September 21, 2007 - The City of Knoxville's Energy & Sustainability Task Force will hold a public meeting Wednesday, Sept. 26, to obtain citizen's input on the development of the city's strategic plan to reduce its energy costs, consumption and emissions.

The meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. in the Small Assembly Room of the City County Building.

"Though we're only at the early stages of this project, we wanted to make sure that anybody with an interest had the chance to hear what we're up to, ask questions and provide feedback," said Madeleine Weil, the city's deputy director of policy development and the chair of the task force.

The Energy & Sustainability Task Force was formed to study all aspects of the city's energy use and develop a realistic plan to make changes to reduce the city's energy footprint and reduce costs.

The City of Knoxville spent about $10 million on energy last year.

The 15-member body includes representatives with expertise in energy from the University of Tennessee, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee Valley Authority, the U.S. Green Buildings Council, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Blessed Earth, Alcoa Inc., the City of Knoxville, Knox County and several others.

The city is currently doing an inventory of all its energy consumption and emissions for use in development of a comprehensive energy plan.

Weil said that the task force would recommend energy reduction goals for the city and the community and submit a plan to reach those goals.