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Norfolk has pledged to reduce its energy use in city buildings by one-fifth over the next decade.
City Council members voted unanimously last week to approve the resolution, part of a long-term initiative to improve sustainability. It commits 5,583,000 square feet of property to the pledge.
“Climate change is real and the city of Norfolk is acknowledging that and doing our best to figure out how to both mitigate the causes of climate change and also mitigate its impacts on us,” said environmental sustainability manager, Esi Langston. “Energy reduction is a huge way to do that.”
Mayor Kenny Alexander created an advisory commission several years ago comprised of citizens and business leaders to discuss how to address Norfolk’s environmental challenges. The resulting Climate Action Plan outlines dozens of strategies, including reducing energy consumption and improving energy efficiency.
Langston was hired in early 2020. She chose energy reduction as one of the first priorities because there are proven ways to do so. She also hopes it will set a precedent for residents to do the same.
“It’s only one piece of the puzzle,” Langston said. “I’ve chosen to push forward with it now because it’s something we should’ve been doing a long time ago.”
First officials had to figure out how much energy the city currently uses — a challenging task during the pandemic but one that’s now completed. A spreadsheet tracking the natural gas, electricity and water consumption by meter in each city building is now available on Norfolk’s open data portal. Tree lights at City Hall, for example, cost $6.59 in the last monthly billing cycle.
The new resolution is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge, a voluntary federal program through which participants commit to reducing energy by 20% in 10 years. Norfolk’s the first Hampton Roads locality to sign on.
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Actions will include retrofitting lighting and factoring in the most energy-efficient items when something like a new HVAC system is needed.
The city’s already been doing that on a project-by-project basis, Langston said, but the commitment will make it a more streamlined effort. Seed money for the effort comes from a revolving Norfolk Green Fund. Langston declined to say how much.
“This is the first foray into actually codifying our efforts and putting policy in place,” she said.
The city recently held an “energy treasure hunt” at the Norfolk Animal Care Center where employees looked around the facility to spot opportunities for lowering energy use and plans to do the same at other buildings.
Reducing energy use will likely save money, but Langston said that’s hard to predict because prices could change. The city’s more focused on reducing carbon emissions.
The sustainability team is also working on revamping community garden programs, bringing in more electric car charging stations, easing the residential solar permitting process and more.
Katherine Hafner, 757-222-5208, katherine.hafner@pilotonline.com