County Operations

Arlington is on the way to achieving its 2020 greenhouse gas emissions target. Here are some of the areas where our carbon footprint has seen the biggest improvement:

Background

Arlington recently created the County Operations Energy Plan to guide how it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020, relative to a 2007 baseline. This effort builds on the adoption of the Community Energy Plan (CEP) and the success of achieving the AIRE goal of reducing County government emissions by 2012, relative to a 2000 baseline.

The graphic below shows the contributions to the the County Operations carbon footprint:

The County Operations Energy Plan established the following objectives to help Arlington County reach its greenhouse gas emissions target:

Improve Building & Infrastructure Efficiency

Build upon a strong history of energy improvement in buildings and infrastructure by implementing more efficient operations and projects. See County and School Building Energy Report Cards for historical building energy use information. For building portfolio energy savings, see Arlington’s Better Buildings Challenge Profile.

Improve Fleet Efficiency

Reduce the County fleet’s greenhouse gas emissions with more efficient vehicles; cleaner fuels, including the use of electric vehicles; and reducing vehicle miles traveled.

Recover Waste Heat

Make use of heat exchangers in building systems and at the Water Pollution Control Plant. Consider combined heat and power (CHP) and district energy (DE).

Increase Use of Renewable Energy

Strategically install solar photovoltaic and solar thermal to reach target of 2 MW installed capacity by 2020. Purchase green power to further reduce carbon footprint and encourage market for new renewable energy resources.

Use Innovative Technology

Pilot and deploy technologies that could benefit the County. Some examples being considered and used today are LED lighting, variable refrigerant flow systems, electric vehicles, energy management information systems, energy storage, and net zero energy buildings.

Create a Smarter Energy Culture

Establish a cross-County energy working group that will discuss progress, share ideas, and serve as energy champions. Incentivize smart energy behavior for County employees and facilities users.

Measure & Report

Arlington reports its progress towards the CEP target by performing regular greenhouse gas emissions inventories – see the latest inventory here. As a Compact of Mayors signatory, Arlington’s greenhouse inventory updates will meet international standards and can be compared with other communities around the world.

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