean energy sector. For example, a 2005 report from Clean Edge, Inc. and the San Francisco Department of the Environment, proposed grants to support architects, designers and businesses offering innovative clean-energy ideas for their businesses or homes. This measure would give San Francisco an edge in developing new technologies to market throughout the world.

Transportation

Transportation accounts for about half of San Francisco’s energy use. San Francisco can reduce energy demand, and related emissions, through a combination of fewer vehicles on the road, cleaner transportation fuels, and cleaner vehicles:

•    Adopt Congestion Pricing in the City Center. Several European cities are managing traffic in urban centers by charging a fee for each vehicle that enters these zones during peak driving times. London saw traffic congestion decline by 18 percent within the first three years of adopting such a program. In New York City, the mayor has made a similar proposal. San Francisco is seeking State authority for congestion pricing for Treasure Island. This would also work well in the City’s urban core. Congestion pricing could clear roads for Muni buses and trains, cut driving times for the remaining vehicles, and reduce energy use. The system could be fully automated, much like FasTrak, allowing drivers to pay the charge automatically.

•    Promote Alternatives to Vehicle Transportation. San Francisco should provide more incentives for mass transit, walking, biking, and telecommuting. Two-thirds of San Francisco residents who do not use Muni say that the system is unreliable and has slow service.  The City can improve Muni service through faster fare collection systems, intelligent traffic signals, dedicated bus rapid-transit lanes, and traffic flow improvements including restrictions on left turns along bus routes during rush hour. To encourage walking and biking to schools, the City could adopt a program similar to the “safe routes to school” initiative in Marin County, which combines public education with greater enforcement of traffic laws to address safety concerns.

•    Deploy Cleaner Transportation Fuels and Vehicles. Already home to the nation’s largest municipal fleet of alternative fuel vehicles, San Francisco has taken another important step by launching a program to use biofuels in the City’s buses, garbage trucks, and other heavy-duty vehicles. The City should continue its plan to supply this program from local sources, such as recaptured oil and grease from restaurants, making use of a waste product and allowing our existing supplies to be redirected as fuel sources elsewhere. Mayor Newsom has also called for boosting the number of alternative fuel and high efficiency vehicles in the City’s municipal and taxi fleets, and Muni has developed a plan to power all of its trains and buses with electricity or fuel cells by 2020. The City should follow through on these measures.

Leading By Example

What San Francisco does is both environmentally-significant and visible. By adopting cutting-edge policies and practices, our City government can set an example for others to follow:

•    Continue to Implement the City’s Climate Action Plan. Under Mayor Newsom’s leadership, the City is implementing a comprehensive Climate Action Plan that commits San Francisco to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 2.5 million tons by 2012, or 20 percent below 1990 levels. This will have the same effect as taking 450,000 cars off the road. These reductions are significantly more ambitious than both the Kyoto Protocol and California’s Global Warming Solutions Act. We must continue to work aggressively to implement this Plan, setting a benchmark for others to follow. San Francisco is one of 16 cities participating in the United Nations Global Compact Cities Pilot Program and the only participant in the United States. We should consistently communicate the benefits of our participation in these programs to other cities in the U.S. and around the world.

•    Leverage the City’s Retirement Funds. The San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System manages a portfolio of $15 billion. The City should commit a portion of its employee retirement funds to investments that build energy conservation and cleaner energy, as the State Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has done. The Mayor should work with the Retirement Board to ensure that all of its investments reflect the environmental and social values of our public employees. If the State can do it, so can the City.

•    Promote Green Municipal Power. San Francisco operates the nation’s largest municipal rooftop solar facility at the Moscone Convention Center, and additional projects are under development for the Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant, Norcal Waste Recycling Facility at Pier 96, San Francisco International Airport, and several public schools and libraries. We should not stop here. The City supplies 80 percent of the power for its own operations from renewable resources. That level should be increased to 100 percent by 2010. The City’s facilities, schools and reservoirs should be covered with solar panels. Solar panels on the City’s reservoirs alone would generate an additional 12 megawatts of electricity.

•    Adopt a Green Budget. Commitment to a policy is evident in a budget. San Francisco’s budget should reflect its commitment to environmental protection, including energy and climate, in all of its expenditures, from replacing street lights to feeding the homeless. With the City’s nearly $1 billion in purchasing power, it should also build on its existing Precautionary Procurement Ordinance by requiring all government purchases to meet its energy and environmental standards. Government expenditures should undergo periodic evaluation to ensure consistency with the City’s sustainability goals.

Energy conservation and renewable energy help protect the environment and climate, create healthier and economically vital neighborhoods and workplaces , and promote energy independence.  San Francisco is already a leader, and now is time for a comprehensive, integrated effort to put San Francisco firmly on a path toward a sustainable energy future.

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Zach Church is an energy and environmental policy expert in Washington, D.C. He previously served in several key positions in California, including Principal Assistant to former Assembly Speaker pro Tem Fred Keeley and Senior Policy Advisor to the Director of the State Department of Toxic Substances Control. He has also worked for U.S. Congressman Leon E. Panetta, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and as an environmental policy analyst at the federal Office of Management and Budget.
Contact information: zgchurch@yahoo.com.

Holly Kaufman is a San Francisco native. She was a member of the Clinton Administration’s U.N. climate treaty negotiating team, and developed President Clinton’s report to Congress on environmental trends. She founded and manages Environment & Enterprise Strategies, a San Francisco firm that specializes in strategic planning, and program design & development for initiatives that strive to integrate environmental and economic needs. Her clients include The Energy Foundation, NRDC, Environmental Defense, and Procter & Gamble. She developed and hosted the San Francisco Department of the Environment’s and Mitsubishi Corporation’s climate change and energy summit for the 2005 U.N. World Environment Day.  Contact information: holly@EnvironmentStrategies.com; www.EnvironmentStrategies.com.

Note: Articles are posted for the purpose of generating ideas and honest debate on how San Francisco can live up to its full promise and potential. Posting of an article does not imply an endorsement by the author of Gavin Newsom for Mayor, nor an endorsement by Gavin Newsom for Mayor of the positions set forth in the article.

• Overall Rating: 5.5

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