Energy Policy and Smart Growth

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Energy Policy and Smart Growth

• American Planning Association
• 2003 Legislative and Policy Conference
• May 11-13, 2003

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Speakers

• Megan Lewis, AICP, Senior Research Associate, APA
• Naomi Friedman, Director of Sustainable Markets,
  Center for the New American Dream
• Alexandra Tietz, Counsel to the House
  Governmental Reform Committee

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Session Summary

• Linkage between energy policy and planning.
• Connection of energy issues to smart growth and
  sustainability issues.
• Research opportunities to promote energy
  conservation and efficiency.
• Status of current federal energy legislation.

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Land-Use Planning and Energy

• APA last visited this topic in depth in the
  mid-1970s.
• Emphasis was on energy conservation and
  preventing another crisis.
• Solar power, heating, and cooling was the
  renewable technology.
• Few communities made modifications to the built
  environment to address energy issues.

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Village Homes, Davis, Calif.

• Pioneering solar-oriented subdivision
• Street and path orientation to allow natural
  heating and cooling
• Bike and pedestrian-oriented streets, and narrow
  streets.
• Natural stormwater drainage system

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Energy Today

• Alternative energy sources now solar, wind,
  hydrogen, landfill gas, biomass, and
  cogeneration.
• Connected to broader issues to reduce dependence
  on foreign oil sources.
• Connected to other issues of smart growth,
  sustainability, equity, and environmental quality.

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Energy Statistics Consumption
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Energy Statistics Spending
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Energy Statistics Sources
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Energy Statistics Renewables
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Energy Statistics Additional Data

• U.S. produces only 38 percent of the oil it
  consumes.
• World fossil fuel reserves, particularly
  petroleum, are expected at current consumption
  levels to peak by 2010 and be depleted by 2050.
• Drilling in the ANWR will yield only 2 percent of
  U.S. consumption demand at its production peak.

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General Conclusions

• Issues of supply, cost, and energy sources
  suggest a need for a policy shift that
• Encourages adoption of renewable energy sources
  in all sectors
• Promotes energy efficiency in systems that use
  non-renewable sources
• Supports such efforts on the local level, where
  land-use and transportation decisions are made.

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Why planners?

• Global issue

• Individual issue

• COMMUNITY ISSUE

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APA Policy Guidance on Energy

• APA addresses energy policy in its policy guides
  on
• Smart Growth (2002)
• Sustainability (2000)
• APA is also developing a stand-alone energy
  policy.
• Energy conservation and efficiency is an APA
  legislative priority for 2003.

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APA Policy Guide on Smart Growth (2002)

• Energy conservation is a major benefit and
  result of Smart Growth, helping to create more
  sustainable development and allow people to meet
  current needs without compromising the needs of
  future generations.

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Smart Growth and Energy

• Development patterns that minimize vehicular
  miles traveled.
• Transportation policy and funding that supports
  different transportation modes.
• Regulations and financial programs that support
  the use of alternative energy sources and green
  building approaches.

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APA Policy Guideon Sustainability (2000)

• Local and regional development patterns that
  expand choice and opportunities
• Resilient, diverse, and self-sufficient local
  economies
• Communities with a healthy economy, environment,
  and social climate

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Sustainability and Energy Policy
Reduce dependence upon fossil fuels, extracted
underground metals, and minerals, in the areas
of

• Land use
• Transportation
• Housing and building
• Economic development

• Open space and recreation
• Infrastructure
• Resource conservation

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Land-Use Actions

• Compact development
• Mixed uses
• Pedestrian-friendly development
• Transit-oriented development
• Home-based occupations and work
• Local food production and agriculture

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Transportation Actions

• Reduce vehicle trips
• Use alternative modes of transportation
• Development and use of alternative fuel vehicles
• Provide affordable, efficient transportation
  alternatives

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Transportation Actions

• Street design that
• Encourages pedestrian and bike use and
  discourages high speed traffic
• Supports/enhances neighborhood connection to
  other neighborhoods and commercial developments

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Housing and Building Actions

• Solar-orientation
• Regenerative energy for heating and cooling
• Housing near employment centers
• Building materials with low embodied energy
• Housing that shares resources and living spaces
  (cohousing)

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Economic Development Actions

• Reduce employee and product transport vehicle
  trips (Transportation)
• Use regenerative energy alternatives (Housing and
  Building)
• Are locally based or have home-based work
  opportunities (Land Use)

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Open Space/Recreation Actions

• Provide facilities within walking and biking
  distance
• Use local materials and native plants in
  construction
• Design to reduce dependence on landscaping and
  maintenance resources
• Preserve green spaces in urban areas for cooling
  benefits

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Infrastructure Actions

• Promote facilities that use renewable energy
  sources
• Support design approaches that focus on pollution
  prevention, re-use, and recycling
• Direct development to areas with existing
  transportation systems

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Resource Conservation Actions

• Minimize energy use
• Encourage develop-ment of renewable energy
  sources (Infrastructure)
• Promote recycling of waste materials
• Develop community gardens (Land Use)

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APA Working Paper on Energy

• Energy Conservation
• Energy and Weatherization Assistance
• Facility Siting
• Transportation
• Alternative Energy Sources
• Building Design

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Barriers to Achieving Energy Goals

• FINANCIAL

• REGULATORY

• PERCEPTIVE

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Overcoming Financial Barriers

• Incentive programsgrants, rebates, and loans
• Examples on Database of State Incentives for
  Renewable Energy (DSIRE) website.
• Relief programs Low Income Home Energy
  Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Weatherization
  Assistance for Low Income Persons (Wx)

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Overcoming Regulatory Barriers

• Adopt regulations that promote and encourage
  smart growth
• Site plan standards that allow for cluster, solar
  orientation, narrow streets, etc.
• Building codes that capture efficiencies and
  promote use of approaches like BIPV.
• Adopt energy facility siting regulations for
  alternative energy facilities
• Examples of rules, regulations, and policies in
  the DSIRE database.

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Overcoming Perception Barriers

• Compact land patterns encourage creation of
  community
• Financial freedom to pursue jobs and housing that
  may be currently out of reach
• Air quality improvements and improved public
  health
• Energy sources will change a matter of when and
  how

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In the Future
Different, Yet the Same
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Selected Resources

• APA Policy Guides www.planning.org/policyguides
• Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy
  (DSIRE) www.dsireusa.com
• U.S. Department of Energy National Renewable
  Energy Lab www.nrel.gov
• U.S. Department of Energy, Smart Communities
  Network www.sustainable.doe.gov
• Rocky Mountain Institute www.rmi.org
• Email address mlewis_at_planning.org