Fairfax County officials recently celebrated the start of several landmark improvements at the Spring Hill Rec Center that will significantly reduce the building’s energy and natural gas consumption.

Improvements to the center will include the replacement of pool dehumidification units, the installation of solar photovoltaic arrays, geothermal HVAC system, LED lighting upgrades and improvements to building automation systems.

The project is expected to reduce annual energy consumption by 19% for electricity and 29% for natural gas, producing up to $67,000 in savings in the first year.

The July 26 groundbreaking event included Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay, Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust and representatives from the Fairfax County Park Authority and Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination (OEEC).

OEEC has published a variety of new resources on its website to help residents take climate action at home and on the road. From videos of Fairfax County residents going solar and adopting electric vehicles to infographics on daily climate actions, there is information that will help save money, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience to a changing climate.

These materials are also available in multiple languages. Keep an eye out for additional resources in the coming weeks!

Fairfax County’s Green Business Partners Program recognizes and supports businesses actively engaging in or interested in sustainable business practices that advance climate action and help create a carbon neutral economy. The program has two different levels of participation: Members and Leaders.

Recently, the program welcomed Members and Leaders, including:

• Inova Health System, Fairfax, Leader
• RTEC Treecare, Falls Church, Leader
• Nothing in Between Studio, Falls Church and McLean, Member
• Scrawl Books, Reston, Member

The Green Business Partners program is free to join and includes a variety of networking, educational and promotional benefits. Visit the Green Business Partners Program page to learn more and join.

And check out our latest video: Leader Spotlight on River-Sea Chocolates. As a Leader in the GBP program, the Chantilly-based chocolate company’s commitment to sustainability extends to sourcing its cacao beans from indigenous farmers and shipping them by sail vessels driven only by wind.

Making the switch to solar power is easier and more affordable than ever, thanks to Solarize Virginia and Capital Area Solar Switch, two programs that reduce the cost and complexity of going solar.

Through the end of August, homeowners can sign up to receive a free assessment and quote from a qualified solar installer, and a guaranteed discounted rate. There are even opportunities to bundle your solar system with electric vehicle charging stations and solar battery storage. Learn more about Solarize Virginia and Solar Switch and sign up.

Want to learn more or have some questions that need answers? Register for the upcoming Fairfax County Solar Switch 101 webinar on August 9 at 6 p.m.

Fairfax County continues to build charging capacity for electric vehicles (EVs) at its facilities for both county fleet use and public charging.

As of August 1, over 100 Level 2 (L2) charging ports are installed at 12 government facilities, including community centers, parking garages and government office buildings. Of those, 8 of the facilities and 71 of the L2 charging ports are publicly accessible. Another 100-plus charging spaces are being planned over the next year. The public sites can be found using apps like ChargePoint and Plug-Share.

Increasing the use of electric vehicles and adding charging infrastructure is a goal in both the county’s Operational Energy Strategy and the Community-Wide Energy and Climate Action Plan, or CECAP.

To further these efforts, Fairfax County joined other jurisdictions in the region in applying for $3.9 million in funding from the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant program. The effort was led by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government (COG) and would support a total of 48 sites across the 7 jurisdictions, including 25 in Fairfax County facilities. COG also recently unveiled a new information hub to assist localities across metropolitan Washington who are working to increase adoption of EVs in the region.

July saw the hottest global temperatures ever recorded, and extreme heat days are expected to increase in the coming decades.

Climate change is a long-term driver of extreme heat – the greenhouse gas emissions produced by a variety of human activities trap heat from the sun in the Earth’s atmosphere. Fairfax County also experiences the urban heat island (UHI) effect, which is the result of heat being absorbed and re-emitted by dark surfaces and buildings in dense concentrations.

Extreme heat poses serious health risks, especially for vulnerable populations. There are things you can do right now to stay safe during extreme heat:

1. Know the signs of heat-related illness.
2. Find the nearest cooling center using this interactive map.
3. Apply for assistance with cooling costs. Eligible households can apply now through August 15 by visiting www.commonhelp.virginia.gov or calling (833) 522-5582
4. Sign up for Fairfax Alerts to receive alerts and updates on heat emergencies.
5. And learn more about how the county is adapting to “warmer, wetter, and weirder” conditions by reviewing the Resilient Fairfax plan or watching this extreme heat webinar.

Earlier this year the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA Virginia) announced that Fairfax County was the recipient of its Resilient Virginia Community of the Year for its Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan. The award was presented at APA Virginia’s Annual Conference on July 18 in Roanoke. This plan stood out to the Awards Committee for many reasons, including:

• The county’s prioritization of 18 strategies, including additions or updates to the comprehensive plan, building code, and zoning ordinance;
• The pace of the county’s implementation, with 31 of the strategies in process and underway just three months after adoption; and,
• The breadth of the county’s public outreach in coordinating and facilitating over 200 engagement meetings.

Julie Chop, MURP, CZA, Vice President of External Affairs for APA Virginia, noted that: “Fairfax County’s planners have strengthened the community with a model effort to weather the shocks and stresses of climate change. The Implementation Roadmaps give the community clear direction on feasibility, effectiveness, and alignment with related County processes.”

A recent edition of the “County Conversation” podcast featured Matthew Hansen, division director of the Site Development and Inspections Division in Land Development Services. Hansen detailed the pivotal role they play in regulating site development and ensuring compliance with environmental regulations. 

Interested in shaping the future of Metro? The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has identified six potential options to improve the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines, and they want your feedback!

Following in depth analysis and two previous rounds of public engagement, WMATA has developed six proposed alternatives to address capacity, reliability, and customer needs. The alternatives include potential infrastructure and operational improvements that will ensure quality service while helping the National Capital Region be a better-connected, healthier, fairer, and more vibrant place to live and work.

Visit Metro’s website, wmata.com/BOSstudy, to take the survey, register for a meeting and find detailed maps and information about this study.

WMATA’s bus facility in Franconia will be going fully electric thanks in part to $104 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration.

Located northeast of the I-95 and Fairfax County Parkway interchange, the Cinder Bed Road garage houses 121 40-foot buses that serve 11 routes. Metro is partnering with Fairfax County on the electrification of the garage, a portion of which is planned to be used by the county to house and charge their all-electric Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) running from Fort Belvoir to Huntington Metrorail Station by 2030.

“Thanks to our partnership with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and federal support, we will soon deliver a fully converted battery-electric bus facility in Fairfax County,” Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said. “This project aligns with the county’s important goal of carbon neutral government operations by 2040 and is an investment in the region’s transit system and clean energy that will bring significant environmental and community benefits.”

The project will support WMATA’s plans to accelerate its transition of all nine of its bus garages and nearly 1,600 buses to zero-emission by 2042.

To learn more about Metro's zero-emission bus initiatives go to the Zero-Emission Bus Page on wmata.com.

To learn more about the Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit system, visit the Department of Transportation’s BRT page.