City of Cincinnati

At a Glance

Industry

Government/Public Administration

Project Types

Clean and Renewable Energy, Data Analysis, Engagement and Behavior Change, Zero Emission Vehicles, Freight and Logistics

Year

2020

Location

Cincinnati, OH

Summary

Cincinnati was seeking to bolster the two pillars of,1.sustainable energy usage and 2. the electrification of transportation as part of their climate planning.

Goals

Increasingly, city governments across the country are seeking to bolster the two pillars of,1.sustainable energy usage and 2. the electrification of transportation as part of their climate
planning. The City of Cincinnati, Ohio brought on EDF Climate Corps Fellow Liz Reichart to strengthen these two pillars through a suite of new analysis and analytical support for existing initiatives. Liz Reichart benchmarked the City’s energy use and developed frameworks by which City department heads could identify the value in more efficient energy management. Additionally, she identified Cincinnati sites for optimal electric vehicle charging infrastructure and analyzed opportunities for vehicle replacement within the City’s fleet in order to provide the City of Cincinnati with future greenhouse gas emissions savings.

Solutions

Reichart approached evaluation of the city’s energy use by:

  • Plugging data gaps in the City’s energy management. She added 50 city-owned facilities to Energy Star Portfolio Manager to paint a fuller picture of the City’s energy use.
  • Evaluating energy use at the department level using key metrics and developing a standard template so that valuable turnkey analysis can be generated by any City department.

Reichart approached analysis of the city’s electric vehicle opportunities by:

  • Identifying the right public opportunities for EV charging by developing a scoring framework by which public sites could be scored on a number of criteria, and by leveraging stakeholders across City government to develop a competitive bid application for state funding.
  • Pinpointing inefficient diesel fleet vehicles by leading diesel packer truck performance analysis and crafting bids to obtain state funding for their replacement.
  • Educating the public on electric vehicle benefits by mobilizing a team of ambassadors to meet key American Cities Climate Challenge metrics.

Impact

Reichart’s energy benchmarking will be used by the City to make the business case for more efficient energy management at the department level, and brings the City closer to meeting their
emissions targets. Establishing a common framework brings Cincinnati one step closer to understanding its energy use. The plugging of data gaps and citywide energy benchmarking will:

  • Allow City Energy Manager to have full data on all energy use by publicly-owned buildings;
  • Be able to make the business case for better energy use, and serve as the basis for future upgrade and retrofit projects;
  • Avoid billing errors and overpaid accounts;

Reichart’s work on electric vehicles and cleaner transportation for the City will:

  • Give the city the opportunity to secure state-level funding for more fuel-efficient diesel garbage trucks and public electric vehicle ports.
  • Allow the City to meet its American Cities Climate Challenge goals before the end of 2020, including having educated 10,000 citizens on the benefits of electric vehicles and installed 162 charging stations within City limits.
  • Meet the cleaner transportation goals set out in the City’s Green Cincinnati (2018) plan

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