Tompkins County, NY Recommend Adoption of a Renewable Energy Standard
Type: Resolution
Status: Adopted on 4/14/04
Vote: In Favor - 11 Opposed - 1
Source File: http://www.co.tompkins.ny.us/emc/resolutions/2004-1.pdf
Text:
Environmental Management Council
EMC RESOLUTION 1-2004: RECOMMENDING THAT THE TOMPKINS COUNTY LEGISLATURE ADOPT A RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARD FOR COUNTY ELECTRICITY USE
WHEREAS, on April 4, 2001, Tompkins County adopted Resolution No. 69 of 2001 to participate in the Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) Campaign, a project of the International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), and
WHEREAS, the Cities for Climate Protection campaign is a voluntary program for municipal governments to identify sources of greenhouse gas emissions within their jurisdictions, identify opportunities and implement a proactive approach to reducing climate change impacts at the local level by working through five milestones:
- 1. Conduct a local emissions inventory and forecast of greenhouse gas emissions,
- 2. Adopt an emissions reduction target,
- 3. Draft a Local Action Plan to achieve the target,
- 4. Implement the action plan,
- 5. Evaluate and report on progress, and
WHEREAS, in September 2001, Tompkins County completed Milestone 1 of the CCP campaign by developing a county-wide inventory of greenhouse gas emissions for the base year of 1998, that includes separate information on county government contributions, known as The Tompkins County Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Report, and on August 6, 2002, the Tompkins County Legislature reached Milestone 2 of the CCP campaign by adopting the following goal:
- Tompkins County will, by 2008, reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases generated by county operations by 20% (as measured by eCO2) compared to the base year of 1998; And on July 15, 2003, the Tompkins County Legislature completed Milestone 3 of the CCP process by adopting the Local Action Plan to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions for County Government Operations, and
WHEREAS, although county governmental operations only constitute ½% of total county-wide emissions, the Local Action Plan will be used as an example for communitywide efforts to reduce greenhouse gases in the future, and
WHEREAS, an important and related effort is to move toward the use of renewable “green” energy sources such as wind, solar, and biomass;
WHEREAS, leadership at the local municipal level is essential in achieving fundamental policy change, and Tompkins County has provided such leadership through the installation of the library solar panels, which currently provide 2% of the county’s electricity use; therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Tompkins County Environmental Management Council recommends that the Tompkins County Legislature continue its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by adopting a renewable energy standard that sets the following goal:
- Tompkins County will increase its proportion of non-polluting, renewable energy so that 5% of its annual electricity use will be from renewable sources by 2008.
AND FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Local Action Plan will be updated to include this renewable energy standard.