Toward Sustainable Energy & Climate through a Whole Community Approach

1. Toward Sustainable Energy & Climatethrough a Whole Community Approach John Randolph Urban Affairs & Planning Virginia Tech

2. Groundswell of Rhetoric and Plans to Mitigate Climate Change • International action: EU leader, Copenhagen 2009 • Federal proposals for carbon cap & trade • EPA to regulate CO2, GHG as air pollutant • U.S. State and Community Climate Action plans • 26 state climate action plans • ~1000 cities in Cool Cities program • 606 campuses signed commitment for climate neutrality • Common target  GHG emission reduction to 80% below 1990 or 2005 levels by 2050

3. Town Council adopts this 80% reduction target for Blacksburg

4. Virginia Tech also adopted this 80% reduction target by 2050

5. Sustainable or “Whole” Community Energy • A comprehensive approach to community energy and land use from building to metro scales: • Building: • Life-cycle efficiency for energy • Site: • On-site distributed energy • Neighborhood to Region: • Smart Growth & land use efficiency • Density, transport efficiency and transit • Smart Grid, distributed energy, and vehicle electrification • …achieved through evolving technology & design and green markets enhanced by green ratings and government codes, policies • …which can reduce GHG emissions, oil, and energy

6. “Whole” Community Energy Three pieces of the whole • Buildings: • 1/2 of our energy use today • 40% of carbon emissions • Electricity: • 40% of energy and growing • 52% from coal, 20% nuclear, 16% gas, 12% renewables • 39% of carbon emissions • Our overall electricity is only 30% efficient • Transportation: • 1/3 of our energy use today • 2/3 of our oil use • 32% of carbon emissions

7. Buildings and “Whole Community” EnergyEvolution of building energy in codes, ratings, practice • 1960s-70s “Envelope”  Heating operating energy • 1980s “Envelope, Infiltration, HVAC”  Heating + AC operating energy • 1990s-2000s “Whole Building”  Heating + AC + appliances + lighting operating energy • 2000s+ “Whole Building Life-Cycle”  Heating + AC + appliances + lighting operating energy + environmental/health impacts + life-cycle embodied energy • 2010s+ “Whole Community”  All of above + on-site generation, site/neighborhood design, and regional connectivity

8. Building “Envelope + Infiltration”: codes for new buildings, retrofit for old qceiling qwalls qwindows Inside Ti qinfiltration Ambient Ta qdoors qfloor qtot= q walls+ q windows+ q ceiling+ q floor+ q doors+ q infiltration

9. “Whole Building Energy” • Whole Building: Goes beyond Envelope + Infiltration + HVAC……… to include electricity (appliances + lighting) • Where are we today? Whole Building moving into ratings and some codes • …and future efficiency codes and standards have helped drive new technology

10. The Great Story of Refrigerator Efficiency… Since 1975, 25% bigger, 1/3 the energy, 1/3 the cost 1st State Standards (CA) 1st Federal Standards More stringent Standards Source: David Goldstein

11. Evolution of Lighting Hack, 2009

13. LEED-H (Homes): “Whole Building” Energy “Building Envelope” Points • Location and Linkages10 • Sustainable Sites22 • Water Efficiency 15 • Indoor Air Quality 21 • Materials and Resources 18 • Energy and Atmosphere38 1 ENERGY STAR Home Req+16 2 Insulation Req+2 3 Air Infiltration Req+5 4 Windows Req+3 5 Duct Tightness Req+5 6 Space Heating and Cooling HVAC Req+6 7 Water Heating 3+3 8 Lighting Energy Efficient Req+5 9 Appliances 2+1 10 Renewable Electric Generation System 10 11 Non-HCFC Refrigerant 3 • Homeowner Awareness1 • Innovation and Design Process 11 • Project Maximum Points: 136 Certified 45 pts; Silver 60 pts; Gold 75 pts; Platinum 90 pts “Whole Building”

14. “Whole Building Life-Cycle” Energy • “Whole Building” (envelope + HVAC + appliances + lighting operating energy) + environmental/health impacts + life-cycle embodied energy • Where are we? In Green Building ratings but not in codes

15. LEED-H Homes: “Whole Building Life-Cycle” Points • Location and Linkages10 • Sustainable Sites22 • Water Efficiency 15 • Indoor Air Quality 21 1 ENERGY STAR with Indoor Air Quality Package (IAP) 13 2 Combustion Venting Req+2 3 Humidity Control 1 4 Outdoor Air Ventilation Req+3 5 Local Exhaust Req+2 6 Supply Air Distribution Req+3 7 Supply Air Filtering Req+3 8 Contaminant Control Req+4 9 Radon Protection Req+1 10 Vehicle & Garage Pollutant Protection Req+6 • Materials and Resources 18 1 Home Size: Smaller than National Average 10 2 Material Efficient Framing Req+2 3 Local Sources Materials 3 4 Durability Plan Req+3 5 Environmentally Preferable Products Req+4 6 Waste Management Req+2 • Energy and Atmosphere38 • Homeowner Awareness1 • Innovation and Design Process 11 Project Maximum Points: 136 Certified 45 pts; Silver 60 pts; Gold 75 pts; Platinum 90 pts

16. “Whole Community Energy” • “Whole Building Life Cycle” plus…. • … on-site energy generation • … site design • … neighborhood design • … regional connectivity • Where are we? In some rating systems, not in codes. • But signs of things to come? • DOE Building America program • Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) • LEED-ND Neighborhood Development • Land Use Zoning and Form-Based Codes

17. “Whole Community Energy” and On-site Distributed Electricity • Buildings as power plants • Net metering feeds excess on-site power to grid • Other local power sources: micro-turbines, stationary fuel cells, regional wind farms… • Power storage for load management • Electric vehicles and storage: grid to vehicles, vehicles to grid, “smart grid”

18. or Plug-in cars

19. Rooftop Photovoltaics: Buildings and Neighborhoods as power plants

20. 170 kW Rooftop PV in Munich

21. Net-metering for Grid-Connected Systems • On-site generation feeds the house when needed, feeds the grid with excess power • “Bank” excess energy with the local utility • Meter spins backward; customer receives full retail value for each kWh produced • Net excess generation (NEG) usually credited monthly or annually

22. Net Zero Energy Buildings: Federal DOE BA & 2007 EISA Goals, 2020 CA Title 24? Efficiency improvements

23. “Whole Community Energy” Transportation: Land Use & Vehicles • “Whole Community” goes beyond the building and site scale to… • the Neighborhood: compactness, walkability • the Community: interconnectedness, transit • the Region: growth boundaries • From energy efficient buildings to energy efficient land use and transportation

24. U.S. Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) 1960-2005, projections to 2025 Growth at 2.3%/yr, doubling every 30 years Millions

25. Energy Use Depends on Land Use Pattern (and Consumer Choice) 417

26. Vehicle Miles Travelled Carbon impact: Chicago VMT CO2 per square mile

27. Chicago VMT CO2 per household

28. Can “Smart Growth” Reduce VMT and Building Energy? • Smart Growth: • Steering growth away from outlying greenfields to areas of existing infrastructure where infill development can revitalize urban centers and inner ring suburbs • The five D’s of efficient land use: • Density, Diversity, Design, Destination accessibility, Distance to transit • Increased density reduces travel distances, creates better opportunities for effective transit, and possibly more livable neighborhoods and reduced VMT • If SG leads to more compact, smaller and more attached housing units then building energy savings

31. Transit Oriented Development (TOD)

32. Urban Growth Boundary Necessary to Arrest sprawl, Enable transit, Preserve land and waters in hinterlands

33. Portland, OR

34. LEED-ND – Neighborhood Development Title # Credits Points % of total Location Efficiency 7 28 25% Reduced Automobile Dependence 2 to 6 Environmental Preservation 13 11% Compact, Complete, & Connected Neighborhoods 22 42 37% Compact Development 1 to 5 Transit-Oriented Compactness 1 Diversity of Uses 1 to 3 Comprehensively Designed Walkable Streets 2 Superior Pedestrian Experience 1 to 2 Transit Amenities 1 Access to Nearby Communities 1 Resource Efficiency 17 25 22% Certified Green Building 1 to 5 Energy Efficiency in Buildings 1 to 3 Heat Island Reduction 1 Infrastructure Energy Efficiency 1 On-Site Power Generation 1 On-Site Renewable Energy Sources 1 Reuse of Materials 1 Recycled Content 1 Regionally Provided Materials 1 Construction Waste Management 1 Other 2 6 TOTAL 48 114 100% Certified: 46 – 56; Silver: 57 – 67; Gold: 68 – 90; Platinum: 91 – 114

35. Mannheim, GermanyA city and its utility • Population 350,000 • University town • Industrial Base • ABB, Siemens, Mercedes Trucks, BASF • Multi-utility structure • District Heating/Cooling • Gas • Electricity • Water/Waste water • Mass transit • City/Private partnership: MVV • 5 tons CO2/capita/year!! Over 116 years of evolution… Thanks to MVV CEO Michael Lowak and Peter Garforth for these Mannheim slides

36. Integrated Energy Approach

37. Efficient Transportation

38. District Energy

39. Coal Co-Generation

40. Whole Community Energy and Vehicles: Vehicle Electrification and Biofuels • Plug-in Hybrids • All electric vehicles • Flex-fuel Plug-in Hybrid • Less gasoline, lower cost, lower emissions Prius Plug In,2012 GM Volt, 2010 Nissan LEAF, 2010 Tesla Model S, 2011

41. Electric Drive Vehicles:Gas-equivalent “Price per Gallon” and CO2 Emissions One-quarter the cost of gasoline (10¢/kWh, $3/gal) One-half the CO2 emissions as gasoline (average U.S. electricity sources: 52% coal)

42. Where do you get the electricity? • Vehicles charged at night by grid power during off-peak hours • Plug-in Vehicles can enhance Distributed Renewable Generation • Your PV garage roof is your filling station • Night-time demand provides a market for grid wind power or other intermittent generation.

43. PNW Lab National Study (Kintner-Meyer, et al, 2007): Grid capacity for 73% VMT by BEV/PHEV

44. The PV Garage could easily charge a vehicle for 30-45 all-electric miles per day Area and cost of Rooftop photovoltaics to charge Plug-in Prius for 30-45 miles per day in selected cities (Randolph & Masters, 2008)

45. Regional Wind and Biofuels to fuel flex-fuel/hybrid/electric vehicles

46. Vehicles-to-Grid (V2G) Electricity Storage • Fleet of plug-in vehicles enable a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) power storage system. • Vehicles batteries (charged primarily at night) provide a bank of storage for the grid when parked and plugged in at parking decks during the day when peak power is needed most. • “Smart grid” system would enable feed-in to grid

47. How do we achieve Whole Community Energy? • Advance sustainable energy & water & land Technologies • Transform the Market for efficient and renewable energy systems • Enhance consumer and community Choice for efficiency, conservation, non-carbon energy • Community Energy Planning to • Remove barriers, Educate public • Initiate climate action plans, community choice, building and land use regulations & incentives, transit plans, and other energy efficiency • Public Policies to • Advance sustainable energy technologies into the market • Enhance consumer and community choice • Enable Community Energy Planning

48. Local energy policies • Programs for energy retrofit of existing buildings • Codes and incentives for green buildings • Smart growth management for efficient land use control (Sacramento) • Municipal utility programs for efficiency (Seattle) and/or rebates for renewable energy (Austin) • Carbon tax (Boulder) or feed-in tariffs for renewables (Gainesville)