On October 17th, 2022, the Windsor Heights City Council unanimously passed a resolution establishing a community 24x7 carbon-free electricity goal for the City of Windsor Heights. This resolution recognized the connection between human activity and the warming of the planet, how climate change affects the City of Windsor Heights and committed to a community-wide goal of achieving 100% 24x7 electricity from carbon-free sources by 2030. View the full resolution here.
What is the purpose of such a resolution?
Currently, the City’s utility provider, MidAmerican Energy, provides a mix of clean energy and fossil fuel at limited times throughout the day. The goal is for Windsor Heights to achieve 100% clean energy at all times by 2030.
What is the City doing to achieve this goal?
The resolution directed the City Administrator and his utility partners, business, residents and community stakeholders to identify a collaborative approach to achieve the emissions targets and energy goals with meaningful benchmarks and milestones between now and the target years referenced in this resolution.
More tangibly, the City has made a switch to LED streetlights, is pursuing solar panels for the Community Events Center, is exploring implementing “green” purchasing policies and will be conducting a space needs analysis in 2024 that may lead to efficiency upgrades. The City is also exploring the following:
Encouraging the transition to local renewable sources like solar power.
Incentivizing upgrades for high-efficiency (e.g. ENERGY STAR) appliances and fixes.
Improving building efficiency through retrofitting of outdated fixtures.
Providing incentives for installation of EV chargers on commercial properties
Further, the City is encouraging and educating residents to be more efficient, as you can read below.
What can I do?
MidAmerican has a number of excellent tools to help you start your energy efficiency journey. Per their website, “The HomeCheck® Online energy assessment is a free tool that analyzes the effects of your home energy use based on your lifestyle and habits. It also provides information on what uses the most energy in your home and personalized tips to reduce your energy use.” They also have a number of energy efficiency guides to help you be more responsible with energy use.
Energystar.gov has a number of resources related to smart home products like thermostats, lights and plugs. Transitioning to a smart thermostat is extremely beneficial as the HVAC system uses the most energy of any appliance in a home and can also lead to monetary savings over the course of a year.
Windsor Heights has continued to partner with Grow Solar which provides information and resources for residents who are interested in installing solar panels. The City does not endorse any solar installers but does recommend using an installer trained by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP). You can find a local installer here: http://nabcep.org/installer-locator
Use an advanced power strip to reduce "vampire loads"--electricity that is wasted when electronics are not in use.
Lighting -- Purchase energy-efficient lighting, operate them efficiently, and incorporate more daylighting into your home using energy-efficient windows and skylights.
Reduce your “always-on” appliances. If your home has a smart meter and you can see your hourly consumption, then examine your consumption at 3AM. It should be significantly less than your use at 7pm. If it isn’t then you might have “vampire loads.”. Look for electronics that you don’t use (like DVD players!) or can switch off, or perhaps get rid of that extra refrigerator.