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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Power A Clean Future Ohio Welcomes Three New Communities- Athens County, Maple Heights, and Green! |
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At a recent Athens County Board of County Commissioners meeting, the County Commissioners unanimously adopted a resolution to join Power a Clean Future Ohio, furthering the County’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the communities it serves. PCFO will work with local leaders to provide technical assistance and partnerships to help County staff as they find support for net-zero buildings, transition their fleet to electric, and seek to create a carbon credit program for privately owned managed forests in the county. With passage of this resolution, Athens County became the 37th community and fifth county to join Power a Clean Future Ohio.
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Last week, Maple Heights City Council unanimously adopted a resolution to join PCFO, underscoring the community’s commitment to craft a comprehensive sustainability plan that will help take advantage of upcoming opportunities and grants, leverage the city sustainability efforts as a tool to attract younger residents to call Maple Heights home, and work with adjoining municipalities to pursue emerging opportunities. The City of Maple Heights became the 38th community to join PCFO.
Maple Heights Mayor Annette Blackwell said, “Within the recent past, the City of Maple Heights has established an ability to navigate existential challenges by nurturing our collective resilience. The City’s trials have ranged from emergency fiscal status, depreciating home values and patterns of disinvestment – but we have gotten through these times by pushing forward together, with a resurgent spirit. Joining our peer communities with Power a Clean Future Ohio reflects the next step in our civic evolution, as well as our commitment to environmental stewardship. By improving our own environment, we anticipate better economic, health and social outcomes in a variety of measures – such as improving Black infant mortality, air quality, quality of life and our general standard of local pride. We look forward to collaborating across the State of Ohio as well as with our region to improve livability outcomes for everyone.”
Richard Trojanksi, Maple Heights Councilperson for District 6, said, "Climate change is real. It’s happening right now. Local governments no longer can procrastinate on the issue. Maple Heights is joining the coalition because Ohio’s economy, health and future depend on a new approach to clean energy and climate change. I’m excited Maple Heights is taking this bold step forward to become a leader in Southeast Cuyahoga County, by working collectively with business, industry and residents so we can take action on important issues such as clean transportation, renewable energy, land use, and energy waste reduction while also working to create new career opportunities for our residents."
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At the September 13, 2022, Green City Council meeting, council members voted unanimously to join PCFO.
PCFO will work with local leaders and the city’s Living Green Task Force by providing technical assistance and a network of partnerships to implement best practices in buildings and facilities management, land use and transportation planning, and economic and community development in the City of Green. The City of Green became the 39th community to join Power a Clean Future Ohio. 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.
“Becoming a Power a Clean Future Ohio community connects us with other communities that are doing similar work, giving us the ability to create a network and communicate about best practices,” said Councilperson Jeff Noble, who serves as Council Liaison to the Living Green Task Force. “I support this fully along with the Living Green Task Force who voted unanimously to support this endeavor.”
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PCFO INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT SNAPSHOTS
Federal Funding: Find it here!
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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 purpose of Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grants is to improve roadway safety by significantly reducing or eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries through safety action plan development and implementation focused on all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, public transportation users, motorists, personal conveyance and micromobility users, and commercial vehicle operators. The program provides funding to develop the tools to help strengthen a community’s approach to roadway safety and save lives and is designed to meet the needs of diverse local, Tribal, and regional communities that differ dramatically in size, location, and experience administering Federal funding.
The Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) has issued a request for information (RFI) to understand how they can develop a secure online platform to identify and make community solar subscriptions with verified savings more accessible for households participating in government-run low-income support programs.
DOE is seeking input on the new $10.5 billion Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership Program to enhance the resilience and reliability of America’s electric grid. These programs will accelerate the deployment of transformative projects that will help to ensure the reliability of the power sector’s infrastructure, so all American communities have access to affordable, reliable, clean electricity.
The Community Geothermal Heating and Cooling Design and Deployment Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will fund projects that help communities design and deploy geothermal district heating and cooling systems, create related workforce training, and identify and address environmental justice concerns. The overall FOA objective is to support the formation of U.S. community coalitions that will develop community geothermal systems that supply at least 25% of the overall community heating or heating and cooling demand in communities where current fuel use results in increased greenhouse gas emissions. An overarching goal is to support community coalitions seeking to deploy geothermal systems that can reduce the disproportionate shares of energy costs and environmental impacts to underserved populations in a diverse set of communities.
Are you looking to grow clean energy jobs in your community? The Advancing Equity Through Workforce Partnerships funding opportunity will provide grants to develop collaborative workforce programs that will facilitate the rapid deployment of solar energy technologies while supporting an inclusive workforce with opportunities for union membership. This opportunity will enable more members of disadvantaged communities and energy justice populations to pursue careers in the solar energy industry.
Has a part of your community been cut off from a previous transportation project? The Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program is the first-ever Federal program dedicated to reconnecting communities that were previously cut off from economic opportunities by transportation infrastructure. The program provides technical assistance and grant funding for planning and capital construction to address infrastructure barriers, restore community connectivity, and improve peoples’ lives.
Administered through the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $1B to carry out activities to improve the resilience, safety, reliability, and availability of energy and provide environmental protection from adverse impacts of energy generation in rural and remote communities with populations of 10,000 or less. Eligible projects may include: (A) Overall cost-effectiveness of energy generation, transmission, or distribution systems; (B) siting or upgrading transmission and distribution lines; (C) reducing greenhouse gas emissions from energy generation by rural or remote areas; (D) providing or modernizing electric generation facilities; (E) developing microgrids; and (F) increasing energy efficiency. DOE anticipates emphasizing grid reliability and resiliency for the funding, and will conduct stakeholder engagement over the next few months to inform the structure of the program.
The Bridge Investment Program provides funding opportunities across three categories: (1) Planning; (2) Bridge Projects; and (3) Large Bridge Projects. The goals of the BIP are: (1) to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of people and freight over bridges; (2) to improve the condition of bridges in the United States; and (3) to provide financial assistance that leverages and encourages nonFederal contributions from sponsors and stakeholders involved in the planning, design, and construction of eligible projects.
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Climate Change could cost Ohio’s local governments billions by midcentury
In July, the Ohio Environmental Council, a nonprofit, Power a Clean Future for Ohio, a nonpartisan organization and Scioto Analysis released The Bill is Coming Due: Calculating the Financial Cost of Climate Change to Ohio’s Local Governments. The report discusses the effects that states are facing from climate change and how local leaders can prevent it from getting worse. To read more, click here.
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Go Solar Columbus!
Through the Sustainable Columbus initiative, the City of Columbus has partnered with non-profit Solar United Neighbors to encourage residents to go solar and support the Columbus Climate Action Plan. Learn more about the initiative here.
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Is Solar Right for You?
Tuesday, September 20, 2022 at 6 p.m., Steubenville Main Library, 407 S. 4th Street, Steubenville, OH
Community Conversation and Free Legal Clinic to talk about:
- What solar energy is;
- If it’s the right fit for your energy needs; and
- No-cost legal advice to get your solar questions answered.
RSVP by Saturday, September 17.
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Electrifying Everything!
Sunday, September 25, 2022 at 2 -3:30 p.m., Upper Arlington Library Friends Theater, 2800 Tremont Road, Upper Arlington, OH 43221
Do you live in central Ohio and want to reduce your climate footprint, but aren’t sure where to start? Join us to learn how!
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Ohio Public Interests Environmental Law Conference
Thursday, September 29, 2022, 9 a.m.- 3:30 p.m., Grange Insurance Audubon Center, 505 W Whittier St, Columbus, OH 43215
Everyone deserves an equitable energy system. They also deserve renewable energy. No one should fear losing their electricity, whether due to a disaster or because it costs too much. When we consider the scale of the climate crisis and the need for comprehensive solutions, we must always consider energy justice at the center of all efforts to decarbonize and democratize our electric grid. Thus, at the 2022 Ohio Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, we’re In Pursuit of Energy Justice for All. From federal to state to local policy, and executive decision-makers to community organizers, we’re including many different voices in the conversation.
To learn more and register for the conference, click here.
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National Drive Electric Week
Saturday, October 1, 2022, 10 a.m.- 2:00 p.m., Columbus Yellow Cab 1989 Camaro Ave, Columbus ,Ohio 43207
The National Drive Electric Week event will be held at Columbus Yellow Cab headquarters as it features one of the Decentralized Mobility Ecosystem hubs, a project which was formed in partnership with Clean Fuels Ohio. There will be three mobility hubs in Central Ohio and each will consist of publicly available EVs and charging infrastructure owned by Columbus Yellow Cab for use by its taxicab drivers, other professionally employed transportation service drivers, and licensed drivers for personal use. The EVs will be accessible through the Columbus Yellow Cab app and you will also find to access keyless entry and digital transactions.
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PCFO Statewide Sustainability Spotlight Tour
PCFO has finalized the dates for our Statewide Sustainability Spotlight Tour which will bring together clean energy champions from various regions across the state to learn more about projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions while making our communities more resilient. If you are an elected official or work for a local government, please use the links below to RSVP for the event(s) of your choice. If you have questions or want to learn more, please contact Cassandra@poweracleanfuture.org or 330-774-8896. Space is limited.
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Is It Time to Go Solar?
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 at 11:15 a.m.- 1 p.m. Sinclair Conference Center / Charity Earley Room, 444 West Third Street, Dayton, OH 45402-1460
Learn from experts on the state of electric and gas markets, solar energy and energy storage provisions and incentives through the newly passed Inflation Reduction Act and an overview of how to integrate solar energy into your operations (how to begin the process of going solar and what questions to ask; the benefits of solar energy; the various designs that can be incorporated, and the steps included from feasibility analysis to the system being energized).
To learn more and register, click here.
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2022 Ohio Energy Conference
Quest Conference Center, Nov 15-16, 2022
The 2022 Ohio Energy Conference will take place on November 15 and 16th and will feature public and private leaders from Ohio’s energy sector, who will share what is on the horizon for energy procurement, policy, management, and more.
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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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