https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Events
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • Magazine
    • Back
    • Digital Editions
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • Advertise
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Events
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • Magazine
    • Back
    • Digital Editions
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • Subscribe to GovPro
    • Manage GovPro Subscription
    • Advertise
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
acc.com

Commentaries


Urbanova is 770 acres of living laboratory for scalable, replicable and innovative projects in Spokane, Wash.'s downtown University District. Photo courtesy of Gonzaga University.

Commentary

The benefits of electrification

The benefits of electrification

  • Written by Mike Beehler
  • 9th October 2019

Electrification is sweeping through America and claims many benefits. But, just what are those benefits and why should city and county leaders care?

Electrification helps communities develop economically, provide better transportation options and innovative technologies across a broad spectrum of community infrastructure and services.

A strong and well-run local electric utility brings human and financial resources to community or regional economic development teams. For example, Salt River Project (SRP), a large public power water and electric utility in Phoenix, Ariz., is well known for its high system reliability and stable, low electric rates. Over the years, the SRP economic development team joined with Chandler, Tempe, and Gilbert to attract several large chip manufacturers like Honeywell, HP, Microchip and Intel to make the east valley of Phoenix the Silicon Desert.

Another example is ElectriCities, a not-for-profit membership organization that serves 70 municipally-owned electric utilities operating in North and South Carolina and Virginia. ElectriCities provides an in-house economic development team that assists potential businesses with site selection, marketing studies, demographic information and more. Small town local leaders can partner with the local electric company to create in a win-win relationship. In 2018, ElectriCities helped the North Carolina communities of Clayton and HighPoint win multi-million-dollar business investments in physical plant and hundreds of new jobs.

Investor-owned utility (IOU), Ameren, based in St. Louis, has an economic development team to support local communities in its Missouri and Illinois state-regulated service territories. Specializing in agribusiness, manufacturing and logistics/transportation, Ameren’s development team works with businesses looking to expand or relocate into communities they serve.

Strong electric utilities will seek to expand their market share over fossil fuels by electrifying energy-intensive equipment and devices in industrial processes, commercial cooking equipment, hydroponic farming and transportation in the form of electric vehicles (EVs). Most major auto manufacturers have introduced electric vehicles and some pledge to change their entire fleets of new offerings to hybrid or all-electric by the mid-2020s. Electric automobiles will be as clean as the source of its electricity. Charge the EV battery with roof-top or utility-scale solar or wind and have a zero-carbon footprint for the energy used.

As emerging technologies for wireless charging are proven at scale and embraced by customers, questions about the development of charging infrastructure, charging time and range anxiety will be replaced by “How fast can the long-range transportation and parking plan be modified for 21st-century innovations?”

Electrification also breeds innovation. Electric utilities provide the expertise on applications of emerging technologies, smart buildings and, eventually, smart cities. Emerging technologies like gunshot detection and video cameras require electricity. Green solutions for water, wastewater and storm water require electricity for new in-pipe monitoring systems to measure and control flow. Smart Pavements from Integrated Roadways require electricity to convert real-time, constant traffic data into usable information for law enforcement and community planners and profitable action by small businesses.

All the emerging technologies are best tested in an “innovation neighborhood” – incubators for new ideas set in a culturally and demographically diverse area of approximately one square mile. Access to mass transit and proximity to higher education or local employers is also important. The city or community can partner with local utilities to run technology pilots, test the concepts for application at scale, verify the return on investment and monitor the customer/citizen acceptance of the new technologies. One of the best examples of an innovation neighborhood is Urbanova in Spokane, Wash., where the city partners with the local IOU, Avista Utilities.

Smart buildings in an innovation neighborhood make the foundation for a “smart city” supported and partially funded by your local electric utility. To control their carbon footprint, some communities are passing ordinances for all-electric or net-zero buildings. Net-zero means that the energy (and water) used at the site is generated at the site, typically over a calendar year. San Jose recently announced that all residential buildings will be net-zero by 2020 and commercial buildings by 2030.San Jose will implement this ambitious plan with its local electric utility, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). Progressive private architects and-engineers can design state-of-the-art net-zero buildings, but operating these complex new buildings over their lifespan can be challenging. PG&E will provide ongoing needed expertise to support net-zero customers and meet the sustainability goals of the local community.

Tough challenges lie ahead for local government leaders. The benefits of electrification bring a strong economic development team, emerging technologies proven in innovation neighborhoods, support on “smart” net-zero building, and, ultimately, the growth into a smart city. Benefit with a utility partner by your side and… all before the next election.

 

Mike Beehler is the COO of Mike Beehler & Associates, LLC and author of the new book, The Science of the Sale. Mike is a registered Professional Engineer in Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Texas, Colorado, Kansas, Georgia and Alabama, and a Fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers. 

Tags: Public Works & Utilities Commentaries Commentary

Related


  • How Philadelphia is aiming for zero waste
    The city of Philadelphia has long collected data on city properties’ waste generation and leveraged it to improve waste management, but now it’s honing in on the commercial sector too, realizing this will be crucial to hitting Philly’s zero waste targets. Today it runs a voluntary program where both municipal and commercial operations do detailed […]
  • Cleveland launches program to create circular rconomy
    The City of Cleveland and Cleveland Neighborhood Progress announced the launch of Circular Cleveland, a two-year initiative to develop and implement circular economy strategies and programs in Cleveland. Inspired by similar models in cities around the world, the circular economy is a comprehensive approach to provide community-wide benefits by designing waste and pollution out of our economic system, keeping […]
  • St. Lucie county adds foam polystyrene recycling program
    St. Lucie County, Fla., residents and businesses will now be able to recycle more foam polystyrene products, thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Foam Recycling Coalition. After starting a single-stream program in 2014, St. Lucie County has seen a continuous increase in the tonnage being processed at the St. Lucie Materials Recovery Facility, as […]
  • City of Tega Cay, S.C., wants residents to go through neighbors' trash
    The city of Tega Cay in South Carolina has asked residents to remain vigilant in spotting recycling contamination. Officials have stated that they are considering canceling the city’s recycling program because of “truckloads” of rejected residential recycling materials. In fact, Tega Cay councilpersons are asking for volunteers to inspect what goes into residents’ recycle bins […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Building services provider helps Ohio county establish its own building code department
  • Vermont city uses sewer surveillance to halt spread of COVID-19
  • Industry and government collaboration key to addressing recycling challenges
  • Swissdale, Penn., is turning food waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

The latest episode The Young Leaders Podcast focuses on Cyril Jefferson. Cyril is the youngest African American to… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

27th October 2020
AmerCityCounty

Hillsboro, Oregon is pioneering a new #renewableenergy generation technology through a partnership with… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

27th October 2020
AmerCityCounty

The impact of the #COVID19 pandemic on #telework was swift and profound. Now, the big question is whether – and to… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

26th October 2020
AmerCityCounty

Get ready for the can't-miss webinar on how to kickstart your efficiency improvement plan with Luke Anderson of… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

26th October 2020
AmerCityCounty

Among all states headed into the 2020 general election, which ones have voting populations that are the most demogr… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

26th October 2020
AmerCityCounty

We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts in our readership survey to help us shape future content so that we c… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

23rd October 2020
AmerCityCounty

See how cities different approaches to distribute masks in their communities >> spr.ly/6010GAPLa

23rd October 2020
AmerCityCounty

While #facialrecognition is a powerful tool that can improve law enforcement efficiency, that doesn’t necessarily t… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

23rd October 2020

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X