Each Sunnyvale citizen has the ability to contribute to lowering the city’s emissions – and Nancy demonstrates her personal commitment by biking whenever possible and driving a zero-emission automobile. Whether through making conscious decisions about transportation or opting for more environmentally friendly home appliances, Nancy seeks to empower Sunnyvale citizens with the information and tools they need to make those choices.
At the same time, Nancy knows these options are not accessible for all Sunnyvale citizens, and will work to provide financing and eliminate barriers for those who may have been previously overlooked in such efforts.
SVCE eHub
As Sunnyvale’s preeminent Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) board member, Nancy, along with her colleagues, announced an eHub program on September 23, 2020. The program funding financially benefits Sunnyvale residents, and was prominently featured in the Sunnyvale Sun on October 2, 2020.
In recognition that identifying the most impactful ways to lower their carbon footprint can be a time-consuming challenge with many options to consider for most consumers, the eHub set up resources designed to take the guesswork out of switching to all-electric living and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
The three sections on eHub focus on helping people
- switch to in-home efficient, electric appliances,including electric heating and cooling
- choose the right electric vehicle
- enhance clean energy use in a variety of ways; installing solar and battery storage to power electric vehicles and energy-efficient appliances, or upgrading to SVCE’s GreenPrime 100 percent renewable energy offering
Microgrids
Nancy and her colleagues at SVCE also signed an agreement with SunRun to set up a microgrid targeting multifamily housing and at-risk communities, enabling the county to keep the power on for sensitive populations during outages.
Transportation
Sustainable transportation is about broad, large scale, policy implementation, but it is also about creating the infrastructure to allow individuals to choose environmentally friendly options. Nancy will emphasize both – through pushing for more sustainable transport options and the infrastructure needed to position it as a viable option for consumers.
Learn more about her commitments to build environmentally friendly transportation systems at https://nancysmith.org/transportation/
Matching Grants for High-Speed Charging
Nancy’s work on the SVCE board has helped the region gain a matching grant for a $6M investment to add high-speed charging at corporate campuses, making it even easier for people to take their electric cars wherever they need to go.
Bikes
Making bicycling in Sunnyvale safe and convenient is one of Nancy’s top priorities. As a leader who cares deeply about climate change, Nancy actively encourages the people of Sunnyvale to walk or bike when possible – and shows her commitment to this through her own actions. Nancy was the only one who rode her bike to the Council Chambers the day the Climate Action Plan was approved. Even during budget cuts, Nancy supported bike parking installations because she believes infrastructure that promotes bicycling is an investment in Sunnyvale’s future. Visit https://nancysmith.org/transportation/ to learn more about her commitment to make Sunnyvale more bike-friendly.