Seattle Gets Serious on Energy Savings

Seattle committed to reducing its energy use in 2005 and found innovative ways to do so by making neighborhoods more walkable and buildings more efficient.

When the city of Seattle faced water shortages in 2005, it launched plans to cut energy waste by reducing driving, insulating and retrofitting existing buildings, and positioning itself as a hotbed of clean-energy jobs and innovation.

Recognizing the benefits of compact, walkable neighborhoods with bus and light-rail networks as compared to spread-out, car-based living environments, Seattle moved to revitalize neglected neighborhoods. Through partnerships between the city and private investors, South Lake Union near downtown became a bustling high-tech corridor with a streetcar line, shops and restaurants, and a waterfront park where a Navy shipyard once stood.

Seattle also launched an innovative program to reduce energy waste from leaky buildings, with low-cost energy assessments to help home and business owners understand where their buildings are wasting heat and electricity. The city partners with a community investment institution to offer 20-year loans for energy-efficiency investments.

“Cities are the location of a lot of emissions because they’re centers of industry and population,” said Mike Mann, the former director of the city’s Office of Sustainability and Environment. “But they’re also laboratories for solutions.”