As the demand for fossil fuels grow and the world oil reserves dwindle, a growing number of cities and regions are developing strategic plans to deal with the effects of peak oil and Long Beach should be no different. Developing reliable, renewable energy resources is a key component to most plans. While the geography of Coastal Southern California precludes viable wind power in Long Beach, tidal power along much of the West Coast provides enough kinetic energy to harness on commercial levels. But below surface tidal turbines and waterline wave pontoon systems can prove difficult in the active shipping lanes of San Pedro Bay, though their feasibility should be explored. What is plentiful in Southern California is the sun; Long Beach receives an average of 345 days of sunshine, making it an ideal candidate for solar power.
Between the nearly five acres of fixed solar panels atop the convention center and the half dozen pivoting solar trees located at the municipal airport the concept is not entirely foreign to the city. Long Beach uses 2.9 billion kilowatts of energy annually, and to be bold is to adopt a comprehensive plan to harness the power of the sun through its governments, commercial and private entities in order to approach energy independence.
This strategy must begin with the city continuing to set the example by retrofitting every city property with solar panels. Fixed solar panels can be installed on fire stations, public parking garages and other municipal facilities while a grand expansion of the solar tree farm at the airport could become a major producer of power for the Eastside, while creating large solar tree farms on the four oil islands can power portions of Downtown and Belmont Shore.
Recently, Long Beach had adopted green building ordinances that require new construction to provide additional roof structure for eventual fitting of solar panel. It has also reduced permitting fees for the installation of solar panels; removing yet another barrier for their use. Taking this a step further, the city could require developments to employ renewable power, including solar to fulfill a portion of their energy needs. The Redevelopment Agency and Housing Development Company can negotiate the roof rights of assisted projects for the public production of solar power, providing value from an often over-looked commodity.
A growing number of companies are emerging that lease roof surfaces for solar installations, creating a shared power agreement with owners while producing additional energy for distribution. Across Long Beach commercial and industrial roofs make up over a thousand acres of surface area; outfitting these roofs could produce enough power for over thirty thousand households. This program could be expanded to include the ninety campuses within the Long Beach School District as well as CSU Long Beach and the two Long Beach City College campuses. Under such arrangements, these institutions could actually produce revenue during summer months as campuses are least active and the sun it’s most intense.
To continue their innovative green program, the Port of Long Beach can develop solar harnesses to fit atop stacks of globally standardized shipping containers while parked between shipping and trucking. The 3,200 acres facility could produce a tremendous amount of renewable power for the city when employing such harnesses in concert with solar tree farms developed on underused portions of their property. The super-structure of cranes and gantries can be fitted with south facing solar panels to help power their operation. This retrofitting technique can be replicated on the hundreds of Southern California Edison high tension wire pylons that dot Long Beach.
To implement such a systematic renewable energy plan would require the cooperation of layers of government, Southern California Edison and the participation everyone from the homeowner to large companies like Walmart and Boeing. State and federal incentives; both tax credits and grant programs should be expanded to fully develop a national strategy of energy independence. With a comprehensive program of renewable power paired with aggressive energy conservation policies can Long Beach gain energy independence.
Illustration by Andrew Wilson
Wilson’s illustration was done based on bold ideas submitted by our commentors, most notably “jphellinga,” who suggested using the oil islands to produce sustainable energy. Wilson’s drawing depicts major use of wind turbines, and while definitely bold, upon further research we concluded they would not be practical due to the low amount of wind energy available. But the drawing still looks great!