San José is focusing on reducing energy use through conservation efforts as well as supply-side strategies that lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with electricity generation overall. Energy efficiency will be California’s most effective tool for achieving GHG reductions in key industries as well as local governments like San José, which have also made strong commitments to renewable energy. Since energy data used to calculate energy goals comes from PG&E and verified 2010 data is not available until mid 2011; 2010 will be calculated and reported next year. Approximately 2.4 million metric tons of CO₂ were emitted based on electricity and natural gas use in 2009.* Per capita service population CO₂ emissions from energy use was 1.75 metric tons. 

    * CO₂ emissions based on most recent (2008) PG&E conversion factor.

Currently the State requires energy providers to increase the mix of renewable energy included in their energy portfolios to 33% over the next several years. San José’s currently receives the bulk of its electricity from PG&E. PG&E’s power mix in 2009 consisted of non-emitting nuclear generation (20 percent), large hydroelectric facilities (13 percent) and renewable resources (14.4 percent), such as solar wind, geothermal, biomass and small hydro. The remaining portion came from natural gas (34.6 percent), coal (1.3 percent), and other resources including fossil-based resources (16.2 percent). 

The City is partnering with PG&E to develop renewable energy generation projects on city facilities, businesses, and residential homes throughout San José. The City remains a nationwide leader in solar roof installations and leads the community with programs such as the Silicon Valley Energy Map and the Solar Group Buy. The City is also exploring biological technologies such as anaerobic digestion (AD) that produces methane for energy.

Since energy data used to calculate energy goals comes from PG&E and verified 2010 data is not available until mid 2011, 2010 will be calculated and reported next year. San José total electricity use in 2009 was 5,347,045,766 kWh and resulted in 1,317,850 metric tons of CO₂*.  

    * CO₂ emissions based on most recent (2008) PG&E conversion factor.

Electricity generation, both in- and out-of-state, and other residential and commercial energy use accounts for 32 percent of California’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, second only to the transportation sector.[1] The City of San José requires new buildings to achieve certification using either the USGBC or Build It Green’s rating systems which strive to optimize the energy performance of buildings. While addressing emissions produced by existing buildings is key to reducing GHG emission to 1990 levels by 2020, constructing new green building  and operating and maintaining them sustainably contributes to reducing emission such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, organic gases, sulfur oxides, and particulate matter.

[1] ARB. 2008. Climate Change Proposed Scoping Plan: A Framework for Change. Sacramento: California Air Resources Board. http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/scopingplan/document/psp.pdf.

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are primarily derived from methane that is produced as a product of organic decay at the landfills and transportation emissions from pick-up to delivery of waste materials.  California has implemented methane capture rules at landfills and is developing a mandatory commercial recycling program regulation. San José is a national leader in diverting waste from landfills and is finalizing a commercial redesign of its program that will offer recycling to all commercial facilities thereby increasing waste diversion from this sector. Also, municipal haulers are transitioning to cleaner burning fuels for their trucks reducing GHG emissions from the current fuel that is used. All of these efforts will help achieve the Green Vision goal and reduce GHG emissions. In 2010, approximately 569,379 tons of waste was trucked to the landfill translating into approximately 97,000 metrics tons of CO₂ equivalents. 

The 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy identified the need to change water management and uses because of climate change as one of the key findings.  Changes in sea-level rise may bring salt water intrusion to our local waterways, snow pack fluctuations and increases in the severity and variability of weather patterns support optimizing local water supplies due to droughts or flooding. Recycled water provides a sustainable alternative to importing water from around the state. Using local water supplies effectively leads to better management of our watershed, maximizing the ability of reservoirs to capture rainfall and avoid flooding, providing increased stream volume to support the riparian ecosystem, and reducing the energy required to import non-local supplies. Reducing the energy needed to transport water, as well as conserving the amount of water used will reduce greenhouse gases. As a result, California communities are working with the state to develop more sustainable solutions towards our current and future water needs.

The recycled water system in San José currently emits approximately 2,490 metric tons (MT) of CO₂ equivalents to deliver 26 acre-feet per day of recycled water or approximately 8.5 MGD. In 2010, approximately 494,363 metric tons (MT) of CO₂ equivalents were avoided through water conservation programs.

The Draft Envision General Plan includes policies and a Land Use / Transportation Diagram developed to reduce the City’s generation of greenhouse gas emissions and to provide tools for long-term adaptation to the effects of climate change. The Climate Action Plan / Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy, which is being developed in tandem with the General Plan Update process, will put forth a road map to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including those related to transportation, through policies and a land use plan that support a more compact urban form and greater use of walking, mass transit or bicycling as a means of travel between home, work, school, shopping and other services.

In 2007, San José emitted a total of 7.61 million metric tons (7.61MMT) of greenhouse gas emissions of which 3.52MMT was attributed to transportation.  The Green Vision and Draft General Plan support reduction of the City’s greenhouse gas emissions to 6.6MMT by 2020 and to 3.04MMT by 2035.

San José installed 174 Light Emitting Diode (LED) streetlights in 2010 that offer a significant reduction in energy demand for lighting along with greater illumination. These new lights and the 120 installed in 2009 due to their remote dimming capability could save even more energy if that function is used and are expected to last up to 20 years.

Use of our interconnected trail network allows more people to use either biking or walking as an alternative mode of transit versus conventional fossil fueled vehicles to commute each day. By developing our trails and bikeways, the City will reduce the amount of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions produced from the transportation sector, one of the largest and most difficult sectors to address. In the Bike Plan 2020, a goal of a 5% bike mode share was developed on comparison with other cities. In lieu of annual surveys, a methodology is being used to assume a small but linear growth in bike ridership each year from the 2007 baseline year. This method was vetted with a climate scientist at San José State University and provides a reasonable estimate of GHG emissions. Since the baseline year, approximately 15,090 metric tons of CO₂ equivalents have been reduced from the transportation sector.