City Calls for Public Input on Green Power Plan

The City of Palo Alto is considering a program to buy 100 percent of its power from “green” sources, and needs your input.

Utilities staff are right now looking into options for purchasing power from carbon-free, renewable or other clean sources such as hydroelectric facilities.

“Having a ‘carbon neutral’ portfolio of power sources would not only help Palo Alto achieve community-wide climate protection goals but also emphasize our leadership role in the region by exceeding the state requirements for electric utilities,” said Palo Alto Utilities Communications Manager Debra Katz.

Buying green power will likely come at a higher cost, however, so the Utility wants you to take a second and take a brief survey to determine how feasible it might be to pursue the carbon-free energy plan.

The survey is available here for residents, and here for businesses.

The City Council decided in May that they support a policy for achieving a carbon-neutral portfolio, and directed Utilities staff to come up with a plan to achieve that by December 2012. The full report presented to council during that meeting is available here.