City of Cleveland
At a Glance
Industry
Government/Public Administration
Project Types
Data Analysis, Goals/Targets
Year
2018
Location
Cleveland, OH
Summary
Kynan Witters Hicks completed a greenhouse gas inventory for the City of Cleveland, and identified opportunities to reduce its energy use in order to help meet its sustainability goals.
Goals
As part of the Mayors National Climate Action Agenda (MNCAA), or the Climate Mayors, the City of Cleveland re-affirmed its commitment to climate action and the City’s commitment to 80% greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction by 2050 compared to 2010 baseline. In 2013, the city also made commitments to reduce energy use and GHG emissions from its internal operations – around both reducing GHGs and energy use. EDF Climate Corp fellow Kynan Witters Hicks was enlisted to update the GHG inventory and savings progress of this Sustainable Cleveland Municipal Action Plan (SC-MAP), as well as to re-evaluate goals and actions that would help the City meet or exceed the specific goals (45% GHG reductions by 2030 compared to 2010 baseline, 20% energy savings by 2030 compared to 2010 baseline)
Solutions
Hicks helped the City of Cleveland make progress towards its sustainability goals through four main projects:
- Completing a 2016 GHG inventory and beginning the initial accounting of the 2017 inventory. He acquired newer datasets, updated emission calculation methodologies with more localized information for steam and chilled water uses and revised emission factors and global warming potentials.
- Worked with the municipal electric utility and reviewed other national/regional sources to develop a model for how renewable energy procurement and other changes to grid fuel mix could impact the City’s GHG reductions through 2030.
- Evaluated and updated a series of energy-saving actions that could help meet the City’s energy specific reduction goals, including calculating and validating the energy, GHG and cost savings from a Cleveland-wide LED streetlight retrofit.
- Supported the update of the City’s community-wide GHG inventory towards its 2018 Climate Action Plan updates, along with its commitment to maintaining compliance with the Global Covenant of Mayors.
Potential Impact
Hicks work on the GHG inventories provided insights as to how much energy and GHG the City has saved in relation to its goals, including where it has been successful in reducing energy from its efficiency and conservation efforts and where it needs to focus more attention.
The GHG emissions modeling identified the opportunity to set a more aggressive 2030 GHG target.
The calculation of projected savings from an LED streetlight retrofit showed that the City is on track to meet its overall energy goal of 10% reduction in 2020. Overall, the City could potentially save $34.9 million from 2017 to 2030 after completing its outlined energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable energy actions.