ClimateSolutions‘ New Energy Cities project, with funding from the Henry M Jackson Foundation, just released a study entitled Powering the New Energy Future from the Ground Up: Profiles in City-Led Energy Innovations. The study examines the real world experience in cities with populations under 250,000. From the study’s executive summary:
To date, large cities from New York City to Los Angeles have stolen the headlines with major announcements about dramatic investments and worldwide partnerships that advance clean energy solutions and address greenhouse gas emissions. While these efforts are indeed critical to scaling the clean energy economy, small- and medium-sized jurisdictions also possess the power to nurture clean energy economic development. They can also often execute with a degree of speed and decisiveness that sometimes eludes larger cities.
While their efforts do not usually make headlines beyond their local news outlets, small- and medium-sized cities are stepping up with real results. It is in these living laboratories of innovation that we see the next generation of solutions for the clean energy economy in buildings, transportation, and waste management. These communities have the political leadership, an energized citizenry, receptive utilities, and capable business communities that are working together to build the new energy future from the ground up.
Real innovation is rare, because it is challenging and risky. But cities and towns not yet ready to take entrepreneurial leaps are nonetheless making important changes by using their bully pulpits, planning authorities, and purchasing power to galvanize their communities and move local markets. They are making slow and steady progress that will ultimately result in the full transformation of our built environment and transportation system away from fossil fuel dependency.
This study documents a range of real-world examples where American cities and other municipalities exploited the opportunities provided by ARRA (Stimulus Package) funding to foster long-lasting shifts toward Energy Smart practices — whether energy efficiency, better urban planning, or introduction of renewable energy.
At this time, a press release call is underway allowing practitioners to outline their programs its successes.
Perhaps my favorite moment in the call was a comment from Bellingham’s experience that shows that the IRS does have an impact on the nation’s perspective fostering energy :
“We don’t call them energy audits because we found that nobody likes to get an audit. That’s why we call them assessments
Bellingham has had some 785 residential energy “assessments” with 489 moving to projects based on these “assessments”. These average $479 per year in energy savings.
On Long Island, Babylon has conducted over 1300 BPI home energy audits (not yet with Bellingham’s word sensitivity). And, the program has financed about 870 retrofits with average energy savings of $1200 per year. E.g., this represents more than $1 million in reduced energy costs for Babylon residents. This is about 1.5% of Babylon’s total housing stock. That community is also requiring all new residential buildings to be Energy Star certified with LEED certification required for all commercial structures larger than 4000 square feet.