Energy / Portland, Oregon: 2010 Smarter City - Energy

Credit: Conlawprof/Flickr

Portland, Oregon—long a green frontrunner—has been named an NRDC Smarter City for its energy conservation programs and green energy production. While U.S. per capita carbon emissions have steadily increased since 2000, Portland’s have been on a downward trend over the same period, thanks in part to its impressive supply of hydropower and a focus on carbon reduction dating back to 1993 . Even so, according to the city’s senior sustainability manager, Michael Armstrong, the city can do better, and plans to. A major part of Portland’s 2009 Climate Action Plan, which aims to reduce citywide emissions of heat-trapping pollutants to 80% of 1990 levels by 2050, is an effort to up the city’s overall efficiency with building-by-building energy upgrades.

The “City of Roses”  has been a recognized leader in the fight against climate change since 1993 when it became the first local government in the U.S. to adopt a climate action plan, and again when it became a signatory on the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection agreement in 2005. NRDC’s Smarter Cities project selected Portland as a Smarter City due to its low per capita electricity consumption (11.9 community-wide metric tons), it’s high rankings in EPA-defined green power, and conservation incentives, to name a few, as well as it’s target goals for even further energy reduction and the policies it is implementing to achieve those goals.

Retrofitting

Recognizing that buildings account for more than 40 percent of the city’s total greenhouse gas emissions and that more than half of the buildings that make up the city today will still be standing in 2050, one of the objectives of the city’s 2009 Climate Action Plan is to improve the energy efficiency of all buildings constructed before 2010 by 25 percent —and not just those owned by the city, but those that house the more than 500,000 people who live within the city limits as well.

Up next in their efforts to upgrade residences is the Clean Energy Works: Portland program, which will provide low-interest loans for energy efficiency improvements on up to 500 homes in the city. “The energy savings will often fully offset the cost of the loan,” says Armstrong, and “in the meantime you have a house that’s far more comfortable.”

Supplemented by a $20 million grant award from the U.S. Department of Energy, Clean Energy Works: Portland is expected to create at least 1,300 new jobs “at a time when unemployment is in the 30-odd percent in the construction industry. So it is a very timely program,” says Armstrong. And the jobs created aren’t low-grade positions. An explicit effort has been made to ensure that they come with benefits, living wage standards, and a career track opportunity. To make sure the benefits of the program are fairly distributed, the positions are also being provided to historically underserved communities.

Building for an Energy Efficient Future

The 2009 Climate Action Plan also calls for the institution of building codes by 2030 that mandate net zero greenhouse gas emissions in all new buildings and homes. Acknowledging that any new building will likely be standing for a century or more, and that the local climate may change considerably in that time period, the codes will support construction that can adapt to more severe weather, such as higher temperatures and stronger storms.

The city has already seen green building successes without any regulations in place mandating higher standards. According to Armstrong, the city has provided incentives and some dollars for green construction, but the real success to date has been in the private sector, where green building is big business. In 2008, more than 50 percent of new commercial construction has been LEED Gold level certified, or better—and that’s during a recession! The trend can be explained in part by state tax credits that are available for LEED construction, but Armstrong says that it’s really market expectations that are driving the movement. “If you’re going to build a new building in Portland of any size, the market expects it to be green,” a culture proudly confirmed by the 105 LEED certified buildings already standing in the city, second in the country only to Chicago’s 128. 

Equity in Energy Efficiency

Whether through job creation or lowered utility bills in apartment buildings, the “dead serious” intent of distributing the benefits of the improvements among all residents—not just those who can afford to upgrade—is woven throughout Portland’s energy initiatives, Armstrong says. Reducing dependence on fossil fuels and keeping energy dollars local is integral to that intent, according to Armstrong. “Our climate action plan and our economic development strategy are very closely linked,” he says. “And that is not an accident.”