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The Christmas Day blackout was blamed on a "perfect storm" of ice, cold temperatures and high power consumption.  While there's not much that can be done about the weather, at least one group is seeking ways to reduce energy use.

A group of local governments and nonprofits just landed the largest Office of Energy Resources competitive grant made for energy efficiency.

This week the Idaho OER announced that our region won a $700,000 grant to dramatically reduce energy use, spark local job creation and reduce our carbon footprint.  These funds are part of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which is being overseen by the state's Office of Energy Resources and will leverage approximately $800,000 in additional funds from the partners.

 

The ERC partnered with 7 local governments to craft a proposal to strengthen energy conservation efforts throughout the region.  Here's what was reported in the Idaho Mountain Express on January 15, 2010.

<a href="/images/pic.jpg" rel="lyteshow[gallery]" align="top"> <img class="boxed" src="/images/thumb.jpg" alt="Description" /></a>

Attending:  Craig Barry; David Hanks; Jen Smith; Shana Sweitzer; Mariel Platt; Tom Blanchard; Jeff Kreyssig; Neil Morrow

Attending: Colleen Daly, Eric Adams; Jen Smith; Shana Sweitzer; Tom Blanchard; Becky Stokes; Craig Barry

Update on the current partners

Efforts will be made to reach out the cities of Carey; Fairfield and Stanley

Attending: Neil ; Diana; Shana; Mariel; Tom; Becky; Angenie; Eric; Craig

OER Update

The recently released RFP was reviewed along with the potential projects.

There was discussion about the Revolving Loan Fund or, more accurately called a Property Assessed Clean Energy program (PACE) and whether this was an eligible activity or not.  Initially we were told it is NOT but subsequently it appears that OER is shifting its position on this and will be amending the RFP accordingly.

 

ORDINANCE NUMBER 1056

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF KETCHUM, IDAHO, AMENDING TITLE 8, HEALTH AND SAFETY, BY ADDING A NEW SECTION, SECTION 8.09, IDLING VEHICLES, PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

Attending: Shana Sweitzer; Eric Adams; Neil Morrow; Tom Blanchard; Craig Barry; Kathleen Turner; Becky Stokes; Elizabeth Jeffrey; Mariel Platt; Angenie McCleary Update on EECBG subgrant program

Deadlines:  Open Nov 2; Webinar Nov 10; Deadline Dec 15.

The Ketchum City Council passed an Idle No More ordinance on October 5, 2009 to discourage idling vehicles for longer than 3 minutes.

This ordinance is a the first of its kind in the valley and a huge boost for our air quality, our children's lungs and our resources.

Here's how the local paper reported on its passage:

Ketchum sets fine for idling vehicles

Resident asks city of Ketchum to consider banning, fining idling carsBy Karen BossickTimes-News correspondent

8-20-2009

KETCHUM - Kath-ryn Tucker says she's not tempted to take a car for a joyride.

But the Ketchum mom has been known to reach inside an idling car and turn the ignition off.

On Monday night she pled her case before the Ketchum City Council, asking that the city begin fining motorists who leave cars running while picking up mail at the post office or performing other errands.

"Not only do the exhaust fumes smell bad. But they're so bad for the environment, for snow," she said following the meeting. "People move here because they love to ski, including my children who are ski racers. Now we're in danger of losing our snow because of global climate change. Restricting idling can help save our snow."

In 2008 the Environmental Resource Center partnered with Sun Valley, Ketchum, Hailey and Blaine County to perform a detailed assessment of their carbon emissions.

At present these are the local groups that are actively addressing climate protection issues (click on any one for a detailed listing of their efforts):

Hailey Environmental Leadership Program (HELP) Blaine Environmental, Economic and Energy Sustainability Team (BEST) Ketchum CDC's Energy Solutions Team (EST)

Following ICLEI's for Cities for Climate Protection program, these local governments began to implement these steps:

Milestone 1. Conduct a baseline emissions inventory and forecast. Based on energy consumption and waste generation, the city calculates greenhouse gas emissions for a base year (e.g. 2000) and for a forecast year (e.g. 2015). The inventory and forecast provide a benchmark against which the city can measure progress.

On August 17th, the Ketchum City Council will be discussing the adoption of an "Idle No More" ordinance. In general this ordinance will restrict idling to no more than 5 minutes, provide for practical exemptions and charge violators for infractions.

This ordinance will cut down on toxic air pollution, conserve resources and even protect the life of your car. Here's what the CarTalk guys say about idling:

"The fact is, cars these days don't need to be warmed up. Except in below-zero conditions [not below freezing or 32 degrees but really below 0 degrees], you can just start the engine and drive off."

Here's how the Ketchum ordinance now reads:

The City of Ketchum and Ketchum's Community Development Corporation have written letters of support for an Idaho Power "Smart Grid Implementation" proposal.  Smart grid technologies can help reduce the community's energy consumption and overall carbon footprint.

Ketchum Smart Grid Letter of Support (1.59 MB 2009-08-17 10:06:54)