County Operations

Arlington implements the County Operations Energy Plan (COEP) to guide how it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in County facilities and operations. The COEP is a complement to the Community Energy Plan (CEP) and furthers goal areas and strategies that are specific to Arlington County Government operations.

The graphic below shows the contributions to the County Operations carbon footprint in 2016.

Continue the strong history of energy management and improvement in buildings and infrastructure by implementing more efficient operations and projects. See County Buildings Energy and GHG Dashboard and School Building Energy Report Cards for historical building energy use information.  For building portfolio energy savings, see Arlington’s Better Buildings Challenge Profile.

Reduce the County fleet’s greenhouse gas emissions with more efficient vehicles; cleaner fuels, including the use of electric vehicles; and reducing vehicle miles traveled. The County is in the process of developing a master plan to decarbonize transportation.

The County is developing an energy assurance plan that would help improve energy resilience across Arlington community by projecting medium- and long-term energy use, identifying resilience gaps, and developing strategies to mitigate the impact of energy disruptions.

The 2019 CEP set goals that government operations will achieve 50% Renewable Electricity by 2022, and 100% Renewable Electricity by 2025. The County strategically installs solar photovoltaic system and purchases green power to further reduce carbon footprint and encourage market for new renewable energy resources.

Pilot and deploy technologies that could benefit the County. Some examples being considered and used today are LED lighting, variable refrigerant flow systems, electric vehicles, energy management information systems, energy storage, and net zero energy buildings.

Establish a cross-County energy working group that will discuss progress, share ideas, and serve as energy champions. Incentivize smart energy behavior for County employees and facilities users.

As a Compact of Mayors signatory and a Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) participant, Arlington’s greenhouse inventory updates will meet international standards and can be compared with other communities around the world. The County tracks multiple energy metrics and performance indicators by using advanced energy management information systems and data analytics tools for decision making.