Santa Cruz, California
Surfing into Greener Pastures
With its endlessly mild Mediterranean climate, you’d think Santa Cruz would be more about beach blankets and bingo than environment and social activism, but that couldn’t be further from the truth in “Surf City.” Between the blue foam of Monterey Bay and the loamy coastal redwood forests, Santa Cruz has an outstanding passion for green leadership.
Indeed, for nearly three decades, Santa Cruz has been hard at work addressing and curbing climate change, beginning in 1982 with the creation of a Solar Municipal Utility. More recently in 2007, responding directly to the Kyoto Protocol, the city, University of California at Santa Cruz, and Santa Cruz County (of which SC is the county seat) signed a joint climate compact pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. From that compact came a set of General Plan policies for curbing climate change and the subsequent Climate Action Program that sets forth specific goals for reducing GHG emissions and outlines necessary actions for achieving those goals.
The plan is to reduce citywide emissions by 30 percent by 2020, and 80 percent by 2050 (compared to 1990 levels). That includes all new buildings in SC being carbon-neutral by 2030. Progressive goals such as those require progressive action…and Santa Cruz knows all about progressiveness. The city is attacking climate change on all fronts, from transportation to green building regulations to land and water use to renewable and solar energy, sustainable living practices and beyond.
Santa Cruz wants to see 1,000 solar homes by 2012 and 5,000 by 2020. At the beginning of 2010, some 350 residential rooftops are covered with solar panels. And later this year, a $16 million program known as the Solar Finance District will kick off. Cities in 14 counties are participating in the program, which aims to remove the hurdles of going solar, including extra incentives for homeowners and reaching out to get citizens excited and motivated about home solar power.
The value of the finance district, or PACE solar incentive program, is that it ties the cost of home solar power systems to the home — not to the homeowner — through property tax assessments. Locally the wildly popular program is being targeted to landlords as well as homeowners, because 50 percent of its residents are renters (mostly students) who may be at the forefront of the green movement, but have little or no opportunity to go solar. With a financing program tied to property, renters have a better chance of convincing landlords to adopt solar power. The city is working closely with UC Santa Cruz, looking for ways to rate rental properties for their energy efficiency and savings. That can help renters become more aware about their usage and ability to conserve energy. Incentives will also be offered to landlords to facilitate their involvement.
Again, the Santa Cruz environmental movement is not just green. It has its blue side as well. Down on the waterfront, the City Wharf and UC Santa Cruz are working together to do research on renewable energy in the ocean water. The Coastal Energy Research Facility (CERF) is a permanent facility out on the water collecting data and formulating plans to harvest wave, tidal and other forms of renewable energy of use in coastal areas. With these plans for the future comes a preservation of the past as well, in the form of maintaining natural aquatic history by working around the natural habitats of sea creatures and other nearby wildlife.
Santa Cruz’s history of activism is a community history. Little happens without public input, and the public has a lot to say. Public workshops preceded the adoption of the General Plan and are in effect once more as the Climate Action Program takes hold. From nonviolence to the women’s movement to free radio and veteran’s rights, Santa Cruz is aggressively working its way into the new age. Some call it the coming Age of Aquarius. Some call it a pipe dream. But for Santa Cruz, that age is everyday life and the sustainable future is now.
Santa Cruz has already reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent below 1996 levels, led by a 29 percent reduction among residential homes.
Additional Information:
Santa Cruz Environmental Programs
Wharf Photo Credit: PBase
Posted on March 29th in Sustainable Cities by Dan.
March 30th, 2010 at 8:05 am
Great to see yet another city adopting a PACE program. One of the other great benefits is that it makes it easier for someone to go solar even if they think they may want to sell their house in the next few years. Because the payment stays with the property tax, whomever owns the house gets both the benefit of the green energy & reduced energy bill and also pays for the system.
March 30th, 2010 at 4:53 pm
It’s awesome that Santa Cruz is tackling the major obstacles to going solar! Besides PACE programs, there are also private financing options available, such as SunRun, where I currently work. SunRun offers power plans for homeowners to go solar for as low as $0 and takes care of the panels so that the homeowner doesn’t have to. The homeowner simply pays a monthly fee for their clean electricity. In any case, I’m impressed but not surprised by the city’s goal of 1,000 solar homes by 2012 and 5000 by 2020 — it’s completely feasible and viable with these new financing options!
July 14th, 2010 at 9:24 am
Solar financing is but one element of a comprehensive and integrated approach to myriad environmental issues in the City of Santa Cruz. The programs here, although not well marketed, are consistently leading other jurisdictions and the community to improve and advance sustainability principles. Kudos!