Energy / Beaverton, Oregon: 2010 Smarter City - Energy

As with Portland, one of Beaverton’s greatest advantages may be a sympathetic and responsive local government: “We have a supportive and creative administration,” said Cindy Tatham, the city’s sustainability program coordinator. “We are not afraid to be leaders. If we can demonstrate support of sustainability and local businesses there is a lot of support to move on projects.”

Some of these projects have included implementing a greenhouse gas emissions inventory for city operations and for the community, making city buildings more energy efficient, and creating a loan program to weatherize residential homes. Beaverton has already switched its traffic signals to LED technology and, with federal stimulus money, is updating the streetlights as well. Furthermore, Beaverton’s highly energy-efficient central plant keeps 900 tons of carbon dioxide out of the air each year and saves as much energy annually as needed to power 160 homes.

When it comes to renewables, many people associate the soggy Pacific Northwest with an abundance of hydropower, but in fact, it is Beaverton’s solar-power initiatives that are proving to be the most impressive this year. In May 2010, a pilot program was announced for a bulk solar purchasing program that brings solar power to residents using rebates and incentives to reduce the upfront costs of installing solar power in homes. In a partnership between the City of Beaverton and the solar provider SolarCity, 50 Beaverton homeowners will receive as much as an 80 percent discount for purchasing a solar-power system, including federal and state tax credits and energy incentives from the Energy Trust of Oregon. The city hopes to expand the program significantly in 2011. This initiative is among Mayor Denny Doyle’s Ten Point Plan identifying sustainability as a top priority for 2010.

Beaverton has crossed a number of Smarter Cities’ thresholds for responsible energy use, including being a part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership, with 5 percent of its power coming from green sources. Also, as a part of the Portland metropolitan area, it makes the Brookings Institution’s list of metropolises that lowered per capita carbon footprints between 2000 and 2005. So while it certainly takes some green cues from neighboring Portland, Beaverton is a smarter city to watch in its own right.

For more on Beaverton’s sustainability initiatives, check out the webpage for Sustainable Beaverton.