Jerry Sanders on Energy & Oil

Sustainable energy efficiency via CleanTECH San Diego

The City is taking advantage of federal stimulus grants and state incentives to bolster the local cleantech sector, including partnering with San Diego Gas & Electric and CleanTECH San Diego to offer no-interest financing for energy-efficiency upgrades for small businesses.

Purchase no-emission electric vehicles for city

To that end, Mayor Sanders announced with Car2Go CEO Nicholas Cole that they will deploy the first all-electric fleet of shared vehicles in San Diego this fall. The choice by Car2Go validates the city's commitment to being one of the first cities in the nation to provide a charging network that can support the widespread use of electric vehicles.

For those who've chosen a more walkable, urban lifestyle--but still need a vehicle for errands--this is an ideal solution.

Harvest methane from the Miramar landfill

This project calls for a private company--Fortistar LLC--to install dozens of wells that will capture methane gas from the landfill. The new power plant will use the captured methane gas to generate almost half of MCAS Miramar's energy needs.

Everyone wins. The military reduces both its electricity costs and its environmental footprint by tapping into a renewable energy source. And the city makes money--an estimated $200,000 a year--by receiving a share of Fortistar's revenue from the sale of this converted methane.

The city will also save up to $2 million in capital costs because Fortistar will install the wells at its own expense. These are wells the city would have needed to install on its own to prevent too much methane from seeping into the atmosphere.