CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION _________________
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A RESOLUTION stating The City of Seattle’s support for clean and safe electricity production and opposition to the use of fossil fuels and new nuclear energy in the generation of electricity, and requiring an ongoing evaluation of existing nuclear power generation on the basis of health, safety, reliability, and cost; and instructing that The City of Seattle’s City Light Department reflect this position in its policies and interactions with other utilities, federal and state agencies, and organizations of which it is a member or participant.
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WHEREAS, The City of Seattle operates an electric utility by and through its City Light Department that is commonly known as Seattle City Light (“City Light”); and
WHEREAS, the State of Washington’s Department of Commerce estimates that in 2014 one percent of City Light’s fuel mix came from coal-generated electricity; and
WHEREAS, the State of Washington estimates that in 2014 less than one percent of City Light’s fuel mix came from natural gas-generated electricity; and
WHEREAS, the State of Washington estimates that in 2014 four percent of City Light’s fuel mix was nuclear energy generated by the Columbia Generating Station, formerly known as the Washington Public Power Supply System Nuclear Plant 2 or WPPSS-2; and
WHEREAS, City Light is a leader in generating and supporting clean and safe energy and protecting the environment in the United States, including its use of carbon offsets that have allowed it to declare itself “carbon neutral” since 2005; and
WHEREAS, on July 12, 1976, the Seattle City Council adopted three resolutions adopting conservation as the cornerstone of the long-term energy policy of The City of Seattle, and voted down participation in the development of additional nuclear power plants proposed by the Washington Public Power Supply System (“WPPSS”); and
WHEREAS, many countries, states, and municipalities around the world are coming to the conclusion that they can no longer afford the current risk and the future environmental sacrifice of fossil fuels and nuclear energy; and
WHEREAS, battery technology, demand response, pumped storage, and other methods of storing energy from variable sources of energy, such as solar and wind power, are improving at a rapid rate - making the goal of 100 percent clean, healthy, and renewable electricity achievable; and
WHEREAS, fair accommodation of the workforce at carbon- and nuclear-fueled thermal power plants, including retraining programs, fair and equitable retirement plans, and reassignment to decommissioning and other related tasks, is an essential part of the transition to clean, healthy, and renewable electricity production; and
WHEREAS, the Northwest Energy Coalition, of which City Light is a member, issued a report entitled “Bright Future” in preparation for the sixth Power and Conservation Plan by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, which found that 81,118 average megawatts of power can be offset or generated in the Pacific Northwest by energy efficiency, combined heat and power, and clean renewables by 2050, eliminating the need to use any coal-powered electricity in the region; and
WHEREAS, the “Bright Future” report indicates that the potential 81,118 average megawatts offset or generated would, after replacing coal-fired electricity, leave a potential surplus of 55,518 average megawatts that could replace the approximately 1,170 megawatts of electricity generated by the Columbia Generating Station nuclear power plant; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE, THE MAYOR CONCURRING, THAT:
Section 1. It is the policy of The City of Seattle to support clean and safe energy sources that generate the lowest amount of greenhouse gases or radioactive waste.
Section 2. The City of Seattle directs the City Light Department (“City Light”) to represent this policy by seeking ways, in its own policies and in interactions with other utilities, federal and state agencies, and organizations of which it is a member or participant, to promote the transition of electricity generation in the Pacific Northwest away from energy facilities that burn fossil fuels or use nuclear power.
Section 3. The City of Seattle directs City Light to use its position as an Energy Northwest board member and Columbia Generating Station participant to consider the issues of health, safety, reliability, and cost of the Columbia Generating Station nuclear power plant, on an ongoing basis, in determining its continued value for City Light and the region, and to consider replacing its electricity with carbon-neutral alternatives.
Adopted by the City Council the ____ day of ____________________, 2016, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this ________ day of ______________________, 2016.
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President ___________ of the City Council
THE MAYOR CONCURRING:
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Edward B. Murray, Mayor
Filed by me this ____ day of ________________________, 2016.
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Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)