United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Policy
(2171)
EPA-236-F-98-005
December 1998
Climate Change Solutions
Twin Cities Trim Climate Change
The neighboring cities of Minneapolis
and Saint Paul have long promoted energy
efficiency for economic, environmental,
and social reasons. In 1993, they began
using their expertise to address the risk of
global warming. Today their efforts are
paying off with significant economic and
environmental savings.
Minneapolis and Saint Paul are partners
in the Cities for Climate Protection
Campaign, a program of the International
Council for Local Environmental
Initiatives (ICLEI) with funding from the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
State and Local Climate Change Program.
In 1993, the Twin Cities pledged to reduce
their combined carbon dioxide emissions
to 20 percent below 1988 levels by the
year 2005—a reduction of roughly six
million metric tons. Minneapolis, as the
larger city, is responsible for achieving
60 percent of the combined emissions
reduction goal. Saint Paul is to provide
40 percent.
The Twin Cities' initial efforts at
reducing emissions have focused largely
on improving energy efficiency in
municipal properties. Working with the
electric and gas utility Northern States
Power, Minneapolis has invested $4.7
million to complete 120 energy efficiency
retrofits in municipal buildings and to
retrofit red traffic lights. The annual
savings have been substantial: $752,000
in energy costs, 11,300 tons of carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions, 30 tons of sulfur
oxides, and 32 tons of nitrogen oxides.
These projects have reduced energy use
by nearly 17 million kilowatt-hours, or
12 percent of the city's energy bill.
Saint Paul is achieving comparable
results in its municipal buildings and
equipment. Since 1992, the city has
invested more than $3.1 million in
dozens of upgrade projects that together
save more than $500,000 annually
and reduce the city's CO2 emissions
by approximately 7,200 tons per year.
Both cities are reducing emissions
further through other initiatives,
including efforts to improve industrial
and residential energy efficiency,
citywide recycling and source reduction
programs, tree-planting projects, and
transportation programs.
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
• The Twin Cities' municipal building energy retrofits save $113 million per year in energy
costs and reduce C02 emissions by more than about 18,000 tons annually.
• Saint Paul's recycling programs reduced die city's greenhouse gas emissions in 1997 by
the equivalent of 59,000 tons of C02.
• Volunteers in Saint Paul have planted more than 7,200 trees that will sequester more than
120 tons of C02 annually by 2010.
• Residential insulation programs in Minneapolis and Saint Paul have served some 25,000
households over the last 10 years.
• Saint Paul's Climate Wise program has enlisted 3M and Northstar Steel as its first partners.
Northstar is the first steel mill in the country to sign on to the Climate Wise program.
An electrician installs energy-efficient lights as Laurie
Kaplan, of Saint Paul's Planning and Economic
Development department, watches.
A Comprehensive Approach
The Twin Cities have identified six
strategies that the two communities can
use to meet their emission targets:
• Improve energy efficiency in
municipal buildings.
• Reduce emissions from the
transportation sector.
• Expand urban reforestation.
• Improve energy efficiency in
the residential, commercial, and
industrial sectors.
• Improve the efficiency of energy
production and promote the use of
renewable forms of energy supply.
• Promote recycling and source reduction.
Efforts are underway to implement
many of these strategies. Even if global
warming were not an issue, these
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measures would make economic and
environmental sense. "We are taking steps
that result in tangible local benefits such as
improved air quality, waste reduction
through improved reuse and recycling of
resources, lower energy bills, and new job
opportunities," says Chuck Armstrong,
assistant to Saint Paul Mayor Norm
Coleman,"at the same time as we reduce
greenhouse gas emissions to benefit the
global climate."
Setting an Example
Minneapolis and Saint Paul have
focused most of their efforts on
improving energy efficiency in city-
owned properties. By demonstrating the
cost-effectiveness of improved efficiency,
they have set an example for industries
and individual homeowners in the
metropolitan area.
Minneapolis plans to reduce CO2
emissions from municipal buildings to
16,000 tons below 1988 levels by the
year 2005.The city is now more than 60
percent of the way toward that goal. Guy
Fischer of the Minneapolis Environmental
Section expects that Minneapolis will
meet its target with the help of a Rebuild
America grant from the U.S. Department
of Energy. The grant will be used to train
building managers to use monitoring
software for tracking energy use.
Saint Paul's municipal energy projects
are noteworthy for their use of
innovative, state-of-the-art technologies.
Infrared heating systems installed at four
city vehicle garages save Saint Paul
$18,000 per year in fuel costs.
Saint Paul also has embarked on a
program to replace red traffic signals with
light emitting diodes (LEDs). During the
pilot stage of the project, lamps at
72 intersections were converted.The pilot
project showed that red LEDs are more
affordable and durable than conventional
lights. Full-size yellow LEDs are not yet cost-
effective given the amount of time they are
in use, and green LEDs are not available.
Saint Paul will install red LEDs and red
arrows at more than 200 intersections
citywide over the next three years, for a
projected annual savings of more than
$135,000 and 1,250 tons of CO2.
Both cities' energy efficiency projects
are financed by Northern States Power,
which provided no-interest loans of up to
$1 million per year for five years.The
savings created by the improvements are
roughly equal to the Twin Cities' loan
payments, which are paid back to the
utility through the cities' monthly power
bills. No taxpayer dollars are used, and
the improvements pay for themselves in
10 years or less.
Cutting Emissions in
Other Sectors
In addition to working on municipal
buildings, Minneapolis and Saint Paul are
making progress toward reducing
emissions in the residential, commercial,
industrial, and transportation sectors.
Recycling programs and urban tree-
planting projects also are underway.
Residential, Commercial, and
Industrial Projects
According to Sheldon Strom, of the
Center for Energy and Environment,
residential insulation programs in
Minneapolis and Saint Paul have served
some 25,000 households over the last
10 years. Although the Minnesota state
government recently authorized electric
utilities to eliminate those programs due
to the impending restructuring of the
electricity industry, Strom said that his
organization is trying to save and
rebuild them.
Strom's nonprofit also works with
utilities to improve energy efficiency in
multifamily housing in the Twin Cities
and coordinates a number of building
rehabilitation projects for the
Neighborhood Revitalization Program.
This program provides more than
$20 million per year to the 81
neighborhoods in Minneapolis.
Energy efficiency in large commercial,
government, and school buildings in both
cities will be improved through a Rebuild
America grant. Buildings will be equipped
Rick Anderson, of Saint Paul's Environment and
Energy Resource Center, looks on as John Benjamin,
of the Public Works Department, describes an
infrared heating system that saves money and
reduces CO? emissions.
CITIES AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Even a small increase in average temperature from global climate change may be magnified in cities, where asphalt and concrete absorb radiation
and increase the ambient temperature.This "heat island effect" facilitates the formation of urban smog, increases air conditioning loads, and may raise
the risk of heat mortality and heat stress. Global warming also may lead to an increased risk of floods or droughts, affecting urban water supplies and
waterfront property.
Urban areas account for the greenhouse gas emissions of more than three-quarters of the U.S. population.Therefore, cities need to play a role in
reducing the risks from global warming. City officials have a number of tools at their disposal to lower their municipality's emissions and improve the
community's ability to withstand the impacts of climate change. Zoning laws, building codes, infrastructure investments, land-use plans, municipal
utilities, transportation policies, and educational institutions all can be brought to bear in the effort to mitigate global climate change.
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with energy-monitoring instruments and
software, and building managers will be
trained and certified in their use.
Efforts to improve energy efficiency in
Minneapolis and Saint Paul will be helped
further by proposed revisions to
strengthen the statewide energy code.
The Minnesota legislature requires that
any energy code adopted by the state
must equal or exceed the strongest code
of any other state in the nation. In
addition to tighter efficiency
requirements, the proposed revisions
include new standards on indoor air
quality and ventilation.
A U.S. EPA Climate Wise grant to Saint
Paul will reduce emissions from the city's
industrial sector by encouraging
companies to take comprehensive, cost-
effective measures to improve energy
efficiency and prevent pollution.
Northstar Steel and 3M are the first
companies to sign up for the Saint Paul
Climate Wise program. Northstar Steel
also is the first steel mill to participate in
Climate Wise nationally. The company
plans to use high efficiency burners and
motors at their facilities. 3M has decided
to enroll all of its facilities in the
program, not just those in Saint Paul.
They are developing a plan to reduce
their greenhouse gas emissions.
Recycling and Source Reduction
Both Minneapolis and Saint Paul
provide recycling services for their
residents.The Minneapolis recycling
program is run by the city; the Saint Paul
program has been managed since 1986
by the Neighborhood Energy
Consortium, a private nonprofit
organization, under contract with the
city. According to Mary Tkach of the
consortium, the state, county and city-
funded program provides recycling
pickup services to residences, multifamily
buildings, city buildings, and small
businesses that promote recycling to
their clients.The multifamily program
alone serves nearly 30,000 households
in Saint Paul.
Saint Paul's neighborhood clean-up
program has drop-off sites for residents to
dispose of accumulated trash and
unwanted items on specified days
throughout the year. The program,
through recycling and reuse, has achieved
a 69 percent rate for diverting trash from
the county's waste-to-energy facility.
All told, Saint Paul's recycling programs
for residences and multifamily buildings,
along with neighborhood cleanups,
diverted approximately 20,000 tons of
materials, including more than 13,000
tons of paper, from the waste-to-energy
facility in 1997. An estimated 20,000 tons
of plant debris also were diverted to
composting facilities. According to an
estimate by ICLEI, these programs
reduced the city's greenhouse gas
emissions in 1997 by the equivalent of
59,000 tons of CO2. Emissions were cut
by saving energy and materials that
would be used to produce new products,
and by reducing the methane that is
generated when waste decays in landfills.
Urban Reforestation
Saint Paul is well on its way toward
restoring its portion of the Mississippi
River valley from an industrial wasteland
to a natural plant community. The city's
Greening the Great River Park project
will result in the planting of 35,000 trees
and shrubs and 60 acres of prairie, re-
establishing a long-vanished wildlife
corridor through the city. According to
Rob Buffler, who coordinates the project
for the Saint Paul Foundation, so far
volunteers have planted more than 7,200
trees, 17,000 shrubs, 40 acres of prairie,
and thousands of wildflowers.The trees
alone will sequester more than 120 tons
of CO2 per year by 2010. Funding comes
primarily from the Saint Paul Foundation,
along with federal and state sources.
Minneapolis and Saint Paul also run
active urban forestry programs, planting
Residential efficiency programs will save energy and
reduce emissions from apartment buildings like this
one in Saint Paul's inner city.
Saint Paul recycled more than 13,000 tons of
paper in 1996.
and caring for streetside trees
throughout the Twin Cities.Trees help
mitigate the urban "heat island" effect
(see "Cities and Climate Change" on
page 2), reduce cooling energy costs by
providing shade to buildings, and
sequester carbon from the atmosphere.
District Heating and Cooling
Saint Paul has two large renewable
energy projects underway. A district
heating system provides hot water to
139 large buildings and 298 single-family
residences in and around downtown
Saint Paul for space heating, hot water,
and industrial process use. More than 23
million square feet of building area are
served, including more than 75 percent
of downtown building space.The district
heating system uses half as much fuel as
would be used if each building had its
own heating system. In addition, a
cogeneration plant meets 95 percent of
the district heating needs and produces
excess electricity for sale.
Another renewable project is a district
cooling system that serves 8 million square
feet of building space. Eight chillers use
low-cost, off-peak electricity to chill water.
The water is stored and used to cool the
buildings during the day; neither
groundwater nor chlorofluoro-carbons
(CFCs) are used for cooling. Separate
systems for each building would use twice
as much fuel as the district cooling system
uses. The system is designed to double its
capacity over the next 15 years.
Transportation
Several projects are underway to
improve transportation in the Twin
Cities. A major study by the Center for
Energy and Environment, to be
completed in 1999, will attempt to
quantify the cost of urban sprawl in the
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metro area. "If we can come up with
credible estimates for that cost," says the
center's Sheldon Strom, "it may provide
an incentive to develop less wasteful
land-use patterns, reduce the call for
additional highways and roadways, and
reduce dependence on the automobile."
Strom notes that there also is growing
interest in developing a light rail transit
system to serve downtown Minneapolis
and Saint Paul, the municipal airport,
and a nearby mall. In addition, Saint
Paul is using ethanol in its gasoline-
powered fleet vehicles and is testing
compressed natural gas- and electrically
powered vehicles.
Lessons Learned
Reducing emissions is good business
To Chuck Armstrong, of the Saint Paul
Mayor's office, a key factor in the success
of the Twin Cities' energy efficiency
efforts is that the two communities have
undertaken measures that are good
business decisions as well as good for
the environment.
Partnerships between government and
utilities are the key to success
An important ingredient is the strong
working relationship between the
municipal governments and the local
utility, and the commitment of both
THE CITIES FOR CLIMATE
PROTECTION CAMPAIGN
The International Council for Local
Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), a
worldwide association of municipalities
committed to environmental issues,
encourages cities to reduce local emissions
of greenhouse gases through its Cities for
Climate Protection Campaign. More than
170 municipalities worldwide—and more
than 55 in the United States alone—have
joined the campaign, and their number is
growing. Participating cities pledge to
develop a local action plan to reduce
emissions, significantly cut back energy use
in municipal buildings and emissions from
vehicle fleets, and launch public awareness
and education programs.
For more information, visit the U.S. Cities
for Climate Protection website at http://
www.iclei.org/us/us_ccp.htmlo\: contact
ICLEI at 510-540-8843; fax: 510-5404787.
parties to make the effort a success.
"Participation in this program with
Northern States Power has allowed the
city to make capital improvements to its
facilities at a minimal cost and also
reduce our cost of operations. Without
their commitment we could not have
achieved this success "Armstrong says.
Look for innovative projects
"Cities need to look beyond the
standard lighting and gas projects," he
adds. Saint Paul has found many
innovative ways to save energy, such as a
more efficient system to remove lime
from the water that saves about 1.5
megawatts per year, $105,000 in energy
costs, and 960 tons of CO2."We have
installed ultrasonic humidification units
in two of our buildings, and we have
made improvements to pumps, motor
drives, and elevators,"Armstrong says.
"The energy conservation opportunities
are there; you just have to be aggressive
and find them."
Start with municipal buildings
Officials from both cities agree that
focusing first on improving efficiency in
municipal properties is a good strategy.
Not only does it set a good example, but
competing interests and priorities can
make it harder to attract and maintain
political support for some nonmunicipal
programs. "To get anything done in the
city, it takes a lot of political pushing,"
says Sheldon Strom.
Looking Ahead and Beyond
The actions of the Twin Cities mirror
efforts at the state level to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. Minnesota's
state government completed a greenhouse
gas emission inventory for the state in
1995 and currently is developing a state
climate action plan. Like the Twin Cities'
strategy, the state plan is expected to focus
on improving energy efficiency, expanding
the use of alternative energy sources,
promoting efficient transportation,
reducing waste, and sequestering carbon
through tree-planting programs. Some
state-level policies already address climate
change:The Minnesota Department of
Public Service, for example, has
established a cost value for CO2 emissions
that will be used by electric utilities in
long-term resource planning.
Will Minneapolis and Saint Paul meet
their emissions targets? Strom thinks it
will be a "miracle." But, he adds,"our view
is that we should start somewhere and
give it a try."
In the meantime, the Twin Cities'
efforts are paying off, both in terms of
environmental protection and economic
sustainability. By promoting energy
savings and other improvements in
municipal and nonmunicipal sectors,
Minneapolis and Saint Paul benefit from
lower operating budgets and
maintenance costs, a more livable city, a
smaller drain on natural resources, and
reduced CC>2 emissions to protect the
global climate. As Chuck Armstrong says,
"it's just good business."
For More Information
Minneapolis: Robert Pletan
Director of General Services
Minneapolis Environmental Section
350 South 5th Street Room 203
Minneapolis, MN 55415 1390
Tel: 651 673 2706; fax: 651 673 3565
Saint Paul: Rick Person
Project Manager, Solid Waste & Recycling
City of Saint Paul
Department of Public Works
25 West 4th Street, 800 City Hall Annex
Saint Paul, MN 55102
Tel: 651 266 6122; fax 651 2984559
E-mail: rick.person@stpaul.gov
http://www.stpaul.gov/depts/
Bnance/coZrednsumy.html
State and Local Climate Change Program
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Policy
401 M Street, SW (2171)
Washington, DC 20460
Tel: 202 260 3354; fax 202 2600290
http://www. epa.gov/
globalwarming/actions/state
Listserv: state local@wpi.org
Related Websites
EPA's Climate Wise program:
http://www. epa.gov/climatewise
EPA's WasteWi$e program
(source reduction and recycling):
http://www.epa.gov/wastewise
The Department of Energy's
Rebuild America program:
http://www.eren.doe.gov/buildings/rebuild/
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