The City's Initial Results!

SEEDS presented our baseline inventory findings to the Commissioners of the City of Traverse City at their regular meeting, March 24, 7pm. This inventory included data from 2005 on electricity and natural gas consumption; fleet and commuter vehicle-miles; and solid waste generation.

The City’s municipal operations - including community services - emit over 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents each year. This number is quite large compared to other municipalities of our size only because we happen to control our own electric utility, Traverse City Light & Power. TCLP accounts for 95% of our emissions because it is generating power for all residents and businesses.

If we take the utility out of the equation, the City’s municipal emissions total just over 1,600 metric tons of CO2 equivalents that come primarily from:

Water and wastewater treatment and pumping,

Building inefficiencies, and

Street lighting. This means that electricity usage creates 80% of the City's emissions, followed by natural gas (8%) and gasoline (6%). Where to go from here?

First of all, you should be happy to know that the City already has plans in the works that will reduce emissions including:

1. LED traffic signal retrofits
2. Conversion to 5% biodiesel for the diesel fleet
3. Improved operating efficiency of the wastewater membrane bioreactor, and
4. Improved emissions profile for electricity purchased from TCLP by 2012.

With these measures in place, the City (again, not including TCLP) can expect by the year 2012 to see a 9% reduction in emissions and an annual savings about $47,000 due to decreased electricity consumption. TCLP has plans in place to return to 2005 emissions levels by 2015 and decrease them by 47% by the year 2020.

Though the City is implementing some progressive plans, SEEDS cannot recommend the status quo. As a mission-driven organization, we must advocate for Carbon Neutrality or 100% reduction in emissions. Therefore, we suggested that the City aim for a 25% reduction by the year 2012, which we think is quite doable.

How? Here are our Five Recommended Steps going beyond what they already have planned:

1. Improvements in building electrical efficiency by 15%
2. Conversion of Public Services diesel fleet to B20 (20% biodiesel)
   
3. LED streetlight retrofits
4. Variable frequency drive motors for water and sewer pump stations
5. Advance TCLP's planned 2015 renewable energy portfolio to the year 2012.

If all this were accepted and done, by the year 2012 the City would not only reduce their emissions by 25% over 2005 levels, they would also look at an annual savings of nearly $150,000, according to our initial calculations.

Pretty good news, I'd say.