Greenhouse Gas Reduction Measures

Lighting


  • Converted traffic signal lights to energy-saving LED's
  • Replaced all high pressure sodium street lights with new LED fixtures, which will reduce energy consumption by 50% and 175 Tons / Year of CO2
  • Retrofitted the lights in all City buildings from T-10 to more efficient T-8 fixtures
Solar Panels on a Roof

Solar Panels


  • Installing solar panels at 3 City facilities which will generate over 850,000 kWh per year and reduce CO2 emissions by an estimated 586 tons per year, and initiated plans for large solar installations at the City landfill and the Watsonville Airport

Fuel Efficient Vehicles


  • Converted all diesel vehicles to bio-diesel
  • Implemented a new vehicle selection policy which requires purchase of the most fuel efficient vehicle that meets designated needs
  • Included hybrids and all-electric vehicles in the City fleet

Bikes for Employees


  • Made bicycles available to employees for short trips between facilities

Pedestrian & Bike Trails


  • Implemented bicycle and pedestrian trails and routes throughout the City

Garbage, Recycling & Solid Waste


  • Captures landfill gas that is used to generate electricity
  • Convert waste from restaurant grease traps to energy at the Wastewater Treatment Plant
  • Developed highly-efficient routes for garbage and recycling vehicles to reduce the number of vehicles and the amount fuel needed to provide service
  • Encased the City's landfill with a clay/cement cap to increase capture of landfill gas and decrease atmospheric emissions
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 10th, 2013 at 8:58 a.m. and is filed under Community Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.