Charlottesville will hold a Tuesday work session to resume discussion on the on-going study of how to decarbonize the city’s utilities division. The meeting will be held at CitySpace. (meeting info)
For background, here’s a story I wrote exactly a year ago. A report had been expected in October but was delayed until this work session.
The presentation for this work session is available One interesting item is a juxtaposition of two different metrics in a survey conducted by the UVA Center for Survey Research. Ninety-six percent of respondents who indicated they are gas customers thought it was important (somewhat, very, and extremely) important to have natural gas service available. Ninety-four percent said global climate change is either a very serious problem or somewhat serious.
The report also states it will take at least four votes on Council and a public referendum to decommission the city’s natural gas operations. The service would also need to be transferred to a private company. No locality in Virginia has the ability to put a ban on new gas connections.
However, there has been a 62 percent decline in new connections from 2018 to 2023. The presentation offers another chance for anyone interested in the transition away from fossil fuels that will be required for Charlottesville to meet its 2050 goal to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.
Before you go: The time to write and research of this article is covered by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In fact, this particular installment comes from the March 25, 2024 Week Ahead. To ensure this research can be sustained, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or contributing monthly through Patreon.
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