Shoreline, WA is a community in King County, adjacent to I-5 and just north of Seattle. With planned light rail and deep commitments to sustainability and affordable housing, Shoreline leadership envisions growing from its current population of 53,000 and becoming one of the region’s magnets for housing and economic development.

Shoreline has an excellent foundation for carbon reduction in its Environmental Sustainability Strategy and Climate Action Plan.  Building on this existing work, and as an outgrowth of the King County-Cities Climate Collaboration, Shoreline contracted with New Energy Cities in late 2013 to analyze what it would take for the community to achieve its ambitious goal of reducing carbon 80 percent below 2007 levels by 2050, and 50 percent by 2030.  

New Energy Cities’ Energy Map and Carbon Wedge analysis for the City of Shoreline show that the community’s primary carbon emissions lie in direct natural gas use for heating in the building sector and petroleum use in the transportation sector.  With its clean electricity supply from Seattle City Light, and plans for near-term light rail construction, Shoreline has significant carbon reduction opportunities that could lead the way for other King County Cities.   

In the summer and fall of 2014, New Energy Cities and City of Shoreline staff screened and prioritized specific carbon reductions strategies in these areas for implementation, and presented a memo of recommended actions to the Shoreline City Council.