The Cook County and Grand Marais Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Plan has been adopted by both the Grand Marais City Council and the Cook County Board of Commissioners, and representatives of the Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) report that implementation is about to begin.
The energy plan took about 18 months to develop. According to CCLEP, implementation of the plan is expected to “benefit our community by creating jobs; retaining energy dollars in our local economy; improving quality of life for Cook County citizens through more energy efficient housing; buffering our community from the effects of unstable energy supply and pricing; decreasing our community’s contribution to the harmful environmental and climatic effects of fossil fuel use; decreasing our nation’s dependence on foreign oil; and increasing social equity and social justice by shifting wealth and power into the hands of local citizens and their local utilities.”
The energy plan is a detailed document that includes results of a countywide energy survey, energy usage profiles for the county and city, an energy toolbox and 10 goals with associated implementation strategies and action items.
Implementation of the voluntary plan will be facilitated by CCLEP, a citizen advisory committee. CCLEP, with representation from the city council and the county board, will take the lead in implementing projects and programs, and recommending action to be taken by the city and/or county. CCLEP board members are George Wilkes (chair), David Demmer, Dave Danz, Rick Schubert, Chel Anderson, Hyla Napadensky, Jeremy Lopez, Don Grant, Paul Nelson and Gary Atwood. Virginia Danfelt is the CCLEP coordinator.
Projects and programs will be financed using a combination of grants, government funding and donations. Any projects using government funding will require approval from the appropriate local governing body.
A meeting will be held at the Cook County Community Center on Thursday, August 23 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. in which the plan will be presented and discussed and citizens will be invited to participate in plan implementation. Everyone is encouraged to attend. Lola’s Sweet Life Bakery is providing refreshments
The entire plan can be viewed online at the CCLEP website www.cookcountylep.org.
Questions about the plan can be addressed by contacting Committee Chair George Wilkes at gwilkes@boreal.org; Energy Plan Coordinator Don Grant at nsse@boreal.org or CCLEP Coordinator Virginia Danfelt at localenergy@boreal.org or by calling (218) 475-2274.
The 10 goals are:
1» Demonstrate leadership and commitment to energy planning and development.
2» Increase public awareness and engagement regarding energy issues through education.
3» Optimize energy efficiency in the residential sector.
4» Optimize energy efficiency in the public and institutional sectors.
5» Optimize energy efficiency in the commercial sector.
6» Optimize clean, local, renewable energy development.
7» Promote land use practices that optimize energy efficiency.
8» Promote energy efficient transportation.
9» Promote an energy efficiency and renewable energy business sector.
10» Promote and enhance water conservation and waste reduction.
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