City Council Study Session Agenda and Packet 2014 07 08

Home Browse Search

1. Introduction In June of 2013, the City of Louisville contracted Dr. Anu Ramaswami and her research team at the University of Minnesota to conduct a baseline energy study of the activities which take place within and outside its borders which can be attributed to facilitating day to day activities within its borders. The objectives of the study were to: • Conduct an inventory of community wide CO2e emissions, to understand fossil fuel use and associated GHG emissions in the main activity sectors in Louisville • Develop a list of sustainable actions detailing steps which can be taken to reduce GHG emissions across sectors, promote energy consumption reductions, conserve resources, and save money. The project uses the best available data from the year 2012, with proxies and data scaling being used where necessary. The specific data sources and scaling techniques are described in section 3. Methodology & Data Quality. 1.1 Background on the City of Louisville Incorporated in 1882, the City of Louisville lies approximately five miles east of Boulder, CO and twenty -five miles north of Denver, CO. Built on a history of coal mining, Louisville is now known for its livability. It has consistently been rated among the top places to live in the U.S. according to Money magazine due to its vast open spaces, vibrant art scene, high quality education, and diverse employment opportunities. Due to its proximity to Boulder, Denver, and Denver International Airport, Louisville's population of 18,376 has ample opportunity to move throughout the Denver Metro Area. 2. Data Sources Table 1 shows the source of each data set used in the development of the baseline inventory for Louisville, CO for 2012. Much of the data is high quality, primary data (i.e. specific to 11