Agenda - 02-04-20 6-a - Climate Action Tax Recommendations for FY 2019-20

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5 more than $325,000 in grant funding to provide additional support for Orange County's investments in innovative sustainability projects. The County made an internal commitment in 2010 to aim for reductions in energy and water usage per square foot and was able to achieve a 22% reduction in energy use and a 39% reduction in water use by 2017. Here are some milestones in the recent history of Orange County's commitment to energy efficiency and renewable energy: • 2005 Greenhouse Gas Emissions inventory, 2017 update underway. • 2009 The Justice Center renovation includes County's first major geothermal installation, paving the way for 4 additional facilities to be retrofitted with geothermal HVAC systems by 2016. Combined,these systems allow the County to spend $37,000 less per year on energy bills and reduce the wear and tear on our HVAC systems. • 2010 Electric Vehicle charging network installed with 16 free chargers across 4 locations to incentivize a market transformation. • 2017 SolSmart Silver Designation attained including a solar rooftop feasibility study for County facilities, how-to checklist on solar installation for homeowners. • 2017 Commitment to Paris Climate Accord -26% reduction in total emissions by 2025. • 2017 Commitment to transition to 100% renewable energy countywide by 2050. • 2018 Triangle Regional Resilience Assessment— In 2018,the Town of Chapel Hill, City of Raleigh, City of Durham, Durham County, Orange County and the Town of Cary completed a joint assessment of our region's resilience to the hazards we all experience.This will guide plans that will help us withstand future anticipated disruptions. • 2019 Climate Action Tax—The Board of Orange County Commissioners levied a %cent property tax to accelerate priority actions on climate change. Current Projects: Orange County is building on its strong history of leadership in sustainability, and has been accelerating its efforts in several parallel projects: • Four new facilities which are currently under development will be the first County buildings to include rooftop photovoltaic systems:The Orange County Detention Center, the Environment and Agricultural Center, the Efland EMS sub-station, and the Parks Operations Base. The largest of these facilities will also be equipped with a highly efficient geothermal HVAC system. • The County has now committed to the 3rd party commissioning process for every major construction project to ensure new buildings are performing as efficiently as they were designed.This practice is estimated by the NC Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ)to pay for itself within 1-3 years. • More than $150,000 in grant funding has been secured in just 2018 and 2019 to support the County in procuring electric fleet vehicles and upgrading and expanding our network of electric vehicle charging stations. • The emissions for flights taken by all County staff as well as the car trips taken by the County's pool of CarShare vehicles will be offset by investments in documented carbon reduction projects being installed in North Carolina. Future Actions Recommended: Even with all of the current and previous projects,the Board of Orange County Commissioners (BOCC) recognize the need for further investment in energy efficiency to reduce our impact, renewable energy to power the necessary services we provide, and offsets for any unavoidable emissions.