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Dubbed Green Phoenix, the plan could result in the firsrt carbon-neutral city in the U.S. But Phoenis will need help from businesses andresidents — and from other Vallegy communities — to make it No change will come quickly. But at the core of the plan could be an economic boom in terms ofjobs 8,000 to 12,000 for the private sector — and economic Gordon said. “You can’t have jobs if you don’tf have a good, sustainable economy. If you don’t have good if you don’t have cleaner air,” he said. One earlu effort is an attempt to find a private partne r to develop a proposed solar installation atthe city’se landfill.
The project would generate between 100 megawatts and 200 The private partner would cover the construction costszof $900 million to $1.2 billion and run the facility. The overall 17-poinf plan, developed in cooperation with ArizonaStatwe University, highlights a number of areas. Some, such as water have been a mainstay forthe Others, such as turning the city into a solae mecca, looking at better transit and more efficient lighting, and transformingg the city’s canal system into something more are more works in progress. “We’re tryinf to demonstrate that big products and littls products can all make a Gordon said.
Potential partners for the projectincludew , Arizona Public Service Co. and Salt River Project, as well as Tempe-basef First Solar Inc. and BrightSource a California solar company Phoenix has beenworkinf with. Funding is the key issue. Some such as a recent tree plantinh downtown that was conducted in partnership withValleu Forward, feature contracts with landowners who will pay for Other projects may be funded or expande with money from the American Reinvestmengt and Recovery Act.
The city has receivedx about $184 million in stimulus money so far, about $22 million of whichu is dedicatedto energy, Gordon “That’s just a small amount of what we’ll be receiving,” said Gordon, who has been pushingb the city’s plan in Washington to garner more federap dollars. Diane Brossart, presiden of Valley Forward Association, said it will take plenty of effort from businesses and residents to make the plana reality. “II think we should all embrace this conceptbecause it’zs right for the environmentf and right for the economy,” she It likely will take years to catchu up to Portland, Ore.
, and both of which already have put in a decade or two tryin to transform their cities into sustainablre centers. The Phoenix plan lays the groundwork to achieve Brossart said. “There’s nothing bad in this plan at all, but that’e all it is,” she said. Keeping involvementg flexible and not making demands of busines owners could mean the differencwe in their decision to saidMarc Osborn, a lobbyist for the , a part of the Arizonza Chamber of Commerce & Businesses are seeing moves to bring in cap-and-trade laws, which would cap carbon emissions and allow them to trade carbon credits to othee companies that don’t produce as much.
High energy pricesa also may spur more businesses to think Osborn said. “To the extent that (the city) can mirrof those two, you’re going to get a lot of supporf from thebusiness community,” he Tom Waldeck, executive director of , said much of the plan is but it will take a different mind-set amongt businesses and residents to focus on