2010.04.18 – Time for Asheville to lead in clean energy development
from the Asheville Citizen-Times
Asheville has never been afraid of being a leader when it comes to supporting clean energy.
A decade ago, it was citizens and political leaders from Asheville and Western North Carolina who championed the passage of the North Carolina Clean Smokestacks Act, which committed our state to achieving the strongest clean air standards in the nation. Many of the large utility power plants across North Carolina, including the Progress Energy plant in Asheville, have reduced their emissions that cause haze and smog by 90 percent as a result of the technology improvements required by the Act.
Old adversaries decided to work together and innovate. As a result, our mountain air is cleaner today.
Asheville has also taken a leadership role in promoting clean energy at the community level. In 2006, the City Council adopted a policy committing the city to reduce its carbon pollution by 80% by the year 2050. By retrofitting our buildings to make them more efficient and modernizing our operations, we have exceeded our annual energy conservation goals and saved taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars by reducing our utility expenses.
The need to free our country from polluting fossil fuels and foreign oil is, I believe, the most important challenge facing our generation. The status quo of our energy policies are draining our economy, weakening our national security and wrecking our environment.
Each year, we transfer billions of dollars from our economy to foreign governments, many of whom are no friend of the United States.
Just across the state lines in Tennessee and Virginia, the same beautiful Appalachian Mountains that we love so much here in Asheville are laid to waste on a vast scale as mountain-top removal strip mining is carried out to extract the coal that is burned in North Carolina power plants to generate our electricity.
The overwhelming body of scientific research tells us that we must reduce our emissions of global warming pollutants by 80% or more in order to avoid severe and irreversible impacts on our children’s generation and the generations that will follow them.
I believe that the people of Asheville want our community to be a national leader in developing clean, renewable energy. To that end, on Jan. 12, the Asheville City Council unanimously voted to support a proposal called the Asheville Energy Independence Initiative. Buncombe County is also considering the concept.
The idea is to create a simple and user-friendly process for business owners and home owners in the community to make energy efficiency and renewable energy investments for their property. It involves an innovative financing approach known as the PACE model which removes the number one barrier that deters investments in clean energy technologies– the upfront capital cost.
Communities around the country that have pioneered the PACE model have seen a significant increase in clean energy development. Some are projecting significant job creation benefits as a result.
In order to create a larger public dialogue about this innovative concept, the Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute, Asheville City Council and Buncombe County Commissioners are sponsoring a Town Hall Meeting 5:30- 7 p.m. Monday at the Public Works Building on Charlotte Street. The forum will feature Jeff Hughes, the Director of the UNC Environmental Finance Center, which has taken a lead role in researching the viability of the PACE model for cities in North Carolina.
If the Asheville Energy Independence Initiative sounds interesting to you, come out to the Town Hall Meeting to learn more and share your perspective about whether such an initiative makes sense for our community.
Brownie Newman is the Asheville vice-mayor and a member of Asheville City Council.
