Apr 21, 2010

On Earth Day, the City of South Bend will unveil a new strategy, supported by a more than $1 million federal stimulus grant, to target the top three priorities projected to have the most significant impact toward reducing the City's greenhouse gas emissions.

The South Bend Green Ribbon Commission, meeting Thursday at Indiana University South Bend, will review the City's new Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy, which calls for the City beginning in 2010 to:

• Conduct energy audits on the 30 municipal buildings with the largest bills for energy usage.
• Synchronize the timing of traffic signals at the 100 busiest intersection corridors in South Bend.
• Study the feasibility of generating hydroelectric power through the St. Joseph River at the Century Center dam.

"In the time since the Green Ribbon Commission was first convened on Earth Day 2009, the City of South Bend is enthusiastically pursuing energy efficiency and conservation because it is socially responsible, good for our environment and because it makes good business sense, saving time, money and physical resources," said Mayor Stephen J. Luecke. "This strategy

On Earth Day 2008, Luecke signed the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement. The action committed South Bend to join other cities in becoming a "Cool City," reducing the causes of global warming in accord with the international Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change. Because of early efforts, South Bend was named Indiana's Green Community of the Year in 2009 among large cities by the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns.

"We already celebrate our progress as Indiana's Green Community of the Year," Luecke said. "But the public-private cooperation embodied in South Bend's Green Ribbon Commission will unleash our community's talent and imagination for an even more sustainable city."

Each of the three action steps is expected to contribute to an effort to reduce the City of South Bend's annual $6.8-million energy bill. The stimulus grant also creates a self-funded Energy Office in South Bend to implement actions and monitor progress.

The energy audits will lead to identification of energy retrofits, with approval from the U.S. Department of Energy. The efforts aim for a 10-percent reduction in energy consumption, which will lead to long-term savings in the City's annual operating costs.

The traffic signal optimization will use computer software to change green-light timing parameters between intersections. Posted speeds will enable motorists to progress smoothly through green lights, reducing engine idling, delays and fuel consumption. (As part of this transportation-efficiency effort, City fleet operations will undergo route optimization through specialized software and Global Positioning Satellite systems.)

A 1.78-megawatt energy generator, installed near the fish ladder, would offset the equivalent of more than 10 million kilowatt hours per year of carbon emissions, providing renewable, clean-energy benefits over a 40-year service life. As the study takes place, the City will conduct a small demonstration project at the site

The Green Ribbon Commission supports the City of South Bend in its efforts to reduce local contributions to global-warming pollution; proposes policies to reduce community energy costs and consumption; and recommends sustainable practices for adoption by municipal government, private businesses and local citizens.

"During the first decade of the new millennium, sustainability has gone from being perceived as extreme to the mainstream," said Mike Keen, chair of the Green Ribbon Commission and director of IU South Bend's Center for a Sustainable Future, which is hosting Thursday's meeting. "I am pleased that the Green Ribbon Commission has been able to help South Bend take a leadership role in this endeavor. It is good for our city. It is good for the planet. It is good governance."

Contact: 

• Mikki Dobski, Director of Communications & Special Projects, 235-5855 or 876-1564
• Gary Gilot, Director of Public Works, 235-9251