Greening the City

Vernon has announced a significant series of forward looking initiatives to achieve its goal of becoming a leader in environmentally responsible energy generation and environmentally sustainable city management. These initiatives include:

1. Vernon purchased 30,000 acres of property in Kern County with the intent of developing significant wind and solar-generated electricity to advance the renewable component of its energy resources and to assist other utilities in meeting their renewables objectives. The city is actively working with Kern County, state and federal agencies to move this ambitious plan forward. The initial proposed wind energy project is expected to generate 175 megawatts of renewable energy.

2. Vernon is filing new applications with the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the California Energy Commission for the development of a 330 megawatt plant that will be the cleanest natural gas power plant ever built in the United States.

• The power from this new proposed plant will provide long-term, reliable energy resources for the more than 1,800 businesses in Vernon over the next 20 years. Currently, these businesses employ approximately 50,000 residents from surrounding communities.
• With a stable and clean energy supply to meet future loads, these businesses will be in a strong position to create new jobs and protect these existing critical jobs for local residents. The proposed 330 megawatt plant will integrate with the intermittent renewable resources from Kern County.

3. Vernon has begun two major initiatives that focus on stimulating green development within the City, while expanding the City’s capacity to sustain and grow the 1,800 businesses that support approximately 50,000 jobs in the region.

• Vernon has retained Gladstein, Neandross & Associates to create a climate action plan to assess greenhouse gas emissions in the City. The plan, which is the first in the Southeast region, will provide guidance to the City on how to take advantage of opportunities to reduce emissions of gases linked to climate change, which the City expects will have the additional benefit of also reducing traditional criteria pollutants.
• The City has also commissioned a study to create a Green Industrial Development Plan, the goal of which is to establish a series of programs to enhance environmental sustainability and support economic vitality, while protecting the health of its residents and workers and the residents in surrounding communities.
• Together, the two planning efforts will help the City to address such critical issues as improving energy efficiency, expanding the use of renewable resources, improving the management of water and storm water, and reducing the production of solid and hazardous waste, as well as many other important environmental issues.
• Along with the other initiatives, these plans will ensure that the City of Vernon is ready to take a leadership role among its peers in building a model for municipally-led sustainable development.