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CLIMATE CHANGE Ashland moves toward clean energy goal Comment By Julie Akins For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted Aug. 29, 2016 at 8:58 PM By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted Aug. 29, 2016 at 8:58 PM » Social News A proposed citizen initiative to mandate that 10 percent of Ashland's energy be produced from "new local and clean resources" by the year 2020 is "a super accomplishable, doable goal,” says Eric Hansen, general manager of True South Solar, a company that installs solar power systems. Currently the city uses 5 to 7 percent renewable energy and mostly clean energy according to Adam Hanks, the city staffer most knowledgeable about energy and tasked with figuring out how to make the initiative work. “A lot of work will have to be done to figure out definitions in enacting the ordinance,” said Hanks. Clean energy is a non-technical term referring to anything that’s not fossil-fuel based, according to Hanks, while "renewable" calls for a more rigorous definition. “Eighty-five percent of what the city gets could be defined as clean, such as hydro power, which is not necessarily renewable,” according to Hanks. Nearly all energy used in the city is purchased from the Bonneville Power Administration, which generates nearly 85 percent of its power from hydroelectric sources and 10 percent from nuclear sources. An initiative circulated through the city and signed by more than 1,600 residents qualified for the November ballot, but the Ashland City Council instead opted to bring it back for both a first and second emergency reading at the next council meeting on Sept. 6. Since the vote and discussion was unanimous around getting the so called “Ten by 20” started as soon as possible, it’s expected to pass. That means the city would adopt it and no vote in November would be needed. Councilor Rich Rosenthal, who heads up the energy and action climate plan for the city, voted in favor of moving on the initiative, but says he does not think creating 10 percent clean energy will be easy. “There may be some great ideas, ideas that may need to generate funding mechanisms,” he said, adding that the plan may be very challenging but ultimately worth it. “Anything that helps us have less of a carbon footprint is important.” Rosenthal said solar is “probably the leading candidate” in reducing the footprint as called for in the plan, but he also wants to hear about other ideas, such as "micro hydro," which he describes as nano-technology which can be used in the current water system. He says he wants to go into the process with an open mind. “There may also be other things worth looking into.” Hansen says, as a person in the ground floor of the solar movement in Southern Oregon, he feels quite confident in solar as a key player in renewable, clean energy. “We’re well on our way. By some accounts Ashland has the highest per capita solar installations in the state.” He says the city may need a process to work through all of the possibilities and costs, but solar is ready to meet the challenge. “We see it climbing and building. They (the council) aren’t seeing the numbers increase as we are. As early adopters they may feel it’s overwhelming. But it’s not.” Hansen is not alone in his perspective. Marni Koopman at the Geos Institute, which studies climate change, has said on the record more than once that the goal of “Ten by 20” is not particularly ambitious. “It’s not too aggressive,” she said in discussing the initiative when it first began circulating. Tom Marvin, a former Southern Oregon University physics professor, also urged the city to put solar in the mix. “There is absolutely no doubt solar is the future. It’s going to eventually be one of the principal ways humans on the planet get their power sustenance.” The initiative forces the city to step up its timetable, which is not without its pitfalls, according to Rosenthal. “People get impatient, sometimes they feel government takes too long. Others, if they don’t agree, say we need more information. I’m hoping we can achieve it. “It’s not going to be easy, there are a lot of opportunities and solar is among them,” he said. Hanks agrees that enacting the ordinance will take some re-working and re-writing for implementation. “It says at first that the city has to produce this energy then later makes reference to causing it to happen.” He says the city will have to decide if it wants to produce its own clean energy. If so, he agrees that solar could be a big part of that, as it is both clean and renewable. There has been on-going discussion of using a piece of property the city owns across Interstate 5 on the northeast side of town for a solar panel installation. The Imperatrice property involves several hundred acres, according to Rosenthal, which has been looked at as a possible site and will most likely be a part of the discussion again. Rosenthal is, however, unclear if it’s the best site for solar, if in fact that’s the way the city goes. But Hansen said a big property such as Imperatrice may not be needed. The size and cost of solar technology has decreased, making really large swaths of land less necessary. “We don’t need to cover the world, we just need to cover the rooftops and we’re there.” He applauds the citizens in becoming leaders. “I’m super proud of activists taking the initiative.” Hansen said when it comes to renewable energy, he has anxiety as well. But his is not a concern about how or what to do. “Our anxiety is not that we can’t do this. Our anxiety is that we aren’t doing this fast enough.” Email Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ @julieakins. By Julie Akins For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted Aug. 29, 2016 at 8:58 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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