Background
Yolo County (“County”) continues to be a leader in sustainability throughout the nation. The following report includes the substantial efforts made by the Board of Supervisors (“Board”) and County staff from 2016-2019, and outlines the County’s strategy moving forward with a comprehensive Sustainability Plan.
The County has received numerous awards recognizing its leadership in embracing innovative sustainability projects. Below are major awards received by the County over the past decade:
- 2009 – PG&E recognized Yolo County with the Exemplary Energy Stewardship Award for implementing energy conservation projects
- 2010 – US National Renewable Energy Laboratory recognized Yolo County - “First Known Use of Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds Save Yolo County at least $8.7 million over the Next 25 Years”
- 2013 – Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) recognized Yolo County among nation’s leading green power users
- 2014 – EPA recognized Yolo County with the 2014/2015 Green Power Leadership Club Award
- 2014 – Green California Summit recognized Yolo County with a leadership award-2014 Renewable Energy for Countywide Solar Project
- 2016 – California Counties Architects & Engineers Association awarded Yolo County with the Grand Honor Award and Project of the Year – Medium County
The major accomplishments either completed or underway by the County may be found below. This list is not meant to be comprehensive, but rather is a highlight of major successes and projects undertaken by the County toward a more sustainable environment.
Climate Action Plan
The Climate Action Plan (“CAP”) has served as the primary regulatory document guiding the County’s sustainability efforts. The CAP was first adopted by the Board of Supervisors in March 2011 and utilized a 2008 Greenhouse Gas (“GHG”) Inventory. The CAP was subsequently updated in 2018 with a 2016 GHG Inventory update, which indicated an 8% decrease in GHG emissions from 2008 to 2016. The CAP provides broad recommendations for reducing GHG emissions.
In addition to the CAP, a regional GHG Inventory is being conducted through a partnership between Yolo County and the cities of Winters, Woodland, and Davis. This work will be conducted by Ascent Environmental, who will collect regional data, provide the GHG inventory, and develop a technical memorandum outlining the methodology of the process. This work is currently underway and is expected to conclude in 2020.
Valley Clean Energy
The Community Choice Energy program, one of the main recommendations in the CAP, officially launched as of June 1, 2018 with the formation of Valley Clean Energy (“VCE”). VCE is a major collaborative effort involving Yolo County and the cities of Davis and Woodland, that was developed through numerous outreach sessions and mailings, newspaper inserts and booths at local events. VCE will be providing an update at the Board meeting on December 17, 2019.
Yolo County Landfill
California has a statewide goal to divert 75 percent of waste from landfills by 2020. In February 2007, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (“CalRecycle”) adopted Strategic Directive 6.1, which calls for a 50 percent reduction in the amount of organics being disposed in the landfills by 2020. Organic waste makes up approximately one-third of the 35 million tons of waste that is currently landfilled in California. To aid in meeting the statewide 75 percent goal, Assembly Bill 1826 was passed in September 2014, which requires businesses, including state agencies that generate threshold amounts of organic waste per week to have organic waste recycling programs on or after April 1, 2016. To meet these goals, the Division of Integrated Waste Management implemented a three-part strategy: 1) having an organic waste transfer facility, 2) an anaerobic composter facility, and 3) an in-vessel digester (liquid digester).
On October 22, 2019, the County held a grand opening for the County’s anaerobic composter. The composter has an annual total capacity of 52,000 tons and uses anaerobic bacteria to decompose organic waste in a sealed environment. Following the anaerobic composter will be a liquid digester that would accept liquid food waste. This project is expected to begin in 2020 and finished in 2022. Finally, a compost facility is proposed to be completed in 2021 that would be able to accept the material excavated from the anaerobic composter cells and provide final curing before it is available as a soil amendment. This effort will be completed through a partnership between the County and Northern Recycling. This partnership recently applied for $3,000,000 to CalRecycle to assist in the construction financing for the composting facility.
SACOG Green Region Grant Program
In 2018, Yolo County in partnership with VCE, the City of Davis, and the City of Woodland, was awarded $2,900,000 in grant funding to lay the foundation for increased electric vehicle charging opportunities and multi-modal transportation hubs in Yolo County. These funds are provided through the Sacramento Area Council of Governments Green Region Program, which is intended to help the Sacramento region’s transportation system reduce emissions while continuing to function effectively and efficiently. Efforts are currently underway in developing the framework for this grant program, and the County and partners will have until 2022 to complete the project. The County is considering up to 16 electric vehicle charging stations located throughout the County. County staff are currently engaged in conversations with SACOG and VCE regarding the placement and timing of these proposed stations.
Trane Energy Efficiency Upgrades
In December 2017, the County issued a Request for Qualifications for Energy Conservation Performance Contracting. The County selected Trane as the partner of choice and executed a contract for professional services in April 2018. Since then, Trane has conducted a preliminary study of forty-three County sites and four solar arrays. This study identified energy and water savings opportunities and developed recommended actions that the County and Trane could take to enhance energy savings and efficiency throughout the County. Specifically, the study identified projects including HVAC and plumbing fixture replacement, installation of automatic light switches, and adding battery storage for existing solar installations. Implementation of the recommendations is expected to save the County $16,100,000 over 20 years. The final contract for energy improvements will come before the Board in February, 2020.
Solar Array Project
This solar renewable energy project was the first of its kind in innovation (zero capital investment), revenue generation ($60 million over 35 years), and sustainability (elimination of County’s $1.4 million electric bill). In response to the economic recession and subsequent budget reductions, the County sought to significantly reduce ongoing general fund expenditures on electricity for County facilities. The County also wanted to operate in a more sustainable manner and reduce its carbon foot print. To do this, the County eliminated its electric bill by installing 7 Megawatts of solar renewable energy - and is the first county government in the U.S. to be "grid positive." The County produces enough clean energy to meet 130 percent of the County’s electricity needs. In 2016, this project received the Grand Honor Award from the California Counties Architects and Engineers Association.
Yolo County Energy Watch
In 2010, Yolo County established the Yolo County Energy Watch, in conjunction with PG&E, to promote energy efficiency in small and medium size businesses, as well as in the residential and agricultural sectors. In 2016, in conjunction with the Madison Community Services District, Yolo Energy Watch sponsored a “Festival of Services” that featured water and energy efficiency techniques and tools. Additionally, Yolo Energy Watch partnered with the City of Woodland to conduct a hands-on community demonstration of water and energy efficiency methods and tools and partnered with the City of West Sacramento to conduct a water and energy efficiency community workshop and a “parking lot” festival in West Sacramento to demonstrate and promote water and energy efficiency methods and tools.
PACE Program
The Property Assessed Clean Energy (“PACE”) program allows property owners to finance energy and water efficiency projects on existing and new residential and commercial structures through a voluntary special tax assessment on the property. There are currently three administrators of this program including California First, HERO, and Clean Energy Yolo – Ygrene. The County revised its agreement with Ygrene in 2018 to operate under the Golden State Financing Authority. Since 2011, the PACE program has served over 1,200 properties in Yolo County.
County Education Efforts
Yolo County requires an Employee Education and Outreach program to instill a belief and enthusiasm in County employees that demonstrates the County’s concern for the environment by employees actively participating in green procurement policies and recycling programs. The County also requires each department to report annually on efforts made to reduce the County’s carbon footprint or implement new sustainability programs.
Additional efforts related to sustainability education are proposed in the upcoming Sustainability Plan.
Yolo County Green Team
The Yolo County Green Team assists with internal sustainability efforts. During 2016-2019, the team accomplished the following tasks:
- Re-opened a bike locker for bicycle commuters at the County Administration Building.
- Developed environmentally sustainable procurement policies.
- Encouraged hybrid and electric vehicles for new county vehicle fleet purchase requests.
Partnerships
The County has also partnered with other local jurisdictions and organizations to spur sustainable efforts from 2016-2019. The County is a member of the Capital Region Climate Readiness Collaborative, which is an organization that brings together stakeholders from across sectors and jurisdictions to find regional solutions to address shared challenges – drought, extreme heat, extreme weather events, wildfires and more. The County has also partnered with local jurisdictions and organizations to form the Yolo Resiliency Collaborative (formerly the Yolo Resiliency Planning Group) in October 2017. YRC is an ad-hoc staff level organization of Yolo jurisdictions working collaboratively to increase the resiliency of the community. The specific work completed by this group thus far has been the development of a multi-jurisdictional toolbox of policies and actions that any jurisdiction in the County can adopt to respond to adverse heat effects due to climate change. These efforts follow in the footsteps of Senate Bill 379 (2015), which requires all cities and counties in California to include climate change adaptation and resiliency strategies in the safety element of their general plans and/or local hazard mitigation plan.
Next Steps
To ensure that all these efforts are woven together into the County’s future sustainability strategy, a more holistic approach is necessary to tackle the vast challenges that climate change presents. Therefore, County staff released a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) for a Sustainability Plan in October 2019 that will compliment the existing recommendations in the CAP but also include efforts not currently measured by the CAP. The key elements in the Sustainability Plan are ecological health, water, air quality, buildings, waste, local food and agriculture, and education. These key elements, extensive community engagement, and a comprehensive review of existing documentation will allow the Sustainability Plan to pave the way forward for implementing the County’s Strategic Plan and continuing the excellent progress made over the past few years. Staff anticipates that a contract for services will be brought to the Board in January 2020. |