SAN JOSE, CA — Amidst the economic downturn, many cities still are investing in green. A number have done so in a big way, practically reinventing themselves, such as San Jose. The city shows San Francisco is not the only Bay Area city with a reputation for being environmentally conscious. (Photo by kqedquest)
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Editor’s Note: This is the first in a four-part series looking at the environmental efforts of the city of San Jose, California. By Debra AtlasSAN JOSE, CA — Many cities are trying to break away from fossil fuels by investing in solar, wind, and geothermal energy. San Jose, California, however, has practically reinvented itself energy-wise.
San Jose is best known as the heart of Silicon Valley, an area south of San Francisco that was home to many of the world’s largest technology companies. Silicon Valley was hit by the dot-com bust between 2000 and 2002, when the bottom fell out from underneath much of the dot-com industry. Companies with highly priced stock and great amounts of venture capital invested had no practical product and no cash on hand to pay their bills. Hundreds of companies went bankrupt and the landscape around Silicon Valley looked bleak.
In 2007, the city keepers knew they had to make a change. That year, the City Council committed itself to a new 15-year Green Vision Plan, an ambitious sustainability program with 10 major goals.
One of Green Vision’s main selling points is that it has something for everybody, because it is based around the idea of the triple bottom line (people, profit, and planet), according to Mike Foster, San Jose’s program manager for community energy efficiency, solar, and green building.
“You can create business [and] generate more revenue while doing good for the local community and the planet,” Foster says.
The goals of this bold plan are helping San Jose reinvent itself as a clean-tech capital, promoting clean-tech innovation, sustainability, and green mobility. For example, San Jose has become a clean-tech incubator, providing opportunities for technology-based entrepreneurs and small start-up companies to develop innovative, often cutting-edge, products in an environment that nutures business growth.
San Jose works with local companies such as Armageddon Energy to beta-test products on city facilities. The company installed a one-kilowatt photovoltaic system on the rooftop of City Hall, allowing Armageddon to test its product and get critical, real-life experience with this system. The company will hopefully then be able to scale up, hire more people, and install more of its products.
“This will create other technologies, other industries, and will help put people back to work,” says Foster.
The city also installed a number of electric car (EV) chargers throughout the downtown area. EV car owners can plug in and charge up as needed—another way to encourage growth in alternative energy.
“It’s a 15-year plan for the city’s economic growth and environmental sustainability while enhancing quality of life for the community,” Foster says. “Things that happen here [in Silicon Valley] typically change the world for the better.”
For related articles, see: San Jose’s Green Vision The Solar Power of San Jose Solar Clovers and Gadgets Galore
Check out more articles by Debra Atlas.
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