Category Archives: Air Quality

City Celebrates a Trio of Landmark Solar Projects

Mayor Ralph Becker, Sustainability Director Vicki Bennett, Rocky Mountain Power’s Alene Bentley and Salt Lake City Police Officer Bill Silvers gathered today to mark the completion of three landmark solar projects at the City’s solar farm.

“Salt Lake City made a commitment to reduce our impact on air quality by embracing sustainable energy and transportation initiatives,” said Mayor Ralph Becker. “Today we celebrate three projects that represent a huge leap forward for the City and our community. Not only are we flipping the switch on our new solar farm – which will generate over 1.2 million kilowatt-hours of sustainable energy per year – we are marking two new rooftop installations on Plaza 349 and the Public Safety Building.”

Over 4,000 solar panels were installed on the three project sites, which will generate 1.7 million kilowatt-hours annually. Generating an equivalent amount of electricity would require over 1.8 million pounds of coal each year. All solar panels installed have a 25-year power output warranty and expected life of up to 40 years, protecting the City’s investment for many years to come.

In total, the three projects will reduce CO₂ emissions from City operations by three million pounds per year, while also creating a positive air quality impact.

Public Safety Building: Rooftop

The roof of the Public Safety Building is covered by over 1,000 solar panels with a total capacity of 350 kilowatts. These panels complement the 30 kilowatt solar canopy that shades visitors entering the building and help the project achieve a net zero energy status. In addition to providing power for daily operations, 30 percent of the rooftop solar panels have been wired to provide emergency electricity directly to the building in the event of a power blackout.

Public Safety Building: Solar Farm

This 3,000 panel ground-mounted solar array was developed to help offset the energy and carbon emissions associated with the new Public Safety Building. Located west of downtown Salt Lake City, this solar installation is the largest ever completed by Salt Lake City Corporation. The 1.2 million kilowatt-hours generated annually is enough to power 130 average Utah homes from now through at least 2040.

Plaza 349: Rooftop

Plaza 349 in downtown Salt Lake City is home to a variety of City operations, including Engineering, Transportation and Technology. The work of these employees will now be powered in part by clean, renewable energy thanks to a funding award from the Rocky Mountain Power Blue Sky program, made possible by more than 38,000 Blue Sky customers in Utah. The City used Blue Sky Community Project Funds to place 136 solar panels atop the roof of this recently renovated building. The public is invited to track production of this solar array in real-time online.

And the City isn’t stopping here! We’re exploring a wide range of sustainable energy sources, from solar to small-scale hydroelectric and everything in between. Stay tuned…

Drive Less, Clear the Air & Win Prizes this July

The 2014 Challenge kicked off at the Downtown Farmers Market on Saturday, June 14.

Are you ready to help clear the air? The 2014 Clear the Air Challenge starts next week on Tuesday, July 1!

The month long Challenge is just that — an excellent way to challenge yourself to “drive down your miles” and reduce your emissions. Choose alternatives to driving alone and track your impact on air quality.

(And keep an eye on the leader board for the Salt Lake City Corporation network, which is SLCgreen’s home team!)

The Basics

The Clear the Air Challenge runs July 1-31, 2014.
Register at www.CleartheAirChallenge.org (registration details below).
Track the trips and miles you save by using alternatives to driving alone:
- Active transportation (walk, bike) — Biking and walking, also known as active transportation, are gaining popularity as healthy, efficient and sustainable means of transportation.
- Public transit — To put it simply, ride UTA!
- Carpool — Carpooling involves more than one person traveling together in a car and can be used for many occasions including commuting to work, attending special events or taking kids to school, practices or recreational activities. This strategy requires some coordination of schedules, but can be easily implemented to achieve significant results.
- Telework — Teleworking is possible from just about anywhere – from home, a telecenter, the local coffee shop or anywhere that has a wireless Internet connection. Teleworking can include conference calling or video conferencing for meetings instead of driving to an off-site location or working from a remote office.
- Skip the trip — The skip the trip strategy is as easy as it sounds. Just plan ahead to avoid unnecessary trips. These can be trips taken for work or for home activities.
- Learn more about these strategies at TravelWise.utah.gov.
Join a network, track your impact and compete for great prizes!

Registration

This year there is a new and greatly improved tracking tool for the Clear the Air Challenge. The new tool will require all users to re-register, but the registration process will only take about 30 seconds and users now have the ability to sign up using their Facebook profile.

During the registration process you will be asked to join a team/network, although it’s not required. If you do not see your team/network listed, please email tracker@ppbh.com with the following information:

Team/network name
Team/network admin name (the person on your team who will have admin rights)
Admin’s email
Team/network address
Team/network description (a little about who your team is- optional)

Prizes

The Challenge has approximately $10,000 in prizes to give out this year to participants. A number of weekly prizes will be randomly given to people who have earned badges. Grand prizes will be given to the winners in various categories, including: most trips saved, most miles saved and overall champion. The Grand Prize for the overall individual champion will be a $1,300 pair of powder skis provided by Ramp Sports.

New technology

Here are some of the features of the new technology implemented this year:

Social media integration: Sign up with your Facebook account and share Clear the Air Challenge posts to your Timeline.
Easier tracking and recording of saved trips:
- Set up favorite trips – Trips you take often can be easily added to your tracker dashboard
- Multiple day trip recording – Forgot to track each time you took the TRAX over the past week? Simply click on each of the days you made the same trip and record them all at once!
Trip Planner: Not sure how you might use alternative transportation to get somewhere rather than your car? Simply enter in your starting and ending locations, and you’ll receive carpool, vanpool, transit, walking and biking options to get to your destination. Use this feature all year round whether you are tracking trips or not!

Mayor Becker Responds to EPA Announcement of Emission Goals for U.S. Power Plants

Following today’s announcement of the EPA’s new Clean Power Plan, which would set emissions standards for power plants, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker issued the following statement.

“I am pleased that President Obama and EPA Administrator McCarthy are using the appropriate tool of the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon emissions from the largest source of carbon pollution–coal-fired power plants. The authority and direction, established by Congress and President Nixon in 1970, was intended to regulate threats to our health and welfare from air pollution.

The flexible step announced today, carefully developed after many years of input and giving industry multiple options to reduce carbon emissions, uses Clean Air Act authority upheld time and again by the U.S. Supreme Court. The common sense regulations will serve to help our region and state address air pollution and the unparalleled risk to our wellbeing from climate disruption.

As Administrator McCarthy noted, we have a collective, moral obligation to make responsible decisions on behalf of the health of our families and children, and the long-term viability and livability of our community. We need look no further than the profound air pollution issues here in our region for a call to action. We are also already seeing changes from climate change in our watersheds and snowpack that will impose enormous costs on us and future water users in the Salt Lake Valley.

Taking this responsible and necessary step will go a long way to starting effective societal solutions.”

Learn more about the Clean Power Plan

You’re Invited: U Community Solar Workshop

If you are a homeowner interested in going solar, be sure to attend a U Community Solar workshop! U Community Solar will bring you access to solar savings (through a volume discount) and a community network to guide you through a streamlined solar installation process.

U Community Solar Workshop!

Location:
Gould Auditorium
J. Willard Mariott Library
295 S 1500 E
Salt Lake City, UT 84112

Date & Time:
Thursday, June 5th
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM

This workshop will guide you through the process of installing solar with U Community Solar. Learn how U Community Solar is offering solar at a significantly reduced upfront cost and ask any questions you may have about solar and your home. If you are a homeowner interested in going solar, this is your chance to learn everything you need to know about U Community Solar!

Questions? Contact solar@utahcleanenergy or 801-363-4046 ext. 106.

Project Skyline Launches in Salt Lake City

Overlooking the city from the rooftop terrace of the downtown library, business leaders, clean air advocates, and healthcare professionals joined Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to announce the launch of Project Skyline. The initiative is designed to impact air quality by cutting energy waste. Administrator McCarthy’s presence served to underscore EPA’s nationwide leadership in providing key energy management tools and resources through the Energy Star program.

Project Skyline is a cornerstone initiative of Sustainable Salt Lake – Plan 2015, the Mayor’s blueprint to improve air quality, boost economic development and improve livability in Salt Lake City. As part of the initiative, Mayor Becker challenged building owners, tenants, universities, schools, hotels, and hospitals across the city to proactively meet – and – exceed the air quality and energy-saving targets of Sustainable Salt Lake – Plan 2015 by joining theMayor’s Skyline Challenge.

The event kicked off with remarks from Mayor Becker who stressed the themes laid out in his State of the City address earlier this year, including the direct impact of air quality on the physical and economic health of the city. The Mayor also recognized the Salt Lake City businesses and institutions that have already joined the Challenge and emphasized his commitment to lead by example by cutting energy waste in municipal operations.

Administrator McCarthy followed Mayor Becker with a powerful message about energy efficiency and the importance of working together to improve the health of American families. “Energy efficiency is one of the most cost-effective opportunities we have to make our businesses more competitive, improve air quality, and save money. And we know that healthy communities attract investment, businesses, and more jobs. Environmental health promotes economic health,” said Administrator McCarthy.

President and CEO of Rocky Mountain Power Rich Walje highlighted the enormous opportunity for businesses to save money by maximizing energy efficiency opportunities and taking advantage of the utility’s Wattsmart incentive program. “The cleanest and cheapest energy is the energy we don’t use. Working together, we can significantly reduce energy waste and make a positive difference in our community,” said Walje.

Remarks by President and CEO of Economic Development Corporation Utah Jeff Edwards followed by echoing Mayor Becker’s message, calling attention to the top reason businesses choose not to come to Utah— poor air quality. “Air quality is becoming a growing concern across the nation, and companies want to know what Utah is doing to address this issue,” said Edwards. “If we want to continue to attract quality growth to Utah, we must lead by example. I applaud Mayor Becker’s efforts to do just that and encourage building owners to step forward and participate. Project Skyline will set the example for other cities across the country.”

University of Utah Health Care CEO Dr. Vivian Lee wrapped up the event, bringing the perspective of a major healthcare provider and research institution. Dr. Lee stressed how significant the local air quality issues are to the health of Salt Lake City’s residents.

Leadership from partner businesses, organizations, and the community stood alongside Mayor Becker and Administrator McCarthy during the launch to show their support for the initiative:

President and CEO Questar Gas Ron Jibson, Senior Managing Director CBRE Mark Bouchard, Managing Director Goldman Sachs Bruce Larson, Senior Vice President and CSO Intermountain Healthcare Greg Poulson, Director of Engineering Marriott International Charles Cooley, Salt Lake Community College President Dr. Deneece Huftalin, Chief Pulmonary Division and Director Program for Air, Health, and Society Dr. Robert Paine, President BOMA Utah Lorrie Ostlind, Executive Director Utah Clean Energy Sarah Wright, Board President USGBC Utah Whitney Ward, Hotel Monaco General Manager Daryn White, New Mark Grubb Acres Vice President Justin Farnsworth, Salt Lake Chamber Vice President of Business and Community Relations Ryan Evans, UCAIR Executive Director Ted Wilson, Salt Lake City School District Energy Manager Greg Libecci, Salt Lake City Fire Department Captain Rick Stratton, and Breathe Utah Board President Dr. Deborah Sigman.

The Mayor’s Skyline Challenge is created through a partnership between Salt Lake City, Questar Gas, Rocky Mountain Power, BOMA Utah, USGBC Utah, and Utah Clean Energy.

For more information or to join the Challenge, visit http://www.slcgov.com/projectskyline.

Media Stories

Watch the Press Conference

SLCgreen, Dr. Mann & HEAL Utah Host Climate Event

On Wednesday, Dr. Michael Mann – one of the world’s most highly respected climate change scientists – gathered with SLCgreen program director Debbie Lyons, Salt Lake City water resources manager Laura Briefer, BYU geologist Barry Brickmore, University of Utah atmospheric scientist Court Strong and HEAL Utah policy director Matt Pacenza to call for immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Mann is the scholar behind the striking “hockey stick” graph demonstrating a sharp post-industrial increase in temperature.

The leaders highlighted a trio of definitive recent reports – from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Climate Assessment – demonstrating that climate change is already happening, and that in coming decades its effects will intensify.

The National Climate Assessment – released just last week – warns that Utah will face heightened drought, forest fires, protracted high temperatures, decreased stream flows and earlier snowmelt.

World Urban Forum 7

Medellin, Colombia. Photo BorisG via Flickr

Salt Lake City is excited to participate in the World Urban Forum, hosted by UN-Habitat this April in Medellin, Colombia.

The City will participate in a special networking session called “Clean Energy and Transport Solutions in an Urban Hemisphere: Lessons from the Americas.”

Over the past few months, Salt Lake City has been collaborating with San Jose, Costa Rica to share experiences & lessons learned from the two cities’ alternative transportation programs. During the session, the City will share our lessons learned from running the Clear the Air Challenge and the “twinning” process with San Jose.

The session is the result of a partnership between the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Organization of American States (OAS). Learn more about the forum below, or on the OAS website.

We’ll be updating the @SLCgreen Twitter feed live from the World Urban Forum (#wuf7) from April 7-11. Stay tuned to stay in the loop!

Air Quality Bills: 2014 Legislature Wrap Up

The community had high hopes for meaningful action during the 2014 Utah Legislative Session on air quality. With the session now at an end, our friends at the Utah Department of Environmental Quality posted a nice summary of the bills that passed.

Here’s a quick overview, head over to their newsletter for the full story.

State Fleet

Legislators directed the Division of Fleet Operations to ensure that 50 percent or more of the state vehicles used to transport passengers will be alternative fuel or high-efficiency by August 30, 2018. View the bill.

Electric Vehicles

A House bill amended the current definition of public utilities to encourage businesses to provide charging stations for electric cars. Another bill provides a state income tax credit of $1500 for the purchase or lease of a new electric vehicle and a tax credit allowance for a plug-in electric hybrid. View the bill. Legislation modified The Clean Fuels and Vehicle Technology Act to allow electric-hybrid vehicles to qualify for funding for alternative refueling infrastructure. View the bill.

Wood Burn Program

The Division of Air Quality received funding to educate the public about the dangers of wood smoke and help convert homes whose sole source of heat is wood to natural gas or other clean fuels. View the bill.

Medical Waste Incinerators

A Senate bill banned the incineration of medical waste within close proximity of a school or residential subdivision. View the bill.

Retrofit and Replacement Program

This program will help small businesses and individuals by providing grant and loan funds for emission-reducing technologies, including retrofits, repowers, and replacements. The program will also encourage replacement of snow removal, landscaping, and other yard equipment with cleaner alternatives. View the bill.

Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Funding

The Department of Air Quality (DAQ) received a one-time, $1.4 million grant that allocated $1 million for Utah-specific air quality research, $300,000 for an inventory and photochemical modeling study in the Uinta Basin, and $100,000 for volatile organic compound (VOC) infrared testing equipment. DAQ also received $400,000 in ongoing funding for four full-time employees to work on Uinta Basin oil and gas permitting and compliance.

The legislature appropriated $500,000 to DEQ for an air quality public awareness campaign in partnership with existing clean air programs such as UCAIR and TravelWise. DAQ received a one-time, $500,000 appropriation to help convert homes that burn wood as their sole source of heat and a one-time, $250,000 grant to educate the public on the hazards of wood smoke. The Clean Air Retrofit, Replacement, and Off-road Technology (CARROT) program received a one-time grant of $200,000 for grants and loans to small businesses and individuals seeking to reduce the emissions from their heavy-duty diesel or small-engine equipment.

Get the DEQ Newsletter

Get the full scoop from the DEQ newsletter and join their email list.

City Transit Passes on Sale & On the Road

Salt Lake City’s new resident transit pass, the Hive Pass, is currently available at three permanent sales locations as well as a variety of mobile sales opportunities at locations around the city.

As part of an initial pilot program being offered by Salt Lake City and UTA, Hive Passes are only available to residents of Salt Lake City and can be purchased for the deeply discounted rate of $350 for a year (or $360, payable in 12 easy, monthly installments of $30.)

The pass is good on almost all UTA modes including TRAX, buses, Frontrunner and S-Line Streetcar (exceptions are UTA’s special fare services like Paratransit, ski buses and Park City Connect.)

Passes can only be purchased in-person and a few documents are necessary just to establish Salt Lake City residency. Visit Ridewithhive.com for details.

Also, residents who may not be sure if their address is in City limits will find a handy tool on the website to confirm they qualify for the Hive Pass.

Mobile sales events are happening this week at the following locations:

Wednesday, March 19 – Salt Lake City Chapman Library Branch
577 S. 900 West
5:30-8:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 22- Winter Market
Rio Grande Depot
300 S. Rio Grande Street
10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Permanent Sales Locations/Hours:

Salt Lake City & County Building
451 South State Street
Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Public Utilities Office
1530 SW Temple Street
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sorenson Unity Center
1383 S 900 West
Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Hive Pass Arrives March 1st

Salt Lake City’s shiny new Hive Pass is landing on Saturday, March 1st!

The pass will be available this Saturday at a special event in the atrium of the downtown Main Library from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

We’d love to see you there!

Starting in March, you will be able to purchase the Hive Pass at three permanent locations, or through a series of mobile events.

City & County Building (451 South State Street) – open Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Public Utilities (1530 SW Temple Street) – open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sorenson Unity Center (1383 S 900 West) – open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Mobile sales locations will include all Salt Lake City public libraries and the downtown Winter Market. These events generally occur during the evening or on weekends. View the full calendar of mobile events.

The Hive Pass is an annual UTA pass exclusively for Salt Lake City residents good on regular bus service, TRAX, FrontRunner and the Sugar House S-Line Streetcar. The pass costs $360 a year, and can be paid in monthly installments of just $30!

Proof of residency is required to obtain your pass, and it is important to carefully review the items you will need to bring with you for purchase. Only residents who reside within Salt Lake City boundaries are eligible. Find out if you qualify.

We are very excited to offer this one-of-a-kind pass to our wonderful residents! Visit the new RidewithHive.com for details, and join the conversation with the #RidewithHive hashtag.

Courtesy of RidewithHive on Instagram

slcGreen Blog

Updates and musings from the Salt Lake City Sustainability Department