Board of Supervisors approves $28.2 million plan to use energy more efficiently, cut greenhouse gas emissions

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors today approved $28.2 million in investments to use energy and water more efficiently in County government buildings, part of a broader plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions and slow the effects of climate change.

“These upgrades are designed to pay for themselves over their lifetimes, at no cost to taxpayers, by reducing County spending on electricity, water and natural gas,” said Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, vice chair of the Board of Supervisors. “At the same time, today’s action will benefit the entire county by reducing carbon emissions that are accelerating climate change. It is a smart investment that will pay dividends for decades to come.”

The Board today authorized $28.2 million in projects that will reduce the use of electricity, water and natural gas in County buildings. They include construction of a 1.8 megawatt solar energy system at the County Administration Center campus. The project, which will install photovoltaic panels on canopies constructed over parking lots, is expected to generate nearly a quarter of the electricity needed on the County campus. Other projects include energy-efficient LED lighting in 45 County buildings and one parking area; water-saving toilets, sinks and valves in 44 County buildings; and heat pump water heaters in three County buildings. Battery storage systems will be installed at the main County campus in Santa Rosa and the County’s Los Guilicos campus in the Sonoma Valley, enabling the County to store electricity for use during peak periods, when it is most expensive.

The upgrades will be installed through Pacific Gas & Electric Co.’s Sustainable Solutions Turnkey Program and be completed within two years. The Board of Supervisors approved a proposal today to finance the upgrades by issuing certificates of participation, a type of lease financing. The total cost of the upgrades, including interest payments to investors who purchase the certificates of participation, is estimated at $41.5 million to $43 million, depending on interest rates when the certificates are sold later this month. The full cost of the upgrades, including debt service payments over 20 years, will be entirely offset by projected savings on electricity, water and natural gas over the lifetime of the improvements.

In a related action, the County’s Climate Action and Resiliency Division also presented a comprehensive plan today to make County government operations carbon-neutral by 2030. The 167-page action plan, which includes 54 separate proposals, provides a detailed roadmap to reduce carbon emissions from County operations, increase carbon storage on County-owned lands, and make County operations more resilient to wildfires, droughts, floods and other climate hazards that increasingly threaten our communities. It also includes a community engagement strategy to refine and prioritize County actions that would support climate resilience in local communities.

“This climate plan demonstrates the County government can become carbon-neutral by 2030, one of the central goals of the five-year strategic plan adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 2021,” said Barbara Lee, director of the Climate Action and Resiliency Division. “It builds upon a series of significant investments by the County since the 2017 wildfires that are making our communities safer, healthier and more resilient as our climate changes.”

The Board of Supervisors today gave staff initial feedback on the action plan, which will return to the Board at a future date for potential adoption. A PowerPoint summary of the plan can be downloaded here.

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