After months of research and work, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz accepted an energy proposal Monday from a task force he assembled in summer 2003 that puts much focus on renewable power sources.

In front of the Madison Municipal Building, Cieslewicz publicly accepted the new proposal for a “Green City.”

The task force examined an adoptable energy policy for the city after numerous blackouts along the east coast last summer, according to a release.

“We must be vigilant in ensuring that Madison has sufficient energy to meet the needs of its residents and a stable supply for our growing high-tech and biotech companies,” Cieslewicz said in a release. “Our first priorities should be conserving energy and developing clean renewable sources of energy.”

Sherrie Gruder of the University of Wisconsin-Extension was one of the members on the task force and was present at the news conference.

“The mayor is being forward thinking and taking an approach that will take many years,” Gruder said. “Many of the upfront costs [for these policies] will have a long term payback.”

The focal points for the new policy include purchasing 10 percent of city power from renewable resources by 2006 and 20 percent by 2010. The plan also calls for establishing a Clean Energy Challenge to encourage residents to use more renewable energy and for city facilities to use energy-efficient lighting and more natural daylight, as well as utilizing better insulating techniques.

The policies focus on multiple fronts, such as addressing city perspectives to sustain energy and to design buildings efficiently to reduce energy loss. To operate buildings, the cost is high, and oftentimes the energy usage negatively affects the environment and is inefficient.

“To try to and construct buildings using green buildings techniques and to upgrade city buildings is important,” Gruder said.

UW is good at looking at green building techniques, and the city is working with the university on these projects, according to the mayor’s spokesperson Melanie Conklin.

Madison Gas and Electric is a large supplier of energy for the city, and although Madison does not directly govern the UW campus, their energy usage is tied together, Gruder said.

For these matters, Conklin said student populations are more willing to try and participate in new programs, especially environment-friendly policies.

“Once you get the city doing some of these energy efficient measures, the campus will probably follow suit,” Conklin said. “When we work on issues, it’s nice to have outreach on campus because a huge percent of campus is students at UW who are also a major part of [the] city.”

Research labs and areas in biotechnology depend on the availability of energy to stay competitive, and UW Chancellor John Wiley has expressed interest in energy conservation, Gruder added.

“This plan helps the city in not polluting the lakes but it also keeps Madison a nice place to live and work,” Gruder said. “By paying upfront costs for these policies, taxpayers will save money in the future when many implications [like pollution] occur.”

The city has already created a commuter choice program that provides all city employees and UW students with free bus passes.