The Sonoma County Climate Initiative

Transcription

1 The Sonoma County Climate Initiative Local Government Commission Yosemite, California March 14, 2008 Randy D. Poole General Manager / Chief Engineer Sonoma County Water Agency Robert Wilkinson, Ph.D. Director, Water Policy Program Bren School of Environmental Science and Management University of California, Santa Barbara 1

2 Global Average Temperature NASA NOAA Washington Post Global Average Sea Level Northern Hemisphere Snow Cover Source: IPCC Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis Summary for Policymakers. Á

3 Arctic summer sea ice is disappearing September 2005 September 2007 US National Snow & Ice Data Center, 2007 Surface melting on Greenland is expanding In 1992 scientists measured this amount of melting in Greenland as indicated by red areas on the map Ten years later, in 2002, the melting was much worse And in 2005, it accelerated Source: ACIA, dramatically 2004 and yet again CIRES,

4 Recent Observations There can be very little doubt that global warming is real and manmade. Alan Greenspan The Age of Turbulence,

5 Recent Observations Spewing CO2 into the atmosphere is as much a violation of property rights as my dumping refuse into my neighbor s yard. Alan Greenspan The Age of Turbulence, 2007 Military Advisory Board Report National Security and the Threat of Climate Change 2007 Report S e c u r i t y A n d C l i m a t e. c n a. o r g 5

6 Military Advisory Board: Findings Projected climate change poses a serious threat to America s national security. Military Advisory Board: Recommendation (#2) The U.S. should commit to a stronger national and international role to help stabilize climate change at levels that will avoid significant disruption to global security and stability. 6

7 Military Advisory Board: Recommendation (#2) The U.S. should become a more constructive partner with the international community to help build and execute a plan to prevent destabilizing effects from climate change, including setting targets for long term reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Dangerous Anthropogenic Interference The world is already experiencing dangerous anthropogenic interference in the climate system. The question now is whether we can avoid catastrophic interference. John Holdren NCSE Meeting, Washington, D.C. January

8 Federal Policy Design for Flexibility Governments at all levels should reevaluate legal, technical, and economic procedures for managing water resources in the light of climate changes that are highly likely. Roger Revelle and Paul Waggoner Climate Change and U.S. Water Resources

9 Sonoma County Climate Policy Sonoma County s Board of Supervisors and the governing bodies of nine cities, adopted the most aggressive emission reduction target in the United States: 25% below 1990 levels by

10 Sonoma County Water Agency Climate Goals a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions 25% below 1990 levels by 2015 deliver carbon-free water by 2015 a program to offset 250 MW equivalent of electric power actions to achieve 80% carbon footprint reduction implementation of energy efficiency measures across sectors, county-wide Sonoma County: Geographically, Economically, and Politically Suited a) Successful government/citizen/business/youth partnership begun in 2001 by the Climate Protection Campaign for aggressive greenhouse gas emission reduction b) Innovative, precedent-setting initiatives on salmon recovery, integrated regional water management, and sustainable communities c) History of early adoption of new technology d) History of economic innovation/sonoma County Innovation Council 10

11 Sonoma County: Geographically, Economically, and Politically Suited e) Appropriate geographic features (ie, climatic features such as sunshine/rainfall patterns, proximity to grid, etc) f) Representative mix of land use and socioeconomic factors (ie, water supply, business/commercial sectors, agriculture, urban) g) Strong public support: 77% of Sonoma County Water Agency customers support water infrastructure with zero carbon emissions. What is Sonoma County Doing? Sustainability Program Adopted Innovation Council Formed Carbon Free Water Program Underway Engaging at local/state/federal/and international levels Next Steps under Development 11

12 Sonoma County Water Agency Pacific Salmon Restoration Fund North Coast and Bay Area Integrated Plans Sonoma Innovation Council Sustainable Sonoma County Sonoma County Water Agency What do all these have in common? Why are we doing this? Who are we to do this? 12

13 August 2006 Brought the mountain to us! UC Berkeley - Michael Haneman - Dan Kammen - Margaret Taylor UC Santa Barbara - Bob Wilkinson UC Los Angeles - JR De Shazo Univ. of Nebraska - Ken Cassman Pacific Institute - Peter Gleick CA Ocean Prot. Council -Paul Siri Sonoma County Water Agency Visited and developed strong relationships with the US National Labs: Los Alamos NCAR Lawrence Livermore NREL Lawrence Berkeley Others 13

14 Findings Energy is a growing concern We don't have much time Action is needed Our Findings Oil shortages next 5-8 years, China and India go from 12 to 24 million barrels per day, Saudi Arabia and Middle East issues Western Power Grid at risk Natural gas limits Climate change Coastal fog belt at risk Shocks to the system Answers exist but may be classified 14

15 Concept: US Climate Initiative Zero-net Energy Community Demonstration Program High efficiency heating and cooling Renewable power systems Recyled water for non-potable uses Large-scale use of PHEVs Innovative energy storage systems Replicable Systems Technology Economic Stimulus The Simple Answer Five Ingredients First, YOU, the individual Second, YOU and the community Third, 3 cups of water Fourth, 4 watts of renewables Fifth, 5 pounds of capital investment 15

16 Sonoma County Water Agency Renewable Energy + Water + Capital Climate Protection + Jobs/Economy + Security + Independence + Health & Well Being Healthy Planet Specifics Energy Efficiency / Geoexchange Renewable Energy PHEV Deployment Carbon Sequestration 16

17 Sonoma County Water Agency 17

18 Bringing Home the Bacon (Methane) Hydrokinetics 18

19 Capacity to do these things is available at the local level Municipal Bond Acts of 1911, 1913 and 1915 Lord Kelvin s Heat Pump (1852) Local Projects (sewer, water, storm drains) Existing Renewable Technologies Water / Energy Conservation Public / Private Financing GeoExchange 19

20 Geoexchange GeoExchange Unit 20

21 Geothermal Heat Pump Basic Principles The Earth is the Source of Heat in Winter 72 F (22 C) Outdoor air design temperature: 0 F (-18 C) 55 F (13 C) A geothermal heat pump transfers underground heat into the building to provide heating 21

22 and an Efficient Place to Reject Heat in Summer 74 F(23 C) Outdoor air design temperature: 100 F (38 C) 55 F (13 C) A geothermal heat pump transfers heat from the building into the ground to provide cooling Geothermal Heat Pump Efficiency 1 kwh of energy from the grid Yields: 4-6 kwh of energy for the building Plus: 3-5 kwh of energy from the earth % Efficient 22

23 Residential Site Energy Conventional System Over 70% of the energy consumed by a typical home is used to meet thermal loads Residential Site Energy Geothermal Heat Pump System Total site energy consumption is cut in half 23

24 Geothermal Heat Pump Installation Methods Vertical Closed-Loop A pair of pipes with a special U-bend assembly at the bottom is placed into bore holes from 100 to 400 feet deep 24

25 Horizontal Closed-Loop A piping array is installed in trenches cut 3 to 5 feet deep and hundreds of feet in length Surface Water Closed-Loop A piping array is submerged in a pond or lake at least 8 feet deep 25

26 Ground Water Open-Loop Well water from an underground aquifer is pumped through the geothermal heat pump and then returned to the aquifer or discharged to the surface Geothermal Heat Pumps Are a Scalable Technology 26

27 Geothermal Heat Pumps 1300 Square Foot Habitat for Humanity Home Are widely used in Homes Geothermal Heat Pumps and in Commercial Buildings 27

28 Regional Heating & Cooling Systems GeoExchange Heating / Cooling System Using Recycled Water Renewable Energy (Solar) Water / Energy Efficiency Irrigation with Recycled Water Municipal Bond Financing Regional Heating & Cooling Systems 28

29 Agricultural Applications PHEVs 29

30 What do we want to do? Actions Have things like this been done before? Precedents Why is it so hard to do this? Challenges What will it take to make it happen? - Needs Building Bridges 30

31 Greetings from Bali 31

32 Getting a Handle on the Problem Perspective and Opportunity 32

33 People and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives. Winston Churchill Randy D. Poole General Manager / Chief Engineer Sonoma County Water Agency Robert Wilkinson, Ph.D. Director, Water Policy Program Bren School of Environmental Science and Management University of California, Santa Barbara 33