Cherokee Marsh homes need to be zero-energy consumers

Monday, December 04, 2006

In a personal letter to the City of Madison Plan Commission, Michael Vickerman offers his professional perspective on development plans for Cherokee Marsh:

First, I am pleased that an agreement was reached to scale back the physical footprint of this development. The City's commitment to acquire the most sensitive portions of this property is commendable.

However, the City's land purchase will have little impact on this project's energy impacts, which are considerable. As reported in the Wisconsin State Journal last week, the first phase of this development will consist of 60 to 70 upscale single-family houses. The default option is to heat these dwellings with natural gas, a premium energy source that is being rapidly depleted in North America. Presently about 80% of the natural gas consumed in the United States is supplied by domestic sources, and 15% comes from Canada, which exports half of its output to the U.S. (The remainder is imported from overseas.) According to the latest U.S. Geological Survey’s estimates, we have only 10 years of proven reserves at present consumption levels, while Canada’s Geological Survey estimates a mere eight years’ worth of reserves. Is this a good time to be adding a slew of larger houses that are dependent on this shrinking fuel? I think not. . . .

In my view the City of Madison has an obligation to all its citizens (and especially to those residences and businesses along the proposed 345 kV transmission line along the Beltline) to require new houses to capture a portion of the thermal and electric energy they use on-site. Given the considerable energy impacts from allowing the Cherokee Marsh development to go forward in a business-as-usual manner, the City ought to initiate such a policy there, before ground is broken.