9 An Environmentally Sustainable Springfield

#9

An Environmentally Sustainable Springfield

A community’s carbon footprint is the result of our combined actions, from driving vehicles to powering homes and businesses. Communities across the country are working to become carbon neutral and your input through The Next 10 makes it clear this must be a priority for our region, too. Conducting energy audits of homes and businesses and funding efficiency upgrades will reduce energy demand; installing rooftop solar and encouraging utilities to use clean energy and energy storage will reduce carbon pollution and improve air quality; supporting the use of electric vehicles for our personal, business, government and school uses significantly improves our health and wellness; and planting more trees, flowers and pollinators, and restoring wetlands will produce purer air and water, more biodiversity and a better environment. Supporting an environmentally sustainable Springfield and region is a focus of The Next 10.

The Next 10 can be the catalyst for making Springfield and the Land of Lincoln a leader on clean energy. We can follow old familiar paths and be dragged into a new world or we can lead by taking big steps toward a brighter future, fueled by clean energy, innovative technology and green infrastructure. Our shared goal is to create a cleaner, healthier, more livable community for future generations.”

ALLEN GROSBOLL

Vice-Chair, Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln Board of Directors

Create The City Of Springfield’s City Water, Light And Power (CWLP) Energy Plant Of The Future

The energy future in Springfield presents CWLP with both challenge and opportunity. In 2018, the City began a process for an Integrated Resource Plan to identify the best resource options for reliable and reasonably priced electrical power to meet the community’s future needs. The Energy Authority (TEA) developed a guide for future resource decisions as the utility provides its customers value and savings from a diversified and reliable energy mix. Other community leaders have also offered ideas for how CWLP can diversify its energy portfolio; and in 2018, the City launched its first solar farm located in the Harrison Park subdivision. During The Next 10, CWLP can focus on: • Clean Energy: By boosting investments in energy efficiency and incentivizing LEED certified building design, CWLP can reduce energy demand and utility bills; and energy efficiency and renewable energy can reduce our carbon footprint. To achieve this, CWLP can tap into State of Illinois funds to build community solar projects, and also transform contaminated sites into “brightfields” by building solar farms. • Carbon Capture: CWLP has the potential to become the world’s largest research and development pilot for a new carbon capture system, with funding that has recently been awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The initiative aims to utilize CWLP as a testing ground for establishing capability for a power plant to capture carbon dioxide. If feasible, there could be future projects and research to determine what to do with the captured carbon. The University of Illinois’ Prairie Research Institute, Illinois Sustainable Technology Center and DOE plan to complete this research in 2025.

Sustainability Improvements For Non-Profits

Non-profit organizations occupy a significant amount of building square footage in Springfield. Often, though, their budgets are too limited to make investments to improve their sustainability—which in turn would save them money and improve the environment. The Next 10 is committed to financially supporting Springfield and regional non-profit organizations to fund sustainability audits and related improvements.

Promising Ideas

» Green infrastructure policy, including energy audits, roof-top solar and LEED certification for both public and private sector investments » Planting of trees, shrubbery, flowers, pollinator gardens and fruit-bearing vegetation » Clean-up and beautification through trash removal, community space maintenance and block/neighborhood-based efforts » Citywide residential recycling and composting » Access state and federal funds to increase electric vehicle charging stations

DID YOU KNOW?

City of Springfield’s City Water, Light and

Power (CWLP) was established as a tiny water works company in the mid-1800s, and today is the largest municipal utility in Illinois. The utility provides high-quality drinking water and low-cost electric power produced at the utility’s combined lakeside filtration plant (also known as Lake Springfield) and generating stations.

Springfield is home to two of the state’s leading conservation and environmental

organizations. In 2008, the Illinois Audubon Society moved its state headquarters to the Margery Adams Wildlife Sanctuary in Springfield. It restored the 19th Century Adams Home and added offices and conference space. Illinois

Audubon owns and manages 23 conservation sites in Illinois.

Three years ago, the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC) bought a building five blocks from the State Capitol. A year later, IEC installed solar panels on its roof and cut its energy use (and energy bill) in half. The IEC represents more

than 100 conservation and environmental groups from around the state.

The Sustain Springfield Green Map, created by the Urban Action Network and hosted by Lincoln Land Community College’s Green Center, is a user-friendly, GIS-based, online resource that guides residents, visitors, organizations and businesses to sustainable or environmentally-

friendly services, sites and amenities.

Visit https://arcg.is/u14Hq