Our Mission: Power A Clean Future Ohio is building momentum now for a clean, prosperous future by equipping local leaders for equitable, community-driven carbon reductions in Ohio. |
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Local Action Update:
Youngstown Joins Power A Clean Future Ohio, Adopts Carbon Reduction Goal
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The Youngstown City Council voted to adopt a resolution joining Power A Clean Future Ohio (PCFO), furthering the community’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In the resolution, the city adopted a goal of reducing GHG emissions by 50% by 2030 below 2010 levels. PCFO will work with local leaders to provide technical assistance and work with the city staff as they develop a roadmap for achieving their carbon reduction and sustainability goals. With this action, more than one-third of Ohio residents now live in a community or county that is part of the Power A Clean Future Ohio initiative.
Councilwoman Lauren McNally said, “To stay competitive moving forward, we must begin to focus on the diversification of energy and transition of industry. This will require a commitment from our cities to ensure that the next generations of our residents are ready to tackle new technologies head-on. Youngstown is ready to work with Power a Clean Future Ohio to develop a plan to bring advanced technologies to our city today.”
Developing innovative solutions to harmful air pollution will serve to protect the health of all residents of Youngstown. Just five years ago, the American Lung Association’s State of the Air Report listed the Youngstown area as one of the most polluted in the nation for both ozone and particulate matter pollution.
Councilwoman Anita Davis said, “Working with Power a Clean Future Ohio will allow us to develop a sustainability plan that reduces harmful carbon emissions and allows us to safeguard the health of our families. Developing a productive workforce starts by ensuring we have healthy employees who are proud to live in this city and be part of efforts to see it thrive.”
Cities like Youngstown are making a commitment to spur the economic growth and job development that results from embracing clean technologies and advanced transportation. Youngstown is prepared to move the city into a clean energy future while reducing harmful carbon emissions.
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PCFO INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT SNAPSHOTS
Federal Funding: Find it here!
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This week, the White House released the recordings for a series of “Infrastructure School” webinars conducted between February and March 2022. These webinars provide a deeper look at funding opportunities created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law under each major area of investment.
If you are unable to watch the recordings, visit the PCFO IGAP Webinar page to review notes from the BIL Guidebook Introduction, Electric Vehicles, Public Transportation, and Clean Energy and Power webinars. These notes include information on the federal departments’ goals, funding opportunities, and available links to program pages.
If you are interested in applying or need PCFO’s support please contact Sarah Spence, IGAP Coordinator, at sarah@ohcef.org with any questions.
The Department of Energy issued a Request for Information to gather feedback on the implementation of energy storage demonstration programs. These energy storage programs will provide the opportunity to accelerate commercialization for energy technologies by: (1) demonstrating the technologies at scale; and (2) partnering with community and industry stakeholders so they can best adopt and benefit from these technologies. PCFO has created an RFI Snapshot for partners that are interested in responding to this RFI. Comments are due on June 16, 2022.
Created under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the EPA’s new Clean School Bus Program will provide $5 billion to replace existing school buses with zero-emission and low-emission models over the next 5 years. The first funding opportunity under this Program is the 2022 Clean School Bus Rebates. The CSB Rebates will fund the replacement of existing school buses with cleaner buses that result in better air quality on the bus, in bus loading areas, and throughout the communities in which they operate. Is one of your schools listed on EPA’s priority school districts list? Please share with your district leadership or school board members and make sure they know about this opportunity!
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PCFO Sustainability Planning Cohort to Start in June 2022 |
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PCFO is excited to announce its inaugural Sustainability and Climate Action Planning Cohort! This free, six-month program is designed to support and assist PCFO communities in similar stages of the planning process.
PCFO communities will hear from technical experts and experienced peers on topics such as building the case for developing a plan; data collection, management and analysis; choosing your policy and program priorities and conducting equitable community engagement and outreach. If you are PCFO community and you are interested in signing up, please contact Melanie Nutter, PCFO’s technical team lead.
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Ohio is behind but has real potential to be a leader in renewable energy
Recently, Spectrum News traveled throughout the state to look at some of Ohio’s biggest wind, solar and hydroelectric power facilities. Ohio currently receives 3% of its power from renewable energy sources which put the state in 40th place out of 50 states, according to American Clean Power.
The Spectrum News segment showcased Blue Creek Wind Farm in Van Wert which currently has 152 wind turbines that produce enough energy to provide power to about 76,000 Ohio homes.
They also traveled to The Hillcrest Solar Power Project, now known as the Amazon Solar Farm which became fully operational in 2021. This project has more than 600,000 solar panels and can help supply clean energy for Amazon’s operations in the state.
To read the full story, click here.
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Columbia Gas Increase
Columbia Gas is requesting a $212 million rate increase in consumers’ monthly bills for natural gas distribution service. Columbia’s proposal would nearly triple its current fixed monthly distribution charge from $16.75 to $46.31. There are opportunities to learn more and share your view on the rate increase at Ohio's Consumer Council (OCC) meetings:
- 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 7, 2022 — City Council Chambers of Athens City Building, Third Floor, 8 East Washington St., Athens, Ohio 45701
- 6 p.m. Thursday, June 9, 2022 — Whetstone Park Shelter House, 3901 North High St., Columbus, Ohio 43085
- 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 15, 2022 — Council Chambers of Zanesville City Hall, 401 Market St., Zanesville, Ohio 43701
You can learn more here if you want to keep updated on how this moves through the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
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Provide Feedback to ODOT on Ohio’s National EV Infrastructure Plan
The week of June 13, Clean Fuels Ohio will hold meetings for different regions of the state to give the public the opportunity to provide input on Ohio’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) plan.
The Ohio Department of Transportation will have a representative present and attendees will have the chance to offer feedback. Clean Fuels Ohio will then summarize all feedback and report back to ODOT by the end of the month.
Sign up for your region’s meeting below:
Please feel free to circulate this information to others who may be interested in attending.
Summary of NEVI:
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law designated $5 billion over 5 years for EV charging infrastructure; $140 million of that will come to Ohio over the next 5 years. Ohio must develop a plan for how to spend that money and submit an EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan to the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation by August 1, 2022.
Clean Fuels Ohio is supporting the Ohio Department of Transportation in the development of this plan, one piece of which is collecting public feedback as the plan is developed.
More details can be found here.
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2022 Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit
June 16, 2022, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m., Cintas Center, Xavier University
Each year, the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit brings together hundreds of passionate business, nonprofit, government and community leaders to share inspiring forward-thinking and solution-oriented ideas that propel us toward a healthier, more resilient, sustainable and equitable future. Relevant topics like healthy & resilient communities, business & green, circular economy, government & policy, and more will be discussed. To learn more and register, click here.
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Interested in getting started? Join today! |
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PCFO is an expansive, diverse coalition engaging with cities and local governments across the state of Ohio to build a clean future for our communities. Power A Clean Future Ohio is empowering local leaders with tools and resources to create carbon reduction plans and implement them in ways that are achievable, measurable, equitable and economical.
Our coalition of expert organizations wants to share our technical expertise and resources with your community. If your community wants to work on plans to reduce emissions, attract business investment, implement equitable clean energy policy, and reduce costs – contact us today to set up a meeting!
If your business or organization would like to support PCFO, we invite you to join the campaign as a PCFO Partner. Contact us for more details.
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