City Expands Sustainability Efforts

Renewable Energy Efforts to Include Joining Sustainability Compact

January 30, 2019

The City of Tallahassee has a long-standing commitment to environmental sustainability and renewable energy. Tonight, Jan. 30, the Tallahassee City Commission reaffirmed that commitment by setting the path toward an aggressive vision for our community’s clean energy future.

Voting unanimously, the Commission authorized the City to join the Sustainable Tallahassee Capital Area Sustainability Compact and directed the City Manager to move forward with next steps, including bringing a draft resolution to the City Commission for consideration at its Feb. 20 meeting and draft goals, with interim milestones, to the City Commission for consideration at its June 19 meeting.

“The action taken by the Commission tonight ensures that the City will continue to be a recognized leader across the state, region and nation for its sustainability efforts,” Mayor John Dailey said.

The City’s focus will continue to be on operations and customers’ energy use. From installing solar on its facilities to performing more than 58,000 free energy audits for customers, the City’s wide-ranging endeavors have helped reduce the community’s dependence on fossil fuels, reduced emissions and improved local air quality. Since 1990, there has been more than an 80 percent reduction locally in sulfur dioxide (SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM).

Because of its focus on sustainability, the City’s Electric Utility has reduced emissions beyond the set goals for both the 2020 Paris Accord and the Kyoto protocol. It is on track to surpass the 2025 Paris Accord goal well before that time.

The City has the strongest Demand Side Management (DSM) Conservation program in the industry. These programs help customers use energy and water more efficiently, preserving natural resources. Through DSM programs, the City has provided over $26 million in incentive payments. These incentives have helped customers upgrade to ENERGY STAR appliances, add ceiling insulation, install energy-efficient HVAC systems and more, while generating nearly 500,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) in energy savings. This has made it possible for the City to defer over 100 megawatts (MW) of additional generating capacity that would have otherwise been needed.

A unique element of the City’s DSM efforts is the REACH program. This nationally recognized program installs energy-saving measures, provides energy-saving products and offers hands-on education to historic and lower-income neighborhoods – all at no cost to the customer. Since its inception in 2010, REACH has serviced more than 9,400 homes.

Reducing energy consumption is essential for achieving the community’s clean energy goals. In conjunction with these efforts, the City has also been active in implementing new technologies and renewable energy options, while keeping utility costs among the lowest in the state.

As the capital of the Sunshine State, the City became a leader solar production when it brought its first commercial solar farm online at the beginning of 2018. Energy from the 20MW facility is offered as a subscription service to City Electric customers. Prior to the first farm coming online, the program was 100 percent subscribed, and a waiting list had been created for Solar Farm 2. Construction on Solar Farm 2, which is slated to be a 40MW facility, will begin later this year and is expected to be operational in 2020. Other utilities in Florida are looking at the City’s program as a best practice, and the City was recognized by Environmental American as a Solar Star.

Beyond the utilities, the City has been a sustainability pioneer in the transit industry as well. StarMetro, the City’s mass transit system, first began using electric buses in 2013. At that time, it had the largest all-electric, fast-charging bus fleet on the east coast. This year, the City’s electric bus fleet will grow to 19 vehicles, representing one-third of the daily fleet.

Enjoying a clean, healthy environment is a hallmark of life in Tallahassee. Moving forward, the City will strive to remain at the forefront of progress while balancing environmental concerns and community desires with providing reliable, cost-effective service.

Learn more about City operations at Talgov.com.