Cross-Sectoral or Other Sector
Built Green Communities
This program, led by the Metro Home Builders Association, was under development for 18 months. It was modeled after the successful Built Green program (11% of Denver metro area builders participation after only four years in the market) and launched in early 2002. The Built Green CommunitiesTM program, through a partnership of planners, developers, builders, lenders and government agencies, promotes voluntary land-use and community design guidelines that minimize environmental impact, promoting the understanding and acceptance of responsible community design to benefit all citizens. Specific objectives of the program include preserving natural resources; balancing open space and density; reducing infrastructure cost through efficient design; encouraging cost-effective, innovative ideas and technologies; and creating diverse housing options. A major component is the promotion of energy-efficient buildings, and reducing transportation-related fuel costs through smart design.
Recommended Policy for 2010: The City and County of Denver will promote the Built Green Communities program in several of its large, undeveloped properties including Stapleton (4500 acres), and Gateway (4,000 acres). This will be accomplished through several policy mechanisms including a Mayoral Proclamation, and resolutions from the City Council, Planning Board, and Board of Health.
ENERGY STAR and Green Purchasing
Denver’s Purchasing Division in the Department of General Services handles much of the city’s purchasing needs but each city department has authority to make purchases as well, subject only to limited purchasing authority guidelines established by the Purchasing Division. Purchasing has previously asked/encouraged all city departments to purchase ENERGY STAR-rated equipment when available and to give a preference to recycled-content and recyclable “green” products in all purchases, even when slightly more expensive. In addition, Purchasing has recommended the Office Depot’s green products catalog for office supply. Agencies also have access to green products through the General Services Administration and the Colorado State Purchasing Division. The city has obtained the ENERGY STAR Building Label for its Yasui and Fire Administration buildings. These were two of the first such labels ever given for excellence in facility energy management and conservation.
Recommended Policy for 2010: The Purchasing Division will establish a Purchasing Process Enhancement Task Force to review the procurement process. This task force will complete its recommendations within six months. Environmental/energy conservation issues will be specifically addressed in this process. Approved procurement recommendations will be formalized through amendment to the city’s executive order #33, Requisitioning and Purchasing under Centralized Purchasing Services. In this manner, we expect future city purchasing to take full advantage of energy conservation/reduce, reuse & recycle opportunities. Over time, we also expect commercial catalogs and the federal/state procurement systems to increase their offerings of green products. The city will continue to benchmark new and remodeled facilities for the EPA ENERGY STAR label as the tool is expanded to include additional building types.
Pollution Prevention
The Denver Department of Environmental Health's Environmental Protection Division has regulatory responsibility to enforce local, state and federal regulations. In order to assist the regulated community in achieving compliance, the division offers pollution prevention (P2) tips-- such as energy efficiency--that may improve operations. A typical Resource Sheet on energy efficiency that is provided is included with this packet. Case studies provide testimony as to the effectiveness of such pollution prevention measures.
Recommended Policy for 2010: Denver will continue to provide energy efficiency P2 information to the regulated community citing local success stories and how P2 may reduce pollution levels and decrease the burden of regulations.
Blueprint Denver
This is an integrated land use and transportation plan that seeks to establish policies and a more complete up-to-date set of tools to direct growth and influence its appearance and impact. Denver gained 87,000 people in the 1990s and is forecasted to add 132,000 during the next 20 years. This plan will assist in managing this growth in a responsible, sustainable manner. Specifically, it will result in more mixed uses to: reduce the number and length of trips by car; move people through its streets by balancing autos with pedestrians, cycling, and transit and; improve the connections with amenities. These plans will help to reduce harmful air pollutants including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, particulate matter, and hydrocarbons.
Recommended Policy for 2010: Denver will use “Blueprint Denver: An integrated Land Use and Transportation Plan” as a tool to implement its 2000 Comprehensive Plan. Denver will include a tree canopy benchmark (about 20%) as a goal to assist in reducing the urban heat island effect, to filter air pollutants, to sequester carbon dioxide and to make the city more pedestrian-friendly. Accomplishment of this goal will reduce vehicle miles traveled, which further reduces demand for fossil fuels and the production of air pollutants such as carbon monoxide and dioxide. Denver will also include tree canopy as a layer in its geographical information system in order to track and monitor progress toward the goal.
CO2 Reduction
In 1991, Denver was chosen as one of 12 cities worldwide to participate with the International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives on a new effort called the Urban CO2 Reduction Project. By June 1993, the first local action plan was prepared by the Department of Environmental Health. Political support for pursuing this plan was bolstered by City Council resolution No. 28, which supported Denver’s involvement in the Urban CO2 Reduction Project. The initial report identified three programs to implement. These were Green Fleets, Green Lights (for city buildings) and, tree planting in parks and rights-of-way. These three measures have resulted in significant CO2 reductions in Denver. By 1997 the savings had reached 1,655 tons per year.
Based on these early successes, numerous additional actions have been taken by Denver to help reduce CO2 emissions. Mayor Webb issued a written proclamation on September 20, 1995 declaring Denver a participant in the International Cities for Climate Protection Campaign. Additional actions included: the installation of LED traffic lights at 1200 intersections; lighting retrofits on 14 million square feet of city buildings; planting 1,000 trees every year on city parks and parkways; bus pass subsidies to reduce vehicle miles traveled by city employees; additional bike trails and valet parking for bikes; the Energy Rated Homes program and; the purchase of wind energy.
In 1998 the city began to update its 1993 local action plan. A detailed emissions inventory was conducted to establish a 1995 baseline for comparing past, present and future CO2 emissions in Denver. Several action plan measures were identified and placed under five major headings. These headings are: energy efficiency and conservation in buildings, expanding the use of renewables (e.g., solar, wind and biomass), transportation and land use measures, conservation and education, and capture and storage of CO2. By the year 2000 the annual CO2 reductions from all measures had reached 25,500 tons per year, which is equivalent to taking 8,500 cars off the road.
Recommended Policy for 2010: The goal of Denver’s CO2 reduction (action) plan is to reduce per capita emissions 10% by 2010 from 1995 baseline levels. The new plan is scheduled for adoption in 2002 to enable this goal to be achieved. The Kyoto Protocol and the Marrakech Ministerial Declaration will be used as guideposts for additional CO2 reduction targets. This goal will be based on what we know about energy use and flows. The following graphics (#1-6) on Denver's Energy Consumption, CO2 Emissions and Colorado Energy Flow. These graphics can be accessed by clicking on the graphic titles:
Mayor’s Earthkeepers Club
The Mayor’s Earth keepers Club is funded by the Mayor’s Office of Education and Children and coordinated by the Environmental Protection Division. Earthkeepers has an environmental education focus and seeks to strengthen student awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the natural world; promote environmental stewardship; introduce students to environmental careers; and promote positive youth development in Denver Public Schools middle schools.
Recommended Policy for 2010: Denver will enhance the Earthkeeper’s curriculum to include segments on energy conservation, and alternative energy sources. Targets of opportunity include researching and exploring clean energy options through hands-on activities such as experimenting with a Solar Oven, The Network of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (NEED) Project “Learning & Conserving Kit”, making Solar Toys and Solar Cars, visiting the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Denver’s own environmental monitoring and renewable energy site, and investigating the Wind Source program.
Eco-Industrial Park
Denver has been investigating the prospect of a 20 acre eco-industrial park at a cleaned up Brownfield site. The park would seek tenants that would be daisy-chained together such that the outputs/effluents from one facility would be inputs to another either totally on site or using offsite facilities. This includes waste heat, waste products, and so on.
Recommended Policy for 2010: Denver has located and will advance the development of an eco-industrial park, which includes a bright-fields (renewable energy) component. The parcel is properly zoned and located for easy access to I-70 and I-25.
Power Generation Sector
Distributed Energy/Combined Heat and Power Local Program
Denver is generating electricity from an alternative fuel with its own micro-turbine, currently supplying Police Station #4. This cutting edge technology will be a cornerstone in the distributed generation field.
Recommended Policy for 2010: A demonstration project at the Washington Park Fire House will introduce this fuel cell technology at another location. Other locations will be chosen for expansion as the costs come down and the city's experience with this technology goes up.
Electrical Use Policy-Plug Load
The Denver Department of Environmental Health developed and adopted electrical use policies for staff. Three walk-through surveys over two years have been completed showing a compliance rate increase from 80% to 85%. Employees shall endeavor to minimize energy use by the office machines they use, within the bounds of reasonable working procedures. Machines for individual use shall be switched off at the end of each workday, unless machines are involved in department support processes that are necessary beyond normal working hours.
In the case of shared equipment such as printers, every effort will be made for the last user to switch devices off upon leaving at night. This does not apply to machines, such as fax machines, which must remain active after business hours.
Machines shall be configured for operation of power management features unless these features demonstrably impair the machine's necessary functions. Before disabling power management features, every effort shall be made to establish proper function with the aid of Information Services staff, and the vendor or manufacturer from which the machine was purchased.
Staff should not introduce personal plug-load electrical appliances into their work space that are not directly related to official business, e.g., individual coffee makers, radios, etc... In some cases (e.g., the medical examiner's office) TV and radio reports may be necessary in the conduct of official business. Task lighting and overhead lighting for conference rooms, printers, other equipment and supply rooms should be turned off when leaving the space, and general office lighting should always be turned off at the end of the day by the last employee to leave, or whoever may be assigned that duty. Information Services staff will assist in education of machine users, by answering questions as they arise concerning power management features such as ENERGY STAR, and will remind staff of official policy in these areas where appropriate.
All divisions shall select/purchase energy efficient equipment, e.g., ENERGY STAR, when available.
Recommended Policy for 2010: The goal of the Electric Use Policy is to have it voluntarily complied with by all city agencies using the city's Environmental and Transportation Coordinator network. The next phase would be to secure a mayoral executive order resulting in a greater than 90% compliance rate. The final phase is to promote this policy and actions to the private sector for voluntary implementation.
Green Building Fund and LEEDs
This fund has been established for 2001 to enable the city to fund energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy projects for new and remodeled municipal buildings. This fund was needed because most times municipal capital projects include only requirements that meet code-because of budget restrictions-and/or, because building code officials and design and construction personnel sometimes do not have the expertise or knowledge necessary to specify energy efficiency in buildings. The funding for 2001 and 2002 is set at $75,000 ($150,000 total). To date, seven buildings have been reviewed with 50% of the recommendations being included. The fund has a goal of meeting the LEED Silver certification level for new buildings. For existing buildings, recommendations are on an ad hoc basis and include items as diverse as a more efficient therapy pool heating system, shading a new HVAC system from heat and direct sunlight, and T-5 high output lights. The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment conducts a design review of each building, makes recommendations at the 60%, 80% and 95% construction document stage. When specific recommendations are made, other relevant city agencies (Budget, Utilities) are consulted before funds are expended.
Recommended Policy for 2010: The City and County of Denver intends to increase its Green Building fund as needed between 2001 and 2010 or incorporate mandatory green building practices into its design and construction management standards. The city will also promote this concept through the Urban Consortium's Energy Task Force (A Public Technology, Inc. committee) and other venues as appropriate to gain acceptance and adoption by other U.S. municipalities. Finally, the city will follow a policy that requires that any private/quasi-public building receiving city, state or Federal funds passing through the city meet the LEED silver certification level. The city will also provide and promote the LEED checklist to private developers of commercial buildings at the time of permit application.
Green Lights
This program-initiated by the Utilities Division--resulted in the upgrading of lighting in 14 million square feet of city buildings. Denver is using the following advanced energy technologies: compact fluorescents, LED exit signs, occupancy sensors, T-5 and T-8 lighting, specular reflectors, low-emissive window film, building insulation, high albedo roofing, electronic ballasts, daylighting, and dimming. Taken together these efforts resulted more than 1500 tons of CO2 reduced each year. EPA recognized the City and County of Denver's many efforts with the 1997 Green Lights Government Partner of the Year and Outstanding Project of the Year awards.
Recommended Policy for 2010: The Green Lights Program will add boiler replacement and gas stack dampers as well as any other cost-effective measures to reduce energy costs and improve environmental quality.
LED Traffic Signals
In 1996, the city provided funds through the Department of General Services to replace incandescent bulbs with LED's in 1200 intersections containing 55,000 signal indicators. Denver projects its annual energy savings at approximately 7.88 million kWh and $500,000 per year. Retrofitting old traffic signal lamps with LED traffic lights have recently proven to produce substantial energy, materials and labor savings, pollution prevention and improved visibility. The LED conversion project is expected to reduce annual emissions of carbon dioxide by 8,894 tons. This is equivalent to removing 1,094 cars from the road. Thus far 13,000 red, 13,000 green, and 8,000 orange lights have been replaced.
Recommended Policy for 2010: The LED traffic signal program will increase as Denver grows and adds more LED traffic lights to the system and will include 13,000 yellow and 8,000 white (pedestrian "walk" hand symbol) when they become available.
Public/Private Partnership
Public Service Company of Colorado and the City and County of Denver are cooperating on the largest such partnership in the country to supply chilled water and steam heat in a district that includes 15 city facilities on two campuses covering over five million square feet. A centralized coal/gas fired electric power plant provides the steam with a separate facility supplying the chilled water that offsets the city's electric load for air conditioning. PSCO will handle all operations, maintenance, and replacements over a 45-year period.
The Denver Water Department has electrical generating equipment on several Colorado mountain streams at high altitude. The hydropower is used for peaking and is replenished during off peak periods.
Recommended Policy for 2010: The city is looking into partnering with Public Service Company of Colorado on a utility-sized 250 MW power plant. This is now in the planning stage.
Public Utility Commission (PUC) Intervention
City staff has long been involved in PUC energy-related dockets ranging from franchise agreements, deregulation, demand-side management, renewables and the like. Through intervention, (written and oral testimony), several city agencies have proven effective in keeping rates low, promoting utility programs that encourage conservation, system reliability, adequate reserves, and equity among customer classes. Because of these activities, the city has benefited economically from participation in the resulting programs offered by the utility.
Recommended Policy for 2010: In the future, Denver will sustain its involvement in Public Utility Commission activities and become more proactive in intervention, advocacy, and education such that energy efficiency and renewable energy programs are advanced to keep rates and bills as low as possible for all customer classes. This may well involve restructuring. Franchise renewal is due in 2006 which will give the city additional opportunities for conservation.
Renewable Energy
Stapleton Environmental Monitoring and Renewable Energy Site: Program: The Denver Department of Environmental Health's Environmental Protection Division has installed several solar photo-voltaic panels and a complete meteorological monitoring station on the former National Weather Service Site at Stapleton. Outside the main building is a 1.5 kW array of solar PV panels connected to the power grid. This allows net metering to take place. On two smaller buildings and two light poles, freestanding solar PV panels provide direct current for lighting purposes. The weather station measures solar radiation, wind speed and direction, rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure and soil moisture levels. The weather station is connected via radio-telemetry to the region-wide storm alert system of the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District. It is also remotely monitored from the Department's offices nearly 10 miles away. The United States Weather Bureau continues to operate an adjacent site for twice-daily balloon releases.
Recommended Policy for 2010: The Stapleton Environmental Monitoring and Renewable Energy site will be enhanced by adding more solar PV panels to offset electrical loads from the building and to power the monitoring equipment. Monitoring will be expanded to include visibility, airborne gases, and other elements of interest. When fully operational, the site will establish a record over time of the impact of urban development on the Stapleton neighborhood.
Wind Source Program
Public Service Company of Colorado's Wind source Program has signed up more than 17,000 customers who pay a premium of 2.5¢ per kilowatt-hour for energy from this renewable source. The additional monthly cost per residential customer averages about $15.00. This program consists of 66 wind turbines on two wind farms in northern Colorado, which generate 60 megawatts of electricity. One megawatt serves about 300 homes. Each 164-ton, 237-foot tall wind turbine can generate up to 900 kilowatts of electricity. The City and County of Denver purchased 660 100 kW blocks per month over a three-year period.
Recommended Policy for 2010: The Wind Source and other like programs will be promoted by the city to increase the total amount of electricity consumed from wind resources. An aggregate purchasing initiative will be developed and promoted each October--which is "Energy Awareness Month".
Residential Sector
Energy Rated Homes
This program began in Denver and spread throughout the state in just a few years; Denver government staff were key participants in initiating this program using DOE Municipal Energy Management Program funds. Briefly, homes are inspected and rated according to the relative energy efficiency of the home's envelope, and water and space heating systems. Improvements are done to enhance the rating for marketing purposes through the multiple listing service. By 1995, 3000-4000 homes had been rated. Since then about 2,000 homes statewide are rated. Benefits include lower energy costs and increased marketability.
Recommended Policy for 2010: The Energy Rated Homes of Colorado program will continue to be marketed and achieve quantifiable energy savings throughout the state by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority.
Transportation Sector
Alternative Transportation Fuels/Advanced Vehicle Technology
The alternative fuels (AF) program began in 1990 when city council voted to approve the alternative fuels ordinance. Language for the ordinance was based upon the federal Energy Policy Act that requires the use of alternative fuel vehicles in specified fleets. The ordinance goals were to emphasize the growing public health priority of reducing vehicular related air pollution, reduce the dependence on foreign oil, and show municipal leadership by developing an AF industry in Denver. The ordinance has had a very positive impact on the number of AF vehicles in the city.
To date, the city fleet has over 240 vehicles powered by compressed natural gas (CNG), propane (LPG) or electricity. Other private fleets affected by the ordinance have added another 1200 to the increasing number of AF vehicles operating in the Denver area. In 1991, Denver commenced work on a project, which tested a new type of AF called "HythaneTM" (15% hydrogen, 85% compressed natural gas, measured by volume). The results of the study showed that HythaneTM could deliver lower CO2 emissions when compared to either 100% natural gas or gasoline. This fuel is now the subject of R&D efforts in the U.S. and overseas.
Denver has chosen to expand the positive impact of reducing pollution through the use of not only alternative fuels, but of advanced vehicle technology. In 2001, 39 electric-hybrid vehicles were purchased for city use in several city departments including public works, library, fire, police, wastewater, and the city attorney's office.
Recommended Policy for 2010: Several City and County of Denver departments and agencies moved into a new office building in 2002. The Civic Center Office Building is home to a municipal motor pool containing over 80 vehicles including electric-hybrids, fully electric and neighborhood electric. The city will research and implement a distributed power generation project that uses "plug in" electric hybrids to provide power to augment the building requirements for heat and electricity.
Clean Cities
The City and County of Denver (Denver) has long been a forerunner in the generation of ideas and the application of solutions relating to environmental protection. The city recognizes that a healthy environment for alternatively fueled vehicles takes--at a minimum--regional cooperation between many local governments, regional entities, state and federal governments, citizen groups and the private sector. In 1993, Mayor Webb submitted a Clean Cities proposal to the U.S. Department of Energy resulting in Denver being the second city nationwide receiving such a designation. This designation enhanced Denver's continued promotion of alternative fuels, helped to further reduce air pollution, and provided the opportunity to grow a new industry.
Recommended Policy for 2010: As one of the "top ten" Clean Cities in the nation, Denver will continue to promote niche markets. These markets include the conversion of school buses in the Denver Public School District fleet to CNG, expansion of the number of propane and CNG shuttle buses operating at Denver International Airport, and continued development of the alternative fuel infrastructure along the front range.
Light Rail
Currently, the Denver metro area operates 14.2 miles of light rail with 8 miles being located within the City and County of Denver. This alternative mode is promoted using our travel reduction program (TRP) and is experiencing ridership that is 43% above projections. Due to this success, the Regional Transportation District is constructing the Transportation Expansion Project (TREX) which is adding an additional 19.7 miles of rail with ten (10) of these miles in Denver.
Recommended Policy for 2010: The Regional Transportation District is planning for the next phase of light rail that is called Fas Tracks. Fas Tracks seeks to design, build and operate-by 2013-- an additional 107.8 miles of light rail with 46.2 of these miles occurring within the City and County of Denver. This latter project will be a referendum and begin in 2003 with a ten year construction period if approved.
Travel Reduction
The basis for the travel reduction program (TRP) began in 1992 when a baseline study of city employees was conducted showing that 47% used alternative transportation or alternative work schedules. In 1993, two substantial factors changed these statistics: 1) an environmental transportation coordinator (ETC) network was developed to begin the promotion of TRP programs throughout city departments; and, 2) a bus pass subsidy program for city employees began. A 1998 survey of city employees showed 65% used alternative transportation or alternative work schedules. A total of 54 ETCs now participate in this program and assist 1700 employees to annually purchase over 15,000 subsidized bus passes.
When federal legislation was passed allowing local municipalities to take advantage of pre-tax, payroll deduction of bus pass purchases, Denver became one of the first cities nationwide to adopt an ordinance. The success of the program resulted in the Mobile Sources program receipt of the city's Pioneer Award for contributions and innovation that benefited City service and the Denver community.
Recommended Policy for 2010: The bus pass program-which had a 2001 employee participation rate of 12% (1700 out of 14000 employees)-will be increased to 20% by 2010.