Page 38 - Sonoma County Gazette Janaury 2019

I don’t think that many of us in Sonoma County question the reality of climate change. Its disastrous effects were made too painfully evident by
the unprecedented size, speed, and destructiveness of our recent wildfires. Although the current administration refuses to acknowledge and confront the issue, we understand that we are in a race against time to develop renewable energy sources and drastically reduce our consumption of fossil fuels.
Many of us, as individuals, work conscientiously to reduce our emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). But each municipality has a much bigger carbon footprint than any individual resident or family.
Since being elected to the Healdsburg City Council, I’ve made reducing our city’s GHG emissions a high priority. Happily, the Council has stepped up to the plate and taken the following measures to reduce GHG:
Authorized the installation of photovoltaic arrays for our wastewater treatment ponds: When fully installed, the floating solar array will generate 80% of the energy used by the wastewater facility and prevent the growth of algae. It will also save ratepayers more than a million dollars over the 20-year lifespan of the project. Construction of the first phase is slated for completion by the end of 2019.
Directed the City to power facilities and operations with renewable energy: The City of Healdsburg will join the City of Sonoma, Sonoma Water (the former Sonoma County Water Agency) and the County of Marin in
using 100% renewable energy in all of our facilities and operations. Using geothermal energy from the Geysers will reduce our carbon footprint by about 610 metric tons of CO2-equivalent each year. For comparison, the average home emits 6.7 metric tons of CO2-equivalent each year from electricity, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Directed staff to conduct energy audits to maximize efficiency: City
staff will conduct energy audits at City facilities such as the Police and Fire departments, the Community Center, and Senior Center. Energy-efficient upgrades will help offset the slightly higher cost of using 100% renewable energy.
Purchase energy from specific no & low-carbon sources: Because the City of Healdsburg operates its own electric utility, outages are far less frequent and of shorter duration than those suffered by PGE customers, and our
rates are 30 percent lower. In addition, we have the opportunity to decrease GHG emissions throughout the city by increasing the percentage of power purchased from low-carbon (geothermal) and no-carbon (hydroelectric) sources. In 2017, these renewable sources provided 77% of electricity used by Healdsburg’s residents. The remaining 23% came from natural gas generation as well as “unspecified energy sources.” By directing staff to purchase energy exclusively from specified low-and no-carbon sources we can further reduce, and perhaps eventually eliminate, our GHG emissions.
As individual resident ratepayers, we can support renewable energy by opting for the Healdsburg Green Rate. That is, we can agree to pay 1.8 cents more
per kilowatt hour, or about 10 percent more per month, so the City can procure renewable energy to match our monthly consumption. The City of Palo Alto used this method as they transitioned to 100% renewable energy for all their residents. I’m urging all Healdsburg residents who can afford a slightly higher utility bill to join me in selecting the Green Rate option. It’s easy! Either go to bit.ly/GreenRate to fill out the form online and submit it to the utility billing department, or stop by City Hall and sign the form available in the lobby.
A Collective Effort... I’m grateful to our resourceful Utilities Director, Terry Crowley, our Utilities Conservation Analyst, Felicia Smith, and the Northern California Power Agency (NCPA), which is a consortium of locally- owned electrical utilities that helps ensure an affordable, reliable, and clean supply of energy for customers. Their efforts have enabled Healdsburg to take these very important steps in reducing our carbon footprint.
(Green) Power to the People
By Leah Gold, Healdsburg Vice Mayor
The “Green Rate”: Residents Can Choose Renewable Energy
The Fifth District Supervisor’s Office wants you to nominate the WORST West County road.
Every report or nomination will be filed and used to create a master Fifth District Road List that will help prioritize how the next two years of road funding will be spent.
• Peachland
• Wohler Road between River Road and Eastside Road
• Cooper Road, Sebastopol. All if it needs re-surfacing, not patching.
• East Hurlbut
• Joy Road
• East Austin Creek Rd in Cazadero!
• Caz Hwy has 2 places that are stop signs/one way. Have been for over a year and Ms Hopkins office says they are waiting for FEMA money!
• Laughlin Road between Slusser and North Laughlin; 2:Old River Road between River Drive and Forest Hills Road. (It’s small, but awful)
• Green Hill Road connecting Graton and Occidental Rds.
• ALL of center way Guerneville. So bad at the Guernewood intersection. • Barlow!!
• Rio Nido Rd from the top of the hill all the way down Rio Nido side.
Email Lynda.Hopkins@sonoma-county.org with your nomination.
These roads have been Nominated via Gazette Facebook page:
• Jonivie or Sullivan
• Sullivan and Mill Station North of Occidental Rd
• Green Hill Rd is dangerous and a disgrace.
• Austin Creek Road.
• Bloomfield, Pleasant Hill, Blank...Blank is shockingly bad in spots.
• Rio Vista Rd! But it’s not a long road, though we all pay our taxes, so I’m sure it’s low priority. It’s really horrible, especially if you have a nerve condition aggravated by vibrations from the road!! Still, being a short road maybe it could move up the list?!
38 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 1/19