As a large urban community known for its chic lifestyle, Pasadena is committed to going green through massive energy and water use overhauls, along with encouraging the use of alternative transportation methods like improved bus lines and bike paths.
One energy effi ciency improvement was Pasadena’s first building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) solar system, installed on the Lake Avenue Metro Gold Line station in 2010. The canopy roof features a 20kW system generating 30,000 kWh of electricity a year, enough to power 6 homes. Pasadena has adopted an energy use reduction goal to decrease demand by 3MW per year. This will be accomplished by installing more solar panels on public buildings and performing energy use audits to prioritize reduction e fforts. Over 200 local businesses have participated in energy audits provided by a local non-profi t in conjunction with the city of Pasadena. The audits are designed to target unnecessary electricity use.
To address wasteful water use practices, an aggressive water conservation e ffort has taken place across the city. This e ffort aims to decrease per capita water use by 157 gallons a day, a 15 percent reduction compared to 2009 water use. Public water use for parks and traffi c medians has also been reduced by 20 percent, while the water used for landscaping purposes has been converted to a recycled water system. Read more in this CoolCalifornia.org case study.