renewable energy

On April 18, 2017 the South Lake Tahoe City Council unanimously passed a resolution to: 1) Power the South Lake Tahoe community with electricity provided from 100 percent renewable sources by 2032 and 2) Reduce community carbon emissions from baseline by at least 80 percent by 2040, and reduce municipal emissions by 50 percent by 2030.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There will be two new members of the South Lake Tahoe City Council after the November 3 election. In the coming weeks the pubic will have chances to hear from the candidates both via zoom, in print and possibly in person. Below are eight of the ten candidates responses to questions asked by the local #IRunWithMaud group.

A new agreement is resulting in a $5 million decrease in revenue needs for NV Energy which means Northern Nevada customer electric rates are going down.

The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) approved the agreement between NV Energy, the Regulatory Operations Staff of the PUCN, the Bureau of Consumer Protection and other interested parties that start new lower rates January 1, 2020.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Timing seems perfect to have a fleet of electric buses for the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD), but trustees have the purchase of just one on their Friday night agenda along with the purchase of four diesel buses.

The Board's annual organizational meeting is set for December 13 at 5:00 p.m. instead of their normal Tuesday meeting. During the meeting, they will elect a new board president and clerk, and elect representatives to El Dorado County School Boards Association and Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation, and assign annual duties for the trustees.

The City of South Lake Tahoe has launched its October Edition of "At Lake Level." The monthly newsletter is prepared by City Manager Frank Rush in an effort to keep the community well informed about City issues and initiatives.

Development Commodities Available at No Cost for Qualified Affordable Housing, Town Center, and Distressed Property Development

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It currently costs the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) $1,073,855 a year to provide natural gas, electricity, and water to their nine locations, which is a cost of $ 1.77 per square foot.

They have been looking at ways to reduce these costs through their Sustainability Committee, and now a "Renewable Energy & Sustainability Committee Implementation Plan" has been presented to the Board of Education.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In an effort to bring more of the public to their meetings, the South Lake Tahoe City Council is holding their second meeting of each month in the evening.

Tuesday, February 19 will be the first night meeting for the new Council and the agenda appears to be fairly short. The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. and the Council voted to not allow the night meetings to go past 10:00 p.m.

The following is a Letter to the Editor from South Tahoe Public Utility District Board Member Jim Jones, a candidate for re-election:

To the Community:

On April 18, 2017 the South Lake Tahoe City Council unanimously passed a resolution to do two things: Power the South Lake Tahoe community with electricity provided from 100 percent renewable sources by 2032; and reduce community carbon emissions from baseline by at least 80 percent by 2040. The 100% Renewable Committee was formed to help the City accomplish these tasks.

The night before football tryouts in the 9th grade I can still hear the advice my father gave to me before I tried, but failed, to get a good night’s sleep. He didn’t comfort me to tell me I would make the team, or tell me how great I was, he simply told me, “the only thing you can control, is that you can outwork everyone else.” This advice had an impact on me and ultimately led to everything positive in my life.

To help achieve Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows’ goal to be powered by 100 percent clean, renewable energy sources, Liberty Utilities, the electric service provider in the Lake Tahoe region of California, is actively collaborating with resort leadership to identify and develop new renewable energy generation, storage and energy efficiency projects to benefit the Olympic Valley and surrounding areas. Subject to regulatory approval, the two companies intend to achieve the resort’s 100 percent renewable goal as early as December 2018.

Today, the Sierra Club released a new report showcasing 10 U.S. cities that have made ambitious commitments to be powered with 100 percent clean, renewable energy like wind and solar. View the report: https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/blog/RF100-CaseStudies_2017.pdf

This is the second annual case studies report from Ready For 100, a Sierra Club campaign launched in 2016 working in cities across the United States, including South Lake Tahoe, to accelerate a just and equitable transition to 100 percent clean energy.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Lake Tahoe Unified School District Board of Trustees unanimously adopted a “Healthy and Environmentally Sound Schools” resolution at its October 10 meeting. This supports expanded energy efficiency programs, and alignment with the City of South Lake Tahoe’s recent commitment to get 100 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources.

Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz announced today that his company has committed to zero net emissions by 2030, zero waste to landfill by 2030 and zero net operating impact to forests and habitat.

"Everything we do at Vail Resorts is driven by the spectacular natural environments where our employees, guests and communities live, work and play," Katz said in a press release. "The environment – and our stakeholders’ passion for it – is our business, and we have a special obligation to protect it."

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - With the Lake Tahoe Airport not having scheduled passenger service since 2001, and with a master plan last updated in 1992, it was time to create a new plan based on the needs of the area today, and in the future.

People marched to the White House. People marched in New York. People marched in London, and people marched in South Lake Tahoe.

According to organizers, an estimated 400-500 people marched from Lakeview Commons to Earth Day festivities at Bijou community Party Saturday morning. South Lake Tahoe marchers were young, old, two-legged and four-legged, with many carrying signs to promote the protection of the environment.

The Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce (Tahoe Chamber) was proud to be one of the fourteen organizations and individuals who spoke in favor of the proposed City Council Resolution establishing renewable energy and carbon emissions reduction goals at Tuesday’s Council meeting.

A standing room only crowd applauded enthusiastically when the Council voted unanimously to support the resolution after proponent Nick Exline offered several minor but important amendments on behalf of the community-based “100% Renewable Collaborative.”

The South Lake Tahoe City Council will vote Tuesday on adopting a resolution to use 100 percent renewable energy by the year 2030.

"This could be a historic moment for the community, as we would join a growing movement of communities taking control of their energy future to tackle climate change," said Devin Middlebrook, TRPA Sustainability Program Coordinator. "We expect a big crowd of supporters wearing white shirts and 100 percent stickers in solidarity."

There are now 27 cities in the United States committed to operating with 100 percent renewable energy, will South Lake Tahoe be #28?

Cities already on board include both large an small communities. Some of those are Madison, Wis.; San Diego, Calif.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Pueblo, Aspen and Boulder, Colo.; and Moab, Utah. Efforts are currently underway for Truckee to join that group. Even Las Vegas operates their municipal buildings and facilities with 100 percent renewable energy.

It is an exciting time to live on the South Shore – during a critical point in our region’s evolution and potential. It is time to set our course: moving away from bickering and blaming, exclusionary special interests and single-industry dominance to consensus-building and proactively choosing progress. Whether we live in Nevada or California, everyone benefits from uniting towards a sustainable vision for the South Shore.

I first met Nick at a climate coalition meeting. I was immediately impressed by his passion and knowledge for making a difference to our community, our environment and our economy. He is highly qualified for the position, holding a master’s degree in land use planning. He has lived in our community for 9 years and is dedicated to preserving the environment and improving the infrastructure. He is a proponent of sustainable land practice and renewable energy and will work to implement projects that will have long-term environmental and economic savings for the community.

I am lucky to have lived in South Lake Tahoe for 9 years and grateful to be raising my children in such a wonderful place. I received a Masters Degree in Land Use Planning from UNR and am currently a solution oriented AICP, Senior Planner at Midkiff & Associates. My commitment to community service led me to the Leadership Lake Tahoe program, board membership with the Tahoe Drug Free Coalition, the Chamber Government Affairs Committee and the fight against climate change.

Earlier this week, Liberty Utilities held an official groundbreaking ceremony for their first-ever solar facility being built in Mineral County, Nevada.

“This project continues Liberty’s commitment to renewable energy sources,” states Greg Sorensen, President of Liberty Utilities-CA. “When completed later this year, the solar project will meet 25 percent of our customers’ energy needs.”

The Luning Solar Energy Center (aka the “Luning Project”) will be a 50-megawatt project.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the Lake Tahoe Sustainable Communities Program are hosting the Tahoe Region’s first-ever sustainability summit June 22-23 at The Hyatt in Incline Village.

Called Connections 2015, the summit is all about building more resilient and sustainable communities by strengthening mountain-urban partnerships, bringing together people and organizations from all over California, Nevada, and the American West.