[Graeme]

The World’s 10 Most Energy-Efficient Cities

Reykjavik, Iceland
By most measures, Reykjavik tops the list of energy efficient cities worldwide. Along with the rest of Iceland, Reykjavik relies on renewable hydropower and geothermal plants to provide all of the heat, electricity and hot water for its more than 120,000 citizens. The Nesjavellir geothermal power station services all of the space heating and hot water needs of the greater Reykjavik area. The city plans on becoming fossil-fuel-free by 2050 and the final piece of that puzzle is hydrogen power. In the mid-2000s, the city began replacing its public transportation with hydrogen-fueled buses. The only “pollution” emitted from these vehicles is pure water. Although Iceland may be a small country, its big energy ambitions are leading the way for the rest of the world.

Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver gives Reykjavik a run for its money. In 2012, the city of Vancouver laid out an action plan to become the world’s greenest city by 2020. While that may seem like a big accomplishment in a fairly small amount of time, the city is well on its way. Hydroelectric power already accounts for 90 percent of the city’s energy supply, while the other 10 percent includes renewables like wind, solar and wave power. Add in Vancouver’s mass transit -- nearly 250 miles of bike lanes and ride sharing programs -- and the city has one of the lowest per capita carbon emissions of any major city in North America.

oilprice

[ROCKMAN]

Pstarr - Exactly. Neither of those areas developed the bulk of their alt energy because it was the "green thing" to do. It was chosen decades ago because it was the cheapest way to go at the time decades ago. Which is exactly why Texas is the largest coal consuming state by far: it's the cheapest option. It's great that they produce so much energy from alts. But it wasn't done to "save the planet". It was done to save money. Same result but different motive. Which has been the big failing of most alt proponents IMHO: they refuse to accept the limiting financial aspect of a significant alt expansion. In the end it doesn't matter how critical it is for the world to move away from fossil fuels if we reject doing so for financial reasons.

And as far as "Green Vancouver" it's become the center for the western Canadian fossil fuel industry including refining and exporting. And is growing: "At least four major energy companies have opened offices in and around Vancouver over the past six months. BG Group and Shell arrived last summer. Kinder Morgan and TransCanada in the fall. Progress Energy Canada, owned by Malaysia’s national energy company Petronas, plans to open an office in April. Others, such as Chevron, are expected to follow." Perhaps low energy prices from all that cheap hydro power is helping to lure them there. LOL. It does take a lot of electricity to handle all that fossil fuel that passes thru the city. Probably one of the reasons Washington state, with zero oil production, is the 5th largest oil refiner in the country: cheap green power. As Kermit the Frog once said: "It isn't easy being green". Unless, of course, it's the cheapest way to go.

[Pops]

San Francisco is energy efficient? LOL

The Census Bureau reports the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area has more workers than anywhere else in the country who travel at least 50 miles and 90 minutes (one way) to work.

http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2013/03/0 ... commuting/

Not surprisingly no cities in the top 10 where energy efficient actually meas "doesn't need much energy."

[Subjectivist]

The report confuses carbon efficient with energy efficient. Paris gets almost all of its electricty from Fission, and has electric mass transit and high speed rail. Yet for some reason Reykjavik with geothermal power comes in #1 and Vancouver with Hydroelectric #2??? If we judge everything through the lense of "natural" power sources how is coal any less efficient than hydroelectric?

[ROCKMAN]

Pstarr - I'm certainly not the first to point it out: serious conservation is our biggest "alt energy" opportunity. And unlike all the other "solutions" it's not just free but actually saves money. So a business/city/person won't do something that saves them $thousands but will invest many thousands for alts? Dream on. LOL.

[Synapsid]

Graeme, ROCKMAN, Paulo,

This is kind of a kick: there are about twice as many people in the City of Vancouver as there are in all of Iceland. Last time I saw the data Reykyavik, Iceland's capital, had the largest number of bookstores per inhabitant of any city in the world--this at a time when Iceland had one of the highest suicide rates on the planet.

OT? Oh. Sorry.

Paulo, ROCKMAN: Bet you a dollar to a donut that all that increase of fossil-fuel corporate presence in Vancouver is related to the LNG-export-from-coastal-BC rush. Fourteen projects have Federal approval now that I know of, the most recent to ship from the west coast of Vancouver Island, not from the mainland.