# Presentation: 797691

## Community and Sustainability 

**Community and Sustainability **

- Nancy Carlisle, A.I.A, NREL
- Jim Leach, P.E.,Wonderland Hills Development Company

## Topics

- Nancy
- What is a Renewable Community?
- Why are we interested?
- Current activities at NREL
- Jim
- Results—30 years of developing sustainable communities

**Notes:**
Nyland cohousing
Solar sage in Boulder 
Geos living– AIA award sustainable site planning, efficiency, passive solar, net zero ready 
Homes and neighborhoods are nicely designed for people—communities are about people 

## The Vision

- Vehicles and Fuels

- Energy Smart        Buildings

- Renewables

**The Vision**

**A Renewable Energy Community**

## 10 Critical Elements of a Renewable Community

- Community generates its own energy supply
- Design and decisions based on sound business principles
- Cost of living in the community is optimized for consumer
- Energy conservation features are core
- Vehicle miles traveled are substantially reduced
- Encourages shared resources to minimize consumption
- Pollution is minimal or non-existent
- Integrate workplace with living place
- Master planned community as an integrated system
- Magnet for economic development
**A community that people will demand to live in!**

## Why is the concept significant?

- Carbon emission goals will require deeper emissions reduction over the long term
- Progress will require more complex and integrated decision-making
- Implementation will occur on the community level
- Momentum to “be the first” building around the world

**Notes:**
For example a number of governmental organizations have adopted 80% reductions targets by 2050, but strategies being identified in communities target more incremental improvements over the short term. 
The concept is cerntainly easier to implement when planning a new subdivision or community but ultimately to a large extent energy or carbon emmissions will be implemented at the community level

## Key Elements of a Renewable Community 

- 	“A renewable community has net zero or near-zero homes, integrated transportation and advanced vehicles, local renewable energy generation, and incorporate sustainable living practices.  It will provide economic benefit and a positive impact on quality of life”.
- Sustainable design
- Solar/Zero Energy Buildings/Micro-grids
- Advanced and Energy Efficient transportation
- Utility role expansion – power generation and load management
- Putting it all together

*http://www.nrel.gov/applying_technologies/state_local.html*

**Notes:**
Address energy as a a community system not vehicles vs homes, one home vs another 

## It starts with sustainable land use planning......

**It starts with sustainable land use planning......**

**The underlying principles of Dewees are that: **
-   Development and environment are
-    natural allies
-   All development & building should
-    occur in the context that all resources
-    are limited
-   Communities and buildings can be
-    resource  providers not just resource
-    users
-   Land is a stewardship role for future
-    generations
-   It is less expensive short and long
-    term to build in harmony with the
-    environment
-   Communities are planned for people
-     and technologies are to be supportive
-     not dominant
-   Environmental education is an
-    essential "first step" in the rediscovery
-    of our intuitive sense of integrating
-    with the environment

## Buildings – Efficiency coupled

**Buildings – Efficiency coupled**
**with passive and active solar**

- “The NAHB Research Center predicts that zero energy homes could be moving into the mainstream of the nations housing markets as early as 2012 and hold the potential for reducing the energy consumption of _all _single family homes by 19% by 2050 even as more than a million new homes are added annually”.

**Notes:**
“The National Association of Homebuilders Research Center predicts that zero energy homes could be moving into the mainstream of the nations housing markets as early as 2012 and hold the potential for reducing the energy consumption of all single family homes by 19% by 2050 even as more than a million new homes are added annually”. 
The Potential Impact of Zero Energy Homes.  NAHB Research Center 2006. 

## Vehicles Can Be Part of the Home Package

**Vehicles Can Be Part of the Home Package**

*Plug-in vehicle in a Japanese Home*

*Net Zero Energy Canadian Home*

**Notes:**
First steps are to reduce VMT
Many communities designed today are designed as Live work play communities
Als we have found examples of builders that have integrated more advanced conceps, such as small electric cars for use in the community, PHEV
Toyota now is in the home building business--

## What types of vehicles are in a 

-  Electric Vehicles + Bi-directional plug-in
-  Hybrid Electric Vehicles + Plug-in
-  Fuel Cell Vehicles + Plug-in
-  CNG/LNG Vehicles + home refueling
-  Clean Diesel / biodiesel
-  Car share program
-  Others...

**What types of vehicles are in a **
**Renewable Community?**

**Notes:**
To deal with the negative aspects of current day transportation, automakers, regulatory agencies, and governments have been and continue to examine the role of non-traditional transportation.

## Community with microgrid, using GSHP and Solar Thermal 

**Community with microgrid, using GSHP and Solar Thermal**** **

## Energy supply-- Various approaches to community-based renewable generation 

| Distributed or Rooftop PV Systems |  |
| --- | --- |
| Pro | Con |
|   Consumers in homes with PV tend to
   conserve more
  No line losses
  For new construction, the cost of the 
   home’s PV can be included in the homes 
   construction cost and therefore in the 
   mortgage |   Individual maintenance
  Home layouts need to consider 
   orientation for PV |
| Central Systems Serving Community  |  |
| Pro | Con |
|   Lower cost than distributed PV
  Can be 1-axis tracking PV which 
   produces 30% more energy than fixed PV
  Could be wind, biomass, etc. 
  Central O&M and performance monitoring
  Can double as an amenity (such as
   shading a parking structure)
  Maintained by technology experts  |   Transmission and distribution losses
  May require land (unless installed on top
   of parking or other structure) 
  Metering to credit individual homes can 
   be more difficult  |

**Notes:**

Can explain the 30% comment based on the previous

##  Energy Supply - Distributed or Central?

## From a Consumer’s Point of View: A Renewable Community Can Cost Less Than a Non-renewable Community!

- Payments

**0%**

**After-Tax Mortgage**

**Vehicle Payments**

**Vehicle Fuel Costs**

**Electricity Costs**

**Total Costs**

- Non-Renewable Community

- Renewable Community

**From a Consumer’s Point of View: ****A Renewable Community Can Cost Less ****Than a Non-renewable Community!**

**Renewable Community vs. Non-Renewable Community:**** Lifetime Cash Flows**

## Work in SEACC that supports this concept 

- Strategic Initiative to develop tools to support renewable communities (analytic, case studies, piloting the concept)
- Carbon Neutral Communities initiative (EERE Analysis Summit)
- Navy’s San Nicholas Island – WFO project\broad DOD interest
- Hawaii Initiative
- Informal relationship\contact with over 30 communities interested in piloting ideas