Efforts to create a more energy efficient and sustainable community are moving forward as Schenectady County builds a Climate Action Plan.
County officials held a public workshop on Tuesday, March 6, at the Schenectady County Library Central Branch to share data from a greenhouse gas emissions inventory conducted by Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. Turnout wasn’t booming, with fewer than a dozen people in attendance. There is another meeting planned for a later date to reveal the proposed plan to residents and gather additional feedback.
“What we are really trying to do here is take local knowledge and integrate that into some expertise that we might have,” said Neil Veilleux, project consultant of Meister Consultants Group, “and really come up with a plan that is customized to meet the needs of Schenectady County going forward and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.”
The Schenectady County Environmental Advisory Committee has led efforts on the study, which is being done to help the Schenectady County Legislature with its Climate Smart Communities Pledge adopted in 2009. The Climate Action Plan is targeted for a May completion so NYSERDA funding for the study can be secured.
“A key component of this effort has been environmental conservation and making county government more environmentally efficient and friendly by reducing the county’s energy consumption and emissions,” said County Legislator Michael Petta, D-Schenectady. “County government is doing an excellent job at reducing our emissions, but there is still much to be done in our communities.”
Data collected on greenhouse gas emissions was from 2010 due to availability and to coincide with census information.
Schenectady County’s government operations created 9,681 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2010. Buildings and facilities accounted for the largest portion of emissions at 62 percent, with its vehicle fleet and employee commute nearly tied for second highest, at 17 percent and 16 percent, respectively. The remaining five percent came from solid waste, streetlights and outdoor lighting, and airport facilities.
Kim Lundgren, senior project manager at VHB, said it is typical for building and facilities to account for the largest portion of emissions.
“In a government that doesn’t own a wastewater treatment plant or a landfill this is a very typical breakdown that you would see,” Lundgren said. “The idea is looking at what county government has control over.”
The community inventory looked at aggregate data for the entire county, which included residents, businesses, municipal and county operations and visitors.
“While Schenectady County and the government is trying to lead by example, in order to address greenhouse gas emissions in Schenectady County we all have to think about things that we can do,” Lundgren said.
2010 countywide emissions totaled more than 1.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. Buildings and facilities again accounted for the largest portion, falling at 64 percent or 838,084 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. Within the buildings sector, natural gas was the leading cause for emissions at 47 percent and electricity came in fairly close at 43 percent. Fuel oil and propane represented a small amount at 10 percent of the total emissions.
The transportation and motorized equipment sector was the second largest cause of emissions at 27 percent of the countywide total. The remaining emission sources were fugitive emissions (4 percent), solid waste disposal (3 percent), water treatment and agriculture (both 1 percent).
For information on the Climate Action Plan visit the county’s website at www.schenectadycounty.com.
