Public Power - October 2008 - (Page 48)

COMMUNITY BROADBAND Ashland Named Smart21 Community By Cathy Swirbul Ashland, Ore., in the United is one of the few communities States named to the Intelligent Community Forum’s Smart21 list, created in honor of communities harnessing technology in savvy ways. Ashland made the list in 2007 and 2008 for its innovative use of broadband— something that came to fruition for Ashland residents a decade ago. In the mid-1990s, Ashland was at an economic crossroads. Its economy, centered on hosting the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, was primarily driven by tourism. Connecting Ashland with the larger broadband economy seemed the obvious next step. However, there was one major problem: geographic isolation. Ashland is nestled in the Rogue Valley, surrounded by the Cascade and Siskiyou mountains, hundreds of miles from a major metropolitan area. Local leaders knew that because of the city’s isolation, small size and tourism-based economy, it was unlikely that a major service provider would invest in the needed infrastructure to bring broadband to Ashland. “The incumbent cable T.V. provider gave an estimate of 10 or more years to upgrade the existing system to provide broadband,” said Joe Franell, Ashland’s chief information officer. “This left our residents without the means to diversify the Ashland economy, while having to pay premium prices for antiquated telecommunications services because of a lack 48 OCTOBER 2008 of competition.” With no other option, Ashland decided to roll out its own broadband network, making it one of the first U.S. municipalities to do so. The city hired a consulting firm to develop the telecom utility’s business plan. It also formed strategic planning and technical review committees, both populated by Ashland residents and business owners. The Chamber of Commerce sponsored several public forums to gather community input and gain support. The city built a metropolitan fiber network, and is currently building a wireless overlay to Since the broadband network was deployed, Ashland has seen a 33 percent increase in active business licenses. The majority of the new business growth has occurred in existing residential areas through the launch of 517 home-based businesses in a town of just 10,000 residents. “You could look at the raw data and just attribute the growth to tourism,” Franell said. “But when you plot where the new businesses are located, you would see that most of the growth is in the residential areas, not along the business corridor where the tourists are. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that without the broadband infrastructure, this growth wouldn’t have happened. During the 10 years we collected data, there was an per person, even with the growth of consumer electronics. In the rest of the state of Oregon, energy use increased by 3,597 kilowatt-hours per person during that same time period.” Over the past 25 years, Ashland has invested more than $14 million in programs for energy and water conservation and air quality improvements. To promote renewable energy, the electric utility offers rebates and loans for solar water heaters and electric systems. In 1996, Ashland adopted a net metering policy—the first in the Northwest. The policy encourages investment in photovoltaic systems by simplifying connection standards and requirements, and rewarding the investment by purchasing excess electricity at Since the broadband network was deployed, Ashland has seen a 33 percent increase in active business licenses. extend it. In 1997, Ashland Fiber Network went live. The open network has encouraged the development of nine Internet service providers offering various products and services at competitive prices. Currently, the network serves about 40 percent of homes in Ashland, with coverage to another 800 rural homes. “The vision for the network has always been to empower the community, attract environmentally friendly business, provide higher wage jobs and diversify the local economy,” said Franell. The city has, indeed, experienced economic growth and that growth has come from a somewhat surprising source. economic downturn in Oregon, but we still saw this growth. ” In addition to leading the way with a municipally built broadband network, Ashland is also in the forefront of communities that are environmentally responsible. In fact, the Intelligent Community Forum added Ashland to the 2008 Smart21 list for just that reason. “Ashland is one of the few communities in the United States that has actually seen a decline in our energy use per capita, from 8,483 kilowatthours per person in 1982 down to 8,116 kilowatt-hours per person in 2007,” said Dick Wanderscheid, Ashland’s electric director. “That’s a reduction of 367 kilowatt-hours the city’s retail rate instead of the wholesale rate that most utilities pay. In addition, the city also purchases 5 percent of its total load in wholesale wind power from the Bonneville Power Administration. In the early 1980s, Ashland was one of the first U.S. cities to adopt a solar access protection ordinance. The ordinance regulates the height of future developments to ensure that they don’t shade existing buildings that use solar power. In 2000, the city installed 30 kilowatts of photovoltaic panels on the Ashland City Council chambers, the police station, buildings at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Southern Oregon University. PUBLIC POWER

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - October 2008

Public Power - October 2008 Contents Perspective 10 Questions The Future of Fuels in a Carbon-Constrained World An Energy Revolution Energy Policy in 2009 and Beyond A Green Reincarnation Beyond the Green Bandwagon Reliability Green Energy Community Broadband Customer Service Hometown Connections Human Resources Parting Shot

Public Power - October 2008

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