(Adopted?) Dane County Climate Action Plan

By
Brenda Konkel
-
dane county climate action plan

Yesterday the plan was “released” and the press release said it was “adopted” on the same day?  Beyond that curiosity, what does the plan say?

WHO ADOPTED THIS PLAN?

Me thinks that governance by announcement through press release has gone a step too far.

Press release from Monday:

Not the county board supervisors.

Email sent on Monday at 12:32 to county board supervisors:

Dear Dane County Supervisors,

Here is the link to the Climate Action Plan that we released this morning.  Thank you for your continuous support of my office and our climate work.

https://daneclimateaction.org/climate-action-plan

Let me know if you have any questions about it.

Stay safe and have a great Earth Week!

Keith Reopelle
Director, Office of Energy and Climate Change
Dane County
Reopelle.keith@countyofdane.com
608-283-1476
www.daneclimateaction.org

Not the Council on Climate Change?

The Office of Energy & Climate Change created the Council on Climate Change, a council of 38 local governments, public utilities, businesses, and organizations that has provided important input into the development of this action plan of policies, programs, and projects to drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions across all 61 cities, towns, and villages as well as the entire private sector. It is a plan that will: 1) result in major economic and health benefits; 2) address racial and economic equality to ensure the benefits of carbon reductions are equitably distributed; and 3) lead to energy security and greater resilience to the harmful impacts of our changing climate.

Joe Parisi adopted it?

OK, WHAT IS THIS THING?

I’m sure its full of great ideas that I support.  But seriously, what is this thing?  The best description I could find is this (page 7):

The Dane County Office of Energy & Climate Change initiated work on this climate action plan in 2017, working with representatives from 38 organizations and another 75 individuals from across the county to help research and develop the top program, policy, and project recommendations that will enable Dane County to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and put Dane County on a path to deep decarbonization.

On page 24 it further explains

On June 5, 2017, County Executive Joe Parisi opened the Dane County Office of Energy & Climate Change. The office’s highest initial priority was to develop a county-wide, economy-wide climate action plan that will put Dane County on a path to deep-decarbonization and make Dane County a leader in the effort to mitigate climate change in a way that is just and equitable and that maximizes health benefits, economic benefits, and resiliency. This document is the culmination of that effort. There have been more than 100 volunteers from across Dane County involved in developing this CAP. Many of them are engineers, scientists, farmers, consultants, CEOs, activists, attorneys, and community leaders. All of them are Dane County citizens with a unique perspective and a pride in ensuring that Dane County remains a safe, productive, beautiful place to live in the face of a rapidly changing climate.

Here’s what it says in legistar and when they held meetings open to the public:

Here’s who the report says was involved:

Here’s the people listed in legistar as having been appointed in 2017 – there is also this record in the Department Details.

MORE OPEN MEETINGS LAW VIOLATIONS?

So if the government created a body, the meetings should have been public.  From the Wisconsin Attorney General’s Open Meetings Law Compliance Guide (Page 2):

And it further explains

Looks like another open meetings law violation.open meetings law

Anyways . . .

WHAT’S IN THE PLAN?

Don’t let the nearly 200 page report intimidate you, it’s picture heavy and easy to read quickly.  However, you may need to use the glossary!  I was able to glean the following and write this blog in less than 2 hours.

Major findings from the Executive Summary (page 7)
  1. Southern Wisconsin will continue to get hotter and wetter. The number of days each summer that the high temperature is above 90 °F is historically 10 to 15 days a year. In 2050 that range will be 30 to 40 days each summer.
  2. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), says that to keep global warming to 1.5 °C, we need to reduce GHG emissions by 45% by 2030. Modeling shows that by implementing the policies, programs, and projects in this Climate Action Plan we will reduce Dane County-wide fossil-fuel GHG emissions by up to 50% by 2030 and put Dane County on a path to deep decarbonization.
  3. The modeling done as part of this plan shows that the recommendations will leave us far short of the goal the plan establishes to make Dane County carbon-neutral by 2050, and new solutions will be required in areas such as replacing natural gas as a heating fuel.
  4. This plan gives Dane County a goal to meet one-third of its electricity use with solar power (1200 MW) and one-half with wind power (700 MW) by 2030.
  5. Dane County, as a whole, needs to transition away from petroleum-based vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable natural gas (RNG) vehicles as quickly as possible. Dane County government is a national leader in the transition to RNG.
  6. All of Dane County needs to drastically increase its investment in energy efficiency, energy conservation, and other demand-side emission reduction strategies.
  7. By reducing our GHG emissions by more than 45% by 2030 we can give a major boost to economic development in Dane County, a major boost to equity, and a major boost to public health.
  8. To reach the necessary GHG emission levels in Dane County and globally, we need more sustainable agriculture systems, and Dane County can be a leader in that transition.
Guiding Principles (page 9)
  1. Equity/Justice The climate solutions must be available to all Dane County citizens, regardless of race, income levels, or any other differences. The CAP must put the most vulnerable people in our communities first.
  2. Economic Benefits We will pursue climate solutions in the most cost-effective way possible and in ways that maximize the considerable local economic benefits.
  3. Health Benefits We will also implement these climate mitigation strategies in ways that maximize the considerable health benefits that will accrue from reducing GHG emissions.
  4. Resiliency/Security We will design and implement climate solutions in ways that build the resiliency of our communities, provide critical infrastructure, and give vulnerable communities increased energy security.
  5. Bridging the Urban and Rural Divide The CAP will recognize the critical role that the rural areas play in Dane County’s economy and quality of life and the enormous role rural areas can play in climate solutions.
  6. Ecosystem Benefits Nature provides critical food, water quality, medicine, fiber, and construction material resources to our society. Nature also provides critical cognitive developmental, educational, inspirational, and spiritual benefits. We need to design and implement our climate solutions in ways
    that protect, preserve, and increase the ecosystem’s ability to provide these benefits to Dane County citizens.
Recommendation Categories & Recommendations

The recommendations weren’t nicely laid out, here’s what I could find, some in nice lists, others hidden in the text.  The report clearly suffers from having multiple writers with different styles. I’m not sure how they came up with 110 recommendations, I found 107.  You can go on a treasure hunt and see if you can find the other three.

  • Energy Efficiency Dane County will develop, commission, and execute a county-wide energy efficiency program that will reduce GHG emissions
    by increasing the efficiency of energy and transportation systems for homeowners, renters, and businesses. The Dane County energy efficiency program will prioritize the most vulnerable communities and neighborhoods.

      • The Dane County Office of Energy & Climate Change will launch an energy efficiency (EE) program that will match homeowners, renters, and business owners with incentives, information, and opportunities to save energy.
  • Buildings The Office of Energy & Climate Change will support the creation of advanced, voluntary building guidelines to help developers build highly energy efficient, and eventually net-zero energy and net-zero carbon buildings.
      • Building Performance Challenge offers a way to participate. Building owners making improvements, whether new construction, remodels, or retrofits, can commit to an energy or carbon performance target appropriate to their building type.
      • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will identify buildings in Dane County
        that fall into high-energy-use building classes and reach out to those building owners offering technical assistance and incentives to upgrade energy systems and equipment.
      • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will develop a voluntary benchmarking registry where building owners who choose to improve their building performance by benchmarking their building’s energy use will receive public recognition and peer support for their efforts.

      • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will look to neighboring municipalities and others across the country that have been making major investments in green infrastructure for many years and document best practices and the most relatable case studies in a white paper.

  • Transportation Dane County will work with municipalities, utilities, and other stakeholders to implement up to a dozen programs designed to encourage and incentivize the purchase of EVs. We will continue to expand our nation- leading RNG efforts to transition Dane County diesel vehicle fleets to RNG. And Dane County will pursue multiple strategies to reduce driving including smart growth, urban villages, active transportation, regional transit, and other strategies to reduce vehicle miles traveled. We will prioritize these transportation solutions for communities of color, low-income neighborhoods, and otherwise vulnerable citizens.
      • Electrifying the transportation sector is a key strategy for achieving deep decarbonization
      • Municipal Transportation Electrification
        • Dane County government will work with towns, cities, and villages to replace existing gasoline vehicles with electric vehicles in their fleets as quickly as possible.
        • Dane County government will explore bulk purchasing opportunities that would bring down the cost of both EVs and EV charging infrastructure.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with the public and private sector to prioritize electrification of shared-use vehicles: buses, bikes, taxi cabs, carpool vans, and community cars.
      • Improve and Expand EV Charging Infrastructure
        • Dane County government will identify strategic charging locations and install DC fast charging stations and Level 2 (slower) charging stations in all County-owned priority locations within four years.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with utilities to create incentives to increase charging infrastructure at single-family and multifamily housing developments.
        • Dane County government will establish policies that support EV-ready affordable housing.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with utilities and other EV stakeholders to develop EV charging hubs with multiple charging stations on key roadways in the County.

        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will research and develop EV-ready construction requirements and incentives for multifamily dwellings and commercial buildings.

      • EV Education and Outreach

        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with stakeholders to create a program to educate municipalities, businesses, residents, and developers on the benefits, cost savings, and incentive opportunities provided by EVs.
        • Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with Madison to build on Madison’s goal of a 100% renewable and net-zero carbon bus fleet by 2030, and work with other municipalities to adopt similar goals. The Office of Energy & Climate Change will help all cities develop the infrastructure for compressed (renewable) gas vehicles.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with utilities and other stakeholders to create a program to educate car dealership sales staff on EVs.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will organize and hold EV “ride & drive” events at existing community events or at local businesses.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with electric utilities to incorporate Dane County CAP programs and incentives in utility newsletters, bill inserts, web content, and other outlets.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will partner with EV stakeholders to develop and create an EV education center where consumers can go to learn about and test drive multiple models of EVs with no sales pressure.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will help incorporate EV education into school curriculums and automobile technology training programs.
      • Reducing total vehicle miles traveled (VMT) will be equally important for staying on course toward deep decarbonization. That means the County should take an active role in encouraging land use patterns and travel options that let people meet all their daily needs while making fewer and shorter trips by single occupancy vehicles. In addition, reducing VMT has very significant public health benefits.
      • LAND USE (was put in the same section with Transportation – page 93)

        • It is critical to continue to fund, implement, and expand upon the current (2018- 2023) Dane County Parks and Open Space Plan. In particular, this CAP supports the Plan’s goal to “preserve large tracts of nature and agricultural rural landscapes at urban fringe areas that will provide regional resource protection and recreation benefits.” This CAP also recommends that the next Dane County Parks and Open Space Plan include this CAP among its “Related Planning Efforts” and coordinate with the Dane County Office of Energy & Climate Change.

        • This recommendation envisions Dane County, in collaboration with the Capitol Area Regional Planning Commission, creating a set of guidelines and templates that cities, villages, and towns can use to modify their codes and ordinances to promote urban village developments, encouraging development that reduces the number of single-occupancy vehicle trips, increases public transit use, and increases active transportation such as walking, biking, skating, or skiing. Sixty percent of new urban growth should occur as compact development by 2030 and 90% by 2050.

      • Dane County will increase its active transportation budget to achieve the build-out of a comprehensive bike and pedestrian network that enables non-motorized transportation within and between its communities. This includes its extensive network of shared-use paths, but it could also focus on improved safety and comfort for walking and biking along major County roads. This can be achieved partly through policies and programs like Complete Streets and Safe Routes to Schools, but it also requires an emphasis on bicycles and pedestrians in all road design decisions, including design standards.

      • County could help facilitate a discussion among all local units of government to achieve the goals of an RTA through other structures and other sources of funding.

      • The County can provide informational materials and talking points regarding the county-wide benefits of regional transit. It will be important to communicate that transit benefits everyone whether they use it frequently or not.

      • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with partners in County government to establish transportation funding formulas that specifically address deep decarbonization and limit future transportation emissions.

      • Pricing mechanisms and other incentives can be put in place to shift the costs of driving and parking from hidden subsidies to more direct payment on a per- mile or per-use basis.
      • The County can leverage revenue streams such as vehicle registration fees and fuel taxes to reflect the full costs of road construction and maintenance, but it could also explore more direct pricing methods like tolls or mileage-based fees such as Oregon’s voluntary OReGO program. Revenues from these programs should be directed toward improving transportation options, offering travel incentives, offsetting driving costs for low-income families, and benefitting underserved communities.
      • The County can also promote and guide the implementation of local travel demand management programs or transportation management associations and changes to local zoning codes.
      • The County can also encourage and implement a change in how traffic impact assessments are conducted for new developments, so that environmental impacts are measured in terms of added VMT instead of highway level of service, to promote infill development and multimodal transportation improvements.
      • Create affordable ride sharing programs using electric vehicles that are convenient for all Dane County residents to access, including urban and rural low-income residents.
      • Create affordable electric carsharing programs at, and exclusively for, affordable housing residents.
      • Expand transit options with electric buses in vulnerable communities including electric buses to transport blue-color workers to manufacturing jobs in outlying communities.
      • Create a system for transporting commercial goods and services with electric commercial vehicles.
  • Renewable Energy The Office of Energy & Climate Change will accelerate solar and wind energy development to meet one-third of Dane County’s electricity use with solar and one-half with wind power by 2030. We will accelerate energy storage development at Dane County facilities and will help to identify finance tools for storage projects at municipal government facilities as well as private businesses. We will also launch a comprehensive solar education program aimed at businesses, make incentives available for solar on affordable housing, and work with municipalities to help them reach their renewable energy and GHG emission goals.
      • Accelerate solar development – Establish and achieve a mid-term, 2030, goal of meeting one-third of county-wide electric demand/use, approximately 1,200 MW of capacity, with solar power.
      • The County will promote both large (utility) scale and small-scale solar projects by:
        • Exploring co-owned, or co-offtake, solar projects with other municipalities, non-profit organizations, and businesses.
        • Exploring a County role for administrating and/or promoting a County-wide residential group buy program or County rebate/subsidy programs.
        • Prioritizing resources and leveraging existing programs to maximize solar development on affordable housing.
        • Partnering with utilities and solar developers to support and reward solar project landowner participants in instances where participation results in water quality, farmland preservation, ecosystem, and carbon sequestration benefits.
        • Partnering with utilities and municipalities to develop medium-sized utility- owned solar projects (e.g., the Dane County Airport).
        • Partnering with utilities and municipalities to establish community solar arrays in every city and village in Dane County.
        • Playing a pivotal leadership role in leveraging existing solar financing tools (e.g., commercial PACE) and creating new ones.
        • The purchase of renewable energy credits from strategic solar projects (e.g. project where solar is coupled with a second renewable resource or energy storage).
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will commission an assessment/study
          of strategic solar deployment throughout the County to determine where
          solar, and solar with storage, can provide significant benefits to bolstering the transmission and distribution systems, increasing resiliency and energy security/ independence, become part of micro grid, power other key CAP technologies such as EV charging infrastructure, contribute to a Dane County clean energy district” (see Cross-sector Solutions), or provide other strategic equity, resiliency, economic, or social benefits.
        • Dane County will actively partner with other units of government, non-profit organizations, and higher education institutions to develop workforce training programs for the solar industry.
      • Accelerate wind development – Establish and achieve a mid-term, 2030 goal of meeting one half of county-wide electric demand/use, approximately 700 MW of capacity, with wind power.
        • Dane County will actively partner with other units of government, non-profit organizations, and higher education institutions to develop workforce training programs for the solar industry.
      • Launch a comprehensive solar education program – Establish partnerships with all County stakeholders to develop and deploy an expansive public education and awareness campaign to highlight the many benefits and affordability of solar power.
        • Develop, test, and launch a solar education and outreach effort to key audiences
      • Municipalities leading by example – Continue to work with Dane County municipalities to develop comprehensive energy plans and develop, adopt, and achieve renewable energy goals.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with the municipalities
          to establish programs and procedures for benchmarking, tracking, and evaluating energy use in their government facilities and operations, as well as the GHG emissions.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with municipalities to adopt clean energy goals and develop comprehensive clean energy plans to meet those goals.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will continue to facilitate a municipal clean energy work group and will support their efforts to implement comprehensive clean energy plans. The Office of Energy & Climate Change will support municipalities by helping to identify clean energy project grant opportunities and write successful grant proposals; work with utilities and other stakeholders to identify and pursue clean energy project opportunities; ensure equitable access to clean energy for low and moderate income neighborhoods; identify and coordinate opportunities for group buys of renewable energy, energy efficiency products, energy storage, and other clean energy strategies and technologies. The Office of Energy & Climate Change will also help municipalities establish clean energy districts (see the Cross- sector Solutions Section).
      • Accelerate energy storage development – Pursue public-private partnerships and make the investments necessary to bring energy storage online in Dane County through multiple ownership and finance models with the dual goals
        of expanding levels of renewable resources and building resiliency for critical infrastructure and vulnerable citizens.

        • The Climate Council urges the Office of Energy & Climate Change to pursue energy storage projects to realize some of these benefits and gain experience with energy storage.

        • Dane County will partner with utilities and businesses and invest in storage projects that will provide valuable experience. The County should prioritize projects where clean energy storage is coupled with renewable generation and increases equity and resilience.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will engage with the Midcontinent Independent System Operator to support the development of strong rules under Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order 841 for development of strong energy storage markets that maximize opportunities for Dane County utilities and their customers to take advantage of energy storage.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will conduct, or contract for, a comprehensive energy storage potential study focused on storage coupled with new or existing renewable generation. The study should look at costs and benefits, including emission reductions, equity, resiliency, and grid support. The study should identify potential sites that maximize these storage benefits. Feasibility studies on specific projects at specific project sites should be considered depending on the results of the potential study.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will add storage to the list of potential projects and technologies to consider for group purchasing with other municipalities.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will lead a collaborative effort to develop an energy storage action plan, potentially like the one written by the Iowa Energy Office in May 2019.
      • Grid modification – Work with other stakeholders to support utility efforts to modernize the electric distribution grid in Dane County.

        • Support the strategic and environmentally sound buildout of the transmission grid to accommodate more clean renewable generation.

      • Establish a geothermal work group to help accelerate investment in geothermal heat pumps for large building owners/developers, particular institutional buildings such as schools, hospitals, municipal buildings, and others.

        • Office of Energy & Climate Change establish a Geothermal Work Group to come up with a County-wide program to help large building owners finance and install geothermal heat pumps at a much faster rate than is currently happening. That same work group should also come up with recommendations that the County government and the Office of Energy & Climate Change can take to establish pilot programs for air- source heat pumps.

  • Agriculture and Forestry Dane County will pursue a variety of advanced agriculture systems and practices that sequester more carbon including
    alley cropping, silvopasture, perennial cropping, and riparian buffers. We
    will also accelerate development of biodigesters, composting, and other manure management strategies. We will use a combination of existing
    tree and canopy inventories to establish a tree canopy baseline and then implement several reforestation and afforestation strategies, and help private landowners manage existing forests for greater carbon sequestration.

      • Agriculture
        • Dane County will hire staff members with greater expertise in regenerative agriculture systems and dedicate staff to regenerative agriculture projects and practices including composting, perennial cropping, silvopasture, tree intercropping, multi-strata agroforestry, alley cropping, biochar, and others.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will join the 4 per 1000 Initiative, which is an international initiative consisting of governments, foundations, research organizations, private companies, and farm and forestry organizations who are committed to improving soil carbon management, combating poverty and food insecurity, and mitigating climate change. The Office of Energy & Climate Change will establish a commitment under the 4 per 1000 Initiative on behalf of Dane County government, review the states-and-local-authorities list of action item commitments, and take action on all that make strategic sense in the context of this CAP.
        • Dane County government will aggressively market the County Continuous Cover Program to expand perennial native plantings and promote sustainable agriculture practices including continuous cover, prairie strips, and riparian buffers.
        • Dane County government will establish a schedule to convert county-owned farmland, currently leased for row cropping, to regenerative agriculture systems including multi-strata agroforestry, alley cropping, silvopasture, and others. Initially, the emphasis should be on innovation, research, and demonstration. The county will complement this effort with workshops and demonstration projects to encourage these practices on private lands.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with the Agriculture and Forestry Work Group to commission a feasibility study to explore the potential costs, benefits, barriers, and opportunities associated with a biomass “upcycling” facility that would process more marginal biomass streams and convert these into value-added biomass products. The upcycling facilitycould include a regional manure composting operation, a mixed substrate composting operation, and a processing operation for biomass harvested from nutrient catch strips and agricultural land prairie strips.
        • The Climate Council encourages the Dane County Land and Water Resources Department to continue to pursue and accelerate the build-out of anaerobic digesters in the Yahara watershed, but also support, incent, and catalyze
          the development of anaerobic digesters in the other watersheds as well. The Council urges the County to adopt and pursue the goal of processing half of all the Dane County dairy cow manure in digesters by the year 2030.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with other Dane County departments to develop a protocol for calculating GHG emissions from agriculture practices in the County including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The County should develop a baseline for these emissions as soon as possible and then track the emissions going forward and estimate the emission reductions resulting from all the initiatives above. The Office of Energy & Climate Change should prepare a report on the agricultural GHG emissions and share this report with all agricultural stakeholders in the County. The report should also analyze and estimate the avoided GHG emissions from digesters, composting and other agricultural practices in place today.
      • Forestry
        • Keep forests as forests
          • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with the Ag/Forestry/Food Work Group and the Dane County Tree Board, to conduct an assessment of the existing forest cover in Dane County using the U.S. Forest Service i-Tree Landscape, the National Land Cover Database, and the National Agriculture Imagery Program to establish a tree canopy baseline for the County. The Office of Energy & Climate Change will use i-Tree, the Forest Inventory and Analysis program, or a similar tool, to track the carbon storage and ecosystem services of trees in Dane County and include this data in the CAP evaluation reports.
          • Dane County will encourage land use planning that maintains existing forest canopy (e.g. conservation subdivisions).
          • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with the Land and Water Resources Department to identify key parcels of forest land for acquisition to maximize continuous forest ecosystems.
        • Afforestation
          • Dane County will support and take full advantage of existing federal and state programs that promote afforestation with seed or planted stock.
          • Dane County will create county-level incentives for private sector investment in afforestation. We will track and measure the additions to the forest canopy on a three-year schedule.
          • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will support County applications to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service, and other sources, for funds to establish a new grant program for municipalities to plant and inventory urban forests.
          • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with community organizations to prioritize and support tree planting programs.
        • Manage existing forests
          • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with the Land and Water Resources Department to encourage the integration of carbon sequestration management practices into public forest lands. The Office of Energy & Climate Change will also investigate working with other government agencies including Department of Natural Resources and private groups and foundations to hold a conference on managing forests for maximum carbon sequestration.
          • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with the Land and Water Resources Department to encourage private landowners to participate in state and/or federal forest management programs.
        • Protect and expand urban forests
          • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will use existing urban forestry inventories to create an urban forest baseline and to quantify the contribution the urban forests made to the total Dane County tree canopy. We will also estimate the current level of carbon sequestration from urban forests in Dane County.
          • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with cities and villages in Dane County to increase public investments in restoring, maintaining, and expanding urban forests, particularly to address insect and disease impacts.
        • Increase the use of forest products
          • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will integrate information on carbon sequestration in wood used in building construction into the advanced building guidelines discussed earlier in this action plan.
          • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will launch an education and awareness campaign on the carbon that can be sequestered in wood products.
          • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will conduct, or commission, an analysis on cradle-to-grave use of various materials from a GHG standpoint.
  • Water The Office of Energy & Climate Change will support the efforts of the Madison Water Utility to develop and implement a residential water efficiency and rainwater incentive program and work with all the municipalities to build off Madison’s successes. We will also build a water efficiency focus into the energy efficiency program developed per the first recommendation (Energy Efficiency).
      • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will support efforts of the Madison Water Utility to develop and implement a residential water efficiency
        and rainwater capture incentive program. By replacing older fixtures and appliances with EPA Watersense-labeled products, and by capturing rainwater for non-drinking water uses, the water utility will aim for a goal of reducing residential water use by 20% by 2030.
      • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with the Water Work Group to develop best energy efficiency practices and identify the most efficient appliances and equipment for major Dane County commercial sectors and building types. The Office of Energy & Climate Change will, in turn, also work with the Water Work Group to integrate these water efficiency practices and equipment into the Dane County energy efficiency program (see Energy Efficiency).
      • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with the Water Work Group and the Madison Water Utility to identify and analyze water efficiency and rainwater capture policies and promote those policies with Dane County municipalities.
      • The Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District will complete an energy master plan and implement key improvements to significantly reduce its energy demand and dependency. Energy reduction and generation projects could include water treatment process efficiencies such as demand-based nutrient removal, improving onsite co-generation, developing a co-digestion program, and constructing renewable energy facilities for treatment plant energy demand needs.
      • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with the Water Work Group to analyze the Net Blue model ordinance for water-neutral community growth. Net Blue is a collaborative initiative of the Alliance for Water Efficiency, the Environmental Law Institute, and River Network to support sustainable community growth. The Office of Energy & Climate Change and the Water Work Group will develop a plan for the most impactful application of that ordinance, or another comprehensive water efficiency ordinance, and the Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with Dane County municipalities to adopt the ordinance.
  • Waste Materials to Resources Dane County will continue the transition from traditional waste programs to resource management systems in a circular economy. Dane County will create new programs to divert additional waste materials from landfilling, in ways that are economically and environmentally sustainable, thus reducing methane emissions from landfill operations and other GHG emissions from the use of more virgin materials. Dane County will continue to expand our nation-leading renewable natural gas (RNG) efforts to convert landfill gas to renewable vehicle fuel, with future efforts aimed at capturing the carbon component of the remaining landfill emissions.
      • Creation of a comprehensive sustainable materials management policy. The policy should include:
        • Adoption of goals for waste diversion through reuse, repurposing, and recycling, including a prioritization list for new programs to divert additional waste materials from the landfill in ways that are economically and environmentally sustainable. Food waste should be one of the next waste materials on the landfill diversion prioritization list.
        • Procurement rules for products manufactured and brought to market based on GHG lifecycle analysis.
        • Environmental standards for waste collection vehicles, with an emphasis on RNG and EV vehicles.
        • Programs and policies to encourage development of local businesses that use waste resources as their product feedstock. This should include the consideration of a sustainable materials business park, similar to the Phoenix Resource Innovation Campus (bit.ly/PhReInCa) or the Kent County Sustainable Business Park (reimaginetrash.org/sbp).
        • Education and engagement programs.
      • Creation of a departmental, long-range, solid waste plan. The plan should account for future waste types and volumes, as well as current and future community needs for waste diversion and disposal facilities and programs. This plan should also consider the best use of the land controlled by the Department of Waste & Renewables, both during operations and after final landfill closure. Emphasis should be placed on using portions of the land for solar and biogas renewable energy systems, conservancy, light recreational use, reforestation, and prairie restoration.
      • Adoption of steps to actively reduce the GHG emissions associated with waste disposal and management activities.
        • Install landfill gas collection wells sooner and optimize landfill gas collection systems to minimize amount of fugitive emissions. This will help reduce GHG emissions, increase RNG renewable fuel production, increase revenue, and reduce landfill odors.
        • Continue to pursue carbon capture from the remaining emissions at the RNG plant.
        • Implement fuel efficiency programs and convert landfill equipment to RNG as technology becomes available. Encourage the conversion of our landfill customer garbage truck fleets to renewable fuel vehicles.
        • Install solar PV projects to meet the high energy demands associated with managing large volumes of waste and biogas.
      • Work with the Emergency Management Department to update the County’s Disaster Debris Management Plan.
      • Food Waste
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change should develop a model local, low-carbon farms act to promote low-carbon, regional food systems.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with the Department of Waste & Renewables and municipalities to develop a plan for collection and diversion of food waste that includes digestion, composting, and other management tools that maximize the GHG emission reductions associated with food waste.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change should investigate the feasibility of a wholesale food terminal that keeps fresh food cold so that more food may flow through our region.
        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change should provide matching funds for the food projects portion of the Partners in Equity grants program.
      • Create a circular economy

        • The Office of Energy & Climate Change will reach out and partner with like-minded governments along the southern Lake Michigan shore, such as Milwaukee and Racine to work together to get a pilot industrial symbiosis project off the ground there. If that pilot takes off Dane County businesses will be able to help grow the program faster.

  • Finance Solutions The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with existing finance programs, such as the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program and performance contracting, to help finance clean energy projects for businesses, governments, and other organizations. The Office of Energy & Climate Change will also explore tools such as loans with credit enhancements, climate bonds, and green banks, and work with key stakeholders to create a voluntary carbon market.
      • Loans with Credit Enhancement
      • PACE
      • Energy Service Companies and Performance Contracting
      • Climate Bonds
      • Green Banks
      • Voluntary Carbon Markets/Funds
  • Cross-sector Solutions The Office of Energy & Climate Change will develop and award Dane County Clean Energy District designations to neighborhoods and communities that develop broad-based clean energy programs for their citizens and businesses and create plans to target clean energy benefits to those most vulnerable within their community. The Office of Energy & Climate Change will also work to establish a research and development fund to support research directly related to climate mitigation and adaptation.
      • Clean Energy Districts – The Dane County Office of Energy & Climate Change will designate identifiable geographic areas – neighborhoods, business parks, communities – as official Dane County Clean Energy Districts when those jurisdictions meet specific criteria
      • Climate/Clean Energy R&D including
        • Groundwater monitoring research
        • Modeling to optimize flood mitigation strategies
The Arts and Climate Change

The Office of Energy & Climate Change will work with Dane Arts and local artists to infuse climate impacts and solutions into art programs, exhibits, displays, and performances.

Public Participation

The Office of Energy & Climate Change will engage Dane County residents in a way that helps empower them so they see themselves and their neighbors as part of an influential group – Dane climate champions, the people who are taking Dane County forward in a sustainable, responsible way.

This broad public engagement effort will include:

  • Broad awareness raising.
  • Diverse engagement initiatives that inspire people to action, giving them clear direction on what they can do to be part of the solution.
  • Awards and storytelling that showcase the existing successes in our community, demonstrating what’s possible.

WHAT’S NEXT?

From page 162:

This CAP contains approximately 110 recommendations for programs, policies, and projects that will help with climate change mitigation. Now that this initial Dane County CAP is written, the Dane County Office of Energy & Climate Change and other Dane County departments will engage external partners, including the Dane County Climate Council organizations and the Office of Energy & Climate Change work group organizations, to conduct public outreach and engagement, flesh out program design details, acquire resources, and set up tracking, measurement, evaluations, and verification protocols for as many of the recommendations as possible.

The Office of Energy & Climate Change will prioritize programs, policies, and projects based on a combination of GHG reduction potential and feasibility as well as the six guiding principles covered in separate sections earlier in this report. Once prioritized, the Office of Energy & Climate Change will take the lead in identifying and engaging partners, designing programs, and subsequently launching them.

We will also launch a public engagement, awareness, and listening campaign. There are two important types of public outreach and engagement for this CAP. One is a broad public relations campaign that raises awareness across as many sectors and audiences as possible. This public relations campaign will give Dane County residents a variety of immediate ways to take climate mitigation actions, share climate stories and ideas, and engage with friends, neighbors, co-workers, and other like-minded citizens in climate mitigation and adaptation activities.

We will also conduct very targeted outreach that takes the form of listening to and learning from citizens, to seek out experiential knowledge, opinions, and perspectives. This type of outreach will be especially important with the populations, communities, neighborhoods, and individuals most vulnerable to climate impacts. It is our job to seek out, recognize, and value the experiential knowledge of Dane County’s first nation, the Ho-Chunk, the communities and cultures we know to be most concerned about climate change, such as the Latino community, and communities most at risk. The section on equity and justice goes into more detail on some of the specific ways the Office of Energy & Climate Change is going about this type of targeted outreach and engagement.

AND

. . . recommend the Office of Energy & Climate Change create additional ad hoc or permanent work groups. Among the topics we could explore are:

    • Green infrastructure
    • Geothermal heating and cooling
    • Grid modernization
    • Air-source heat pumps
    • Agricultural emissions

ALSO

From the Cap Times

Dane County is kicking off the Climate Action Plan in a webinar on Friday, April 24 at 11:30 a.m. During the webinar, Parisi and Reopelle will answer questions and solicit ideas. Those interested can sign up online.

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