City of Fairfield, CA Officials and Business Leaders Invest in a Sustainable Community

Feb. 23, 2011 - PRLog -- The city of Fairfield, Calif. (pop. 107,500), located in the San Francisco Bay Area, has been committed to being a leader in the area of sustainability for years. Evidence of its green leadership role began nearly 20 years ago when City Hall was built and a cogeneration plant was installed to reduce energy costs. Throughout the next decade, several of Fairfield’s public and private entities have invested in reducing their impact on the environment:

Meyer Warehouse installed a 580 kW solar electricity generating facility.

Solano Community College’s Contract Training Office received the annual Public Education Award from the California Water Environment Association’s San Francisco Bay Section for its water and wastewater treatment plant operators training.

Snack manufacturer Calbee America is reducing its carbon footprint by donating its food waste to farmers’ animals in neighboring Dixon. The company reports that each donation is approximately 440 pounds.

A 40,000-square foot Mercedes-Benz dealership, currently under construction at Fairfield’s 31-acre auto mall, will seek Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Green elements planned for the building, expected to be completed this spring, include solar panels, energy-efficient lighting, and low water use.

Fairfield Brewery Reduces Environmental Impact
One of Fairfield’s top employers, the Anheuser-Busch brewery, upholds its corporate tradition of environmental stewardship that dates back to the 1800s, when the company’s founder, Adolphus Busch, began recycling leftover grain from the brewing process and using it for cattle feed. That sustainable tradition continues today and is evident at the company’s Fairfield facility, which has implemented a series of conservation and efficiency improvements that have significantly decreased fuel, water, and electricity use.  These include:

Working with Sun Edison to install six acres of photovoltaic solar arrays on its property, generating approximately three percent of the brewery’s annual electricity needs.

Recycling more than 99 percent of the facility’s solid waste, earning ongoing honors from the Waste Reduction Awards Program from the California Integrated Waste Management Board.

Decreasing water use, resulting in 50 percent less water needed for each barrel of beer produced, allowing the brewery to remain competitive.

Currently evaluating the feasibility of using wind turbines to generate power.

Anheuser-Busch Invests in Alternative Energy
Anheuser-Busch’s list of sustainability improvements also includes the construction of a Bio-Energy Recovery System (BERS). Two outdoor metal tanks about 25 feet tall and 80 feet wide have one million gallons of brewing wastewater piped into them, where microorganisms digest the leftover sugars, carbohydrates and other ingredients. This process creates methane, which is piped back to the brewery to help fuel the boilers. Methane generated by BERS replaces 15 percent of the natural gas used by the plant.

Fairfield Assists in Securing Funding for Brewer’s Green Technology
Prior to installing BERS, Anheuser-Busch requested financing from the City. Fairfield City officials worked with Anheuser-Busch executives over a six-month time period to successfully develop a financing package that included $15 million in tax-exempt bonds.  The project was completed and went into use in 2008. The Fairfield brewery’s BERS is the tenth that Anheuser-Busch has installed in its U.S. breweries.

Fairfield Continues to Focus on Sustainable Future
Today, Fairfield continues its commitment to building a sustainable community by taking advantage of Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants and low-interest loans from the State of California. Recent City projects include:

Converting the city’s high pressure sodium and mercury vapor streetlights to light emitting diode (LED) lights.

Increasing the energy efficiency of the Allan Witt Sports Center which involved upgrading lights, and adding a cool roof and solar panels.

Auditing City facilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Fairfield is a city known for having the foresight to plan ahead, creating infrastructure capable of housing and growing new businesses. Today, Fairfield’s commitment to going green is evidence that the city continues to strategically shape its own future. It is working to create an environmentally sustainable community, one that offers a bright green future and may provide a competitive advantage in attracting businesses, entrepreneurs, and a talented workforce.

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About Fairfield, California
Fairfield, California is a growing community with commercial and residential development opportunities. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, at the midpoint between San Francisco and Sacramento on Interstate 80, Fairfield is an ideal location for growing businesses. The city is 20 miles north of Concord, 38 miles northwest of Oakland and 14 miles southeast of the Napa Valley.

Fairfield’s business benefits include: a skilled workforce with more than 1.1 million workers available within a 30-mile radius; two state-of-the-art water treatment plants offering extensive water and sewer capacity, critical for the biotech, pharmaceutical and food and beverage industries; a sophisticated city supportive of new development, and a streamlined building approval process. For additional information visit: http://www.fairfield.ca.gov.