Shoreline Green Business Program

Is your business or household expecting to replace their existing computers, laptops or televisions during the holidays?

Only a couple years ago there were just a handful of locations locally where you could take dysfunctional or working but obsolete electronics. Now there are organizations willing to repurpose used electronics, and a large number of facilities that will disassemble electronics here in Washington State and recycled the components.

E-Cycle Washington has information on donating working electronics to charity including tips on data security and resource pages with links to industry and non-profits and their refurbishing programs.

For example "Computers for Schools" rebuilds your old PC's to work like new and are then given to organizations and schools. The unusable parts are recycled. "To date our program has placed over 50,000 computers in schools, non-profit organizations and need-based homes proving that limited funding does not preclude access to technology."

According to the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, companies that donate personal computers to schools qualify for an enhanced charitable deduction benefit.

To dispose of electronics that are no longer functional look up a recycling location near you on the State Department of Ecology 1-800 Recycle Hotline Database.

According to the Department of Ecology "Washington's FREE, convenient and environmentally responsible electronics recycling program has been operational since January 1, 2009. Products accepted at E-Cycle Washington drop-off sites are: computers, monitors, laptops, tablet computers, televisions and e-readers."

Transit Oriented Development

  An Opportunity for Citizen Involvement

There are some target dates, arbitrary estimates and lots of questions at this juncture regarding the proposed Sound Transit Station planned for the east side of I-5 at N 185th Street.

Sound Transit and the City of Shoreline are still developing the public process that will allow citizens affected by the development to have a voice in the design and placement of the station.

A small group calling themselves the "185th Station Citizen Committee" wants to ensure the process is citizen driven. "185th Station Citizen Committee is a group of citizens who live near the proposed Light Rail N 185th station-area and work to provide educational outreach and facilitate a citizen-driven vision of development."

At the request of the 185th Station Citizen Committee the City of Shoreline took them on a driving tour of the area to point out possible locations for the station, potential parking areas, answer questions and listen to concerns.

According to Associate Planner Miranda Redinger who conducted the tour there are many options being examined and many questions being raised with no firm plans for any one scenario. The main priority now is to establish what the public process will be and to continue to gather information.

Now is the perfect time for local residents to get involved so they can help define that public process and provide information to the City of Shoreline and Sound Transit that will help influence future decisions.

Members of the committee expressed the importance of transparency and education. There is always a lot of fear when a major development is proposed in a community. The more information local residents have on what the timeline will be, what the process entails and where they can go to get information the more likely that people will experience a positive outcome.

One question the City of Shoreline is asking residents is what are the treasures that you want to keep even as transit oriented development changes the community? Some of the "treasures" identified in past public meetings have been the Shoreline Pool, Senior Center, Spartan Gym, Stadium and adjacent parks.

Possible station locations being discussed include the open space located between the east side of I-5 and 5th Ave NE just south of the N 185th street overpass and/or north of the overpass between the east side of I-5 and 7th Ave NE. (See photo right) Transit parking could be located on the west or east side of I-5.

It has not yet been determined whether the station will be elevated or at grade.

Miranda raised a number of questions: Could the overpass be widened and serve as a bus transfer area? What other businesses catering to commuters might want to locate to the immediate area? What pedestrian and bike amenities can be added to strengthen the connection between the community and transit?

How much of the development should be devoted to making the area a destination, and how much just to transit? (According to a recent report Miranda quoted, 91% of all tax money spent by Shoreline residents goes to locations outside the city. Increasing the business base would help reverse that trend)

What kind of housing options would be most appropriate for transit oriented development?

As Miranda pointed out on the tour "The area will be competing for private money. The City of Shoreline can put regulations in place to have design standards, but at the end of the day there are a lot of outside interests that will determine what will get funded and built."

Target dates to keep in mind: Summer of 2013 Sound Transit is expected to release their Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The target date for construction is 2018 with the system expected to be operational all the way to Lynnwood by 2023.

The City of Shoreline will be updating their website with more information. Information is also posted on Sound Transit's website. Citizens interested in participating in the 185th Station Citizen Committee can contact the Chair, Suzanne Wynne at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Note: This week's posting is written by Jim DiPeso who was recently invited by the German Government to tour their renewable energy installations along with several state legislators from across the country. 

Energiewende 

by Jim DiPeso

In Germany, the energy business isn't just for big operators. Anyone—farmers, homeowners, and small businesses—can produce clean energy and get paid for it.

It's all part of the "Energiewende" (Energy Transition), Germany's long-range plan to rely on renewable resources for 80 percent of its energy by 2050. Europe's biggest economy and most populous country has embarked on a remarkable if risky transformation. If the Energiewende succeeds, it would point the way towards revitalizing economies, increasing energy security, and lowering environmental risks in communities and nations worldwide.

During my visit to Germany November 11-18, I had a chance to learn in detail about the Energiewende and its many moving parts. Two of the leading motivations for the strategy are security and safety: Germany imports 95 percent of the oil and 80 percent of the natural gas it uses. The 2011 accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor complex stirred renewed concerns about nuclear safety in a nation of 82 million people packed into densely populated country the size of Montana.

A core element of the Energiewende is the "feed-in tariff." Anyone who installs wind or solar energy is guaranteed a purchase price for 20 years and priority access to the electricity grid. The guarantee has led to a surge of decentralized energy development in cities and in the countryside. Between 2006 and 2011, solar generation expanded by a factor of nearly nine. Wind energy production increased by nearly 60 percent during that period. Renewables, led by wind and solar, now account for 26 percent of power production in Germany. One-sixth of German power also is generated in "combined heat and power" plants, which co-produce electricity and useful heat, a more efficient way to produce energy than stand-alone power and heat plants.

Renewable energy supports about 370,000 German jobs, approximately equal to jobs supported by Germany's world-famous automakers. The Renewables Academy in Berlin provides a range of educational services, taught in English, to train the skilled labor that is vital for planning, designing, financing, managing, operating, and maintaining renewable energy projects. The offerings include a master of science degree in solar energy development and an MBA in renewables.

The feed-in tariff is funded through a surcharge on consumer electricity bills, although energy-intensive industries are exempted from the surcharge, a point of controversy. There are other points of controversy with the Energiewende. Consumers worry about energy costs and industries worry about reliability. Germany must expand and modernize its transmission grid in order to handle the ups and downs of variable renewable generation, and to deliver offshore wind energy from the country's north to its population and industrial centers in the south. Spillover of surplus wind-generated electricity into the power grids of Poland and the Czech Republic has annoyed Germany's two eastern neighbors.

Photo courtesy of www.stero.de web service

Improving energy efficiency will be essential to the Energiewende's success. In Hamburg, Germany's second largest city and winner of Europe's Green Capital award last year, urban planners and developers have undertaken a range of projects to re-imagine buildings in order to improve efficiency and enhance urban quality of life. One example is the Case Study Hamburg, a modular dwelling that makes use of prefabricated timber and concrete components that limit energy consumption and keep out exterior noise. The design allows buyers to customize floor plans and room arrangements to suit their needs. Another example is the IGS Center, which can serve as both residential and workspace. Ground-source heat pumps supply winter heating needs.

Perhaps the most dramatic Hamburg project is the re-purposing of a massive aboveground concrete bunker that supported anti-aircraft guns and sheltered Hamburg civilians from Allied bombing during World War II. The structure, which the British Army unsuccessfully attempted to destroy after the war, is being turned into a renewable energy production center. A biomass-fueled combined heat and power plant, along with solar panels, will supply heat to nearby neighborhoods and renewable power to the grid. A building born of an ugly past is being transformed into a showcase of tomorrow's clean energy technologies.

Germany's energy transformation challenges old assumptions and breaks new ground. The Energiewende will bear close watching as we in the U.S. confront our own energy challenges in an uncertain world.

"Solarize" Catching On 

Neighbors with an entrepreneurial spirit started "Solarize Southeast" (Southeast Portland) in 2008 as a way to make solar more affordable, while providing transparency and building consumer confidence.

Within six months, Solarize Southeast signed up more than 300 residents, installed solar on 130 homes, added 350 kilowatts of new PV capacity and created 18 permanent professional-wage jobs for site assessors, engineers, project managers, journeyman electricians and roofers.

The project was quickly adopted by other neighborhoods. The Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability was able to get support from the U.S. Department of Energy to scale up the project.

The U. S. Department of Energy published "The Solarize Guidebook: A community guide to collective purchasing of residential PV systems" taking the guesswork out of organizing locally.

According to the case studies reported in the guidebook the Solarize Portland campaigns of 2009 through 2011 "revolutionized the market for solar, driving down market prices by more than 30% across the board and generating over 50 permanent green jobs for site assessors, engineers, project managers, journeyman electricians and roofers."

The "Solarize" process is designed to simplify the purchase process for the consumer. It includes competitive contractor selection, community-led outreach with a trusted partner and a limited-time offering.

One of the outcomes in Portland was that even contractors that were not selected to participate benefited from an increase in demand for solar. Most customers preferred locally made solar products even though they were a little more expensive than what is available from out of state. Offering the program for a limited time helped drive consumption. Limiting the duration of the campaign also ensured that the "market would not be tapped out, but rather, primed for further activity."

Similar programs have been started in California, Massachusetts, Vermont and Washington.

In Washington Northwest Energy for Economic Development (Northwest SEED) works with membership-based community groups to organize Solarize campaigns neighborhood-by-neighborhood. Northwest SEED has completed two programs and started two more in 2012.

"As demand for Solarize campaigns has grown, Northwest SEED has begun to issue a Call for Partners to competitively select neighborhoods as hosts for upcoming Solarize campaigns. In addition, several local utilities have seen the success of Solarize Washington campaigns and are now offering support to expand the program.

One advantage Washington has over Portland is the Washington State Renewable Energy Production Incentive. Solar systems manufactured in state achieve a much quicker payback than solar systems manufacture out of state, despite their higher upfront cost.

A benefit of the Solarize Guidebook is its inclusion of lessons learned from each of the projects and a step-by-step process on how to create your own neighborhood solar campaign.