Project Green City Plan 2020 is a framework and a roadmap for cities to meet and/or exceed their Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) by reducing their city’s carbon footprint goal of 33% by the Year 2020 under the State of California AB 32 Policy Framework Plan. In addition, our cities must solve their homeless, jobless and foreclosure problems and provide the pathway to homeownership, in order to become solvent and sustainable. The International Green Technology Institute, Inc., a non-profit organization established by the Tom Bradley Legacy Foundation, Inc., has a team of sustainable development and renewable energy professionals who are proposing to assist cities to develop and establish a Muni Green Micro Utility and Green Retrofit Jobs Initiative to win their energy independence and create green jobs for their people. The Green Retrofit Jobs Initiative includes educating and training a new generation of green collar workforce and incubating eco-entrepreneurs, in order to transition to a green economy. .
My name is Les Hamasaki, CEO and President of the International Green Technology Institute, Inc., and the Executive Director of GIVE, the Green Institute for Village Empowerment, Inc., that launched the Green Valley Initiative. I am a sustainable development regional planner and have been involved with two 20 year plans for the city of Los Angeles, the first… the Centers Concept Plan from 1975 to 1995 under Mayor Tom Bradley; and the Sustainable Framework Plan from 1995 to 2015 under Mayor Richard Riordan serving as Vice Chairman of the LA Planning Commission. I also served as a Los Angeles City Airport Commissioner under Tom Bradley that funded a $1 billion expansion program for the LA Ontario International Airport.
We are at the end of the Industrial Revolution that was built on coal and oil and at dawn of the Green 4G Internet Revolution that will be reconstructed with the access to information that will be powered by renewable resources.. The Green Internet Revolution will empower people of the community with the tools to integrate the (GT) Green Technology innovations and the (IT) Information Technology accessibility to build a green community from the ground up. We are in the Age of Empowerment and Entrepreneurialism. Imagine you the owner of a corporation with over 300 people working for you for free, day or night with almost any information you need instantly. “ Winning our Energy Independence,” according S. David Freeman, is a priority for Americans to get off of our addiction to foreign oil and build a green economy powered with Renewable Energy resources.
The trained students will have jobs retrofitting homes with energy efficient appliances and solar energy systems as part of the team of local solar contractors. The PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) bond financing program would assure the trained workers to have jobs.
The Plan envision a Green Campus Retrofit program as part of the education and training program for the students and a learning by doing experience. They would be involved with energy auditing, weatherization and solar PV and thermal designs and installation with professionals that would provide students with hand on experience. These Greentech Trainees will be certified to become ready interns for companies that will be requiring the manpower to green retrofit the homes in the county. GTI has partnered with Powerhouse Services, a financial services company that underwrite the PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) bond financing program for building owners. The PACE program would provide up to 10% of the property assessed valuation to finance the cost of the installation of energy efficient appliances, weatherization and solar panels. This program is patterned after the AB 81l program where the cost of the retrofit is financed over a 15 year period that is paid for on your property tax bill, similar to school bonds.
Cooling the desert with solar energy is a realty and a must for the Inland Empire, especially people living in the Southern California High Desert Region. Air conditioning usage is a real threat to peak demand and power outages during hot summer months. Additionally, the utility summer rates will keep on rising. Proper building insulation is a must in this area. The Los Angels Valley College recently installed a 350 to HVAC system as part of their central plant cooling operation. Schools and factories have shut down due to power outages last summer due to lack of air conditioning. During a heat storm in the San Joaquin Valley several years ago, over a billion dollars were lost due to livestock and poultry deaths.
Largest Solar Absorption Cooling System installed a LA Valley College by Chevron,
Retrofit all street lights with LED (Light Emitting Diodes) with solar and backup battery. Street lights can be traffic surveillance and wifi neighborhood connection.
A solar mixed use development for PV should be part of the overall plan. PV parking structures provide premium shade for cars, reduce emitting VOC, and could be used a charging station for electric vehicles and bicycles by the staff and the students. Students could be challenged to come up with creative designs for future parking structures.
The Green Commuter Program was implemented in 1996 in the City of Palm Springs and at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. In Palm Springs, the program was funded by AQMD to encourage city employees to drive their electric bicycles to work and recharge the bicycles while at work, and get their exercise by pedaling their bicycles all the way home, rather than sitting on a stationary bicycle at the fitness club. The program was able to improve the health of the participants, reduce energy consumption, reduce land use space for parking, reduce pollution, and reduce transportation cost (gas, insurance, maintenance, etc.). A Green Commuter Program for city workforce should be part of the Green City Program 2020.
The Green City Plan envisions an International Greentech Center for Excellence where members of the community would be surround with the latest green technology innovations as well as connected to an International Green Cluster of Sustainable Development (Cyberclusters) models around the world, such as the Masdar Initiative development in Abu Dhabi or the Eco Villages in Japan and Germany. We can develop Virtual Green Forums and Expos where the world leaders in green technology can participate. No longer is small rural cities have the excuse that they are not in the mainstream of information. You don’t have to be in downtown Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York or Tokyo to conduct international trade. You can trade from your car, home or office in downtown .
The International Greentech Center for Excellence should be modeled after the Audubon Center in Debs Park, a 5,000 s.f. and the first LEED Platinum building in the U.S. The Center is not connected to the LADWP grid for power, natural gas line from SoCal Gas, and the main sewer line for waste water disposal. The wastewater is treated on site and only water comes to the property. It uses recycled metal from guns for re-bars, fly ash for concrete mixture, and many more recycled materials for wall covering and table tops. There is a 22 kW PV panel on the roof and a 20 kW hr. of battery backup. The Center is cooled in the summer with a solar absorption cooling system that uses 1/10 of the power compared to compression chillers, and the same system heats the building during the winter months.
The Green City Plan envision a Greentech Energy Park with backup lithium ion or Nickel Iron batteries patterned after the city of Anaheim Energy Park. The Grentech Energy Park would showcase the various technologies for students and contractors to learn about the installation, operations and maintenance of these systems.
The Southern California Desert Region has been the leader in the Solar Revolution with the Solar Thermal Plant at Kramer Junction and the Heliostat Plant in the Barstow area. New solar technologies such as the Sterling engine and Concentrated PV by So Focus solar should become part of the Energy Park.
Sterling Energy Systems 25 kW and the Solar Thermal System
Water and Food Security go hand in hand in California. We are facing a long term drought in the state. Climate change is also affecting our water supply with the reducing snowpack in the High Sierras.
Solar High Performance Greenhouses will be part of our food security and carbon neutral strategy as well as creating a healthier community. These photos illustrate a solar farms in Camarillo, CA producing tomatoes 20x more productive and using less water, pesticides, herbicides, etc. The future of warehouses and large supermarkets or even campus buildings could also be part of a greenroof farm program.
The Backyard Greenhouse as describe the www.PortableFarms.com in San Diego uses aquaponics to grow fresh fruits and vegetables and fresh tilapia. The tilapia waste stream is used to fertilize the rock tray garden. Other growing technologies such as Aeroponics developed by NASA and Richard Stoner as a food source for the future Moonbase Colony could be part of the program.
The Perfect Economic Storm is creating a mega-crisis. It is The Big Threat that could destroy our American Dream and turn it into an American Nightmare. We have the opportunity to deconstruct the oil economy and build a solar electric and biofuel economy and in the future a hydrogen economy. Natural gas could become a bridge to that reality. We must transition from the old Industrial Rust Belt strategy to the new Technology Green Belt strategy that integrates the Information Technology and the Green Technology to create the Second Silicon Valley in the Green Valley of the Inland Empire..
The GIVE’s Cleantech Team is ready and willing to assist the city of in becoming the Epicenter of the Green Revolution and provide the leadership in making this Valley…the Green Valley in the Green Economy.
The International Green Technology Institute, Inc. a not-for-profit organization estabished by the Tom Bradley Legacy Foundation has established a coaltion of professionals in the area of renewable energy education, training and implementation. Our partners include EcoHut Academy a green training company Synergy California LLC, a green technology planning and development company Claremont Environmental Design Group, Inc., a sustainable eco-systematic design company Elearning Zoom an online education and training company Green Institute for Village Empowerment, Inc. (GIVE) and the Green Valley Initiative, a regional sustainability education and planning organization. GreenInternet.TV, an Internet webcast media company.
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