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:
City of University Heights joins Power A Clean Future Ohio
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At a recent City Council meeting, University Heights councilmembers voted unanimously to adopt a resolution joining Power a Clean Future Ohio, furthering the city’s commitment to improving sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint. PCFO will work with local leaders to provide technical assistance and partnerships to help staff as they work toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 from 2010 levels. According to Cuyahoga County data, the City of University Heights is already at a 17% drop as of 2019. They will develop a roadmap during Fiscal Year 2022 for the city to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and proactively seek input from the community in developing and promoting the plan.
“One of my priorities when running for Council was the notion that municipalities could have an outsized impact fighting climate change," said Councilperson Brian King. "We can’t wait for federal and state governments, even though we desperately need all hands on deck. That is what I love about Power a Clean Future Ohio. They believe that local communities working together can be the spark. University Heights now joins our neighbors Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights, along with 30+ Ohio communities in this journey."
"I intend to do as much as I can because this is an issue and a cause that means a lot to me," said Mayor Michael D. Brennan. “We will work with PCFO to identify things that are cost-conscious, environmentally forward-looking, and sustainable, and help us ascertain where we are since 2010 with regards to the 30 by 30 pledge."
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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.
DOE issued a Request for Information (RFI) 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.
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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At the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit, we premiered a brand new video introducing Power a Clean Future Ohio! Take a look to learn more about who we are, what we do and how to join PCFO!
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Toledo Environment Commission & 1% Budget Ordinance Passes |
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Recently, the City of Toledo made history by becoming the first city nationwide to adopt a budget structure dedicating one percent of the capital improvement budget to the environment! It's a major investment that creates a model for other cities to follow. On Tuesday, Toledo followed up this incredible step forward by passing an ordinance establishing the Environmental Protection and Climate Resilience Commission and creating the One Percent for the Environment Program. Toledo is leading the way on this issue and showing what is possible when local leaders take creative approaches to solving the most pressing environmental challenges facing our communities.
Toledo City Council held a special press conference to discuss this new initiative. The fund will look for ways to improve air and water quality through renewable energy, green spaces and more. The City estimates that $300,000 will be set aside for the fund each year.
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Preparing for Power Outages & Building Resilient Communities |
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Sustainable communities are more resilient communities. Urging utilities to modernize our grid, protect vulnerable populations, and invest in distributed, reliable renewable energy is the first step. You can also take some action through your local government independent of your utility. Read some great opportunities to modernize your local energy infrastructure in the Ohio Clean Energy and Sustainable Communities Toolkit. Enabling residential rooftop solar is one great way to build resilience into your neighborhoods.
But there is also a lot we can do locally to prepare for an outage when it does happen. How can we protect residents today? The summer heat, storms, and structural vulnerabilities can have an impact on our power grid and may lead to outages. A number of PCFO Communities experienced major outages last week during a life-threatening heatwave. To help you prepare for future outages that may occur, here are some resources to keep in mind:
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During the United States Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting, a 2022 Metro Economies Report was published. It highlighted what many of you already know - locals lead the way.
The report confirmed cities are the engine of the American economy. The article highlighted fellow PCFO Community - Columbus. Read the full article here.
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Provide Feedback to ODOT on Ohio’s National EV Infrastructure Plan
On June 29 from 2-3 p.m., Clean Fuels Ohio will hold a meeting to give PCFO members the opportunity to provide input on Ohio’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) plan. Representatives from The Ohio Department of Transportation and HNTB will provide a briefing on the plan and attendees will be encouraged to provide feedback. Clean Fuels Ohio will then summarize the discussions and report back to ODOT by the end of the month.
Register for the virtual session here.
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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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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