Current Projects
1. Community Solar Project - Collaborating with the City of Edmonds, this project is working toward the objective of installing a community-owned solar photovoltaic array atop the Frances Anderson Center. This is particularly alluring for homeowners whose property isn’t suitable for a home solar installation, but who want to contribute to local power generation. Phase I of the project will install 4.2kW of panels in Summer 2011. Anyone in the Snohomish PUD service area can participate, so support the project. If you have questions about this project, email us at SustainableEdmonds@gmail.com.
2. New Energy Cities Project – Sustainable Edmonds brought together the City of Edmonds, local civic and business leaders, and the non-profit Climate Solutions, to develop a roadmap for the energy future of our City. The first community meeting was a two day workshop of business and community leaders in January, 2011. The program is managed by Climate Solutions under their New Energy Cities framework, with Edmonds designated as a “Pioneer City“. The goal of the project is a comprehesive plan for all aspects of energy in order to reduce energy imports into the City, and to provide a long term, clean portfolio of energy sources for the future. Want to see the City of Edmonds Energy Plan? Also check out the City of Edmonds new energy conservation website, which was created in response to the energy plan.
Completed Projects
1. Save Energy Now - A one year pilot project to determine how well energy conservation strategies work in Edmonds, with the goal of finding proven methods to reduce utility consumption by 10% . Ten homes and three businesses participated in this program, saving over $3000 over the year! Findings from this pilot study were integrated into the NewEnergyCities action plan. But here’s the short story: you can save hundreds of dollars a year through basic conservation techniques, sealing air leaks, and insulating your home.
2. Sustainable Works – Sustainable Edmonds supported a federal stimulus fund based program, Sustainable Works. This program provides subsidized home energy audits, and follow up home retrofit work. The goal of the program is to reduce energy use in as many homes as possible, and to provide jobs and job training for retrofit technicians. Signups are closed for this program, but the work will be ongoing until about June of 2011. We’ll keep you posted on the results as we get them.
3. Complete Streets – Sustainable Edmonds worked to support this Cascade Land Conservancy effort, to bring community members together to clearly define what we would like to see in our Edmonds streets in the future. The goal is to find the right balance of amenities and capacity for transit, drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. The Edmonds City Council passed a Complete Streets ordinance in June, 2011. Read the Complete Streets Ordinance. This added Edmonds to a growing list of cities committed to making streets usable by all – see this map of cities participating in Complete Streets.
If you have any questions about our projects, would like to contribute your time to a project, or a suggestion for more ways for Sustainable Edmonds to get involved, please email us at sustainableedmonds@gmail.com .
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