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 Columbus receives three new public charging stations
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The City of Columbus has added three new public charging stations for electric vehicles in their partnership with Greenspot Smart Mobility. The launch will help promote the adoption of electric vehicle use across the community. Greenspot paid for the equipment and installation of the new charges in the following locations:
- 48 West Poplar Avenue near Goodale Park
- 295 East Long Street downtown
- 424 West Town Street in front of Land Grant Brewery
Each location will have one DC fast charger and two Level II charging station. “Drivers who have downloaded and use the Greenspot Smart Mobility app can save 50% on their charging costs for two months.” said Joe Desimone, COO of Greenspot.
To read more about this, click here.
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Lakewood aims for SolSmart designation, growth in local solar adoption
Lakewood is committed to using 100% clean, renewable energy in its cities facilities by 2025. In addition, their goal is to be community-wide by 2035. As part of their environmental goal, Council-at-Large Representatives Tom Bullock and Tristan Rader, as well as Ward 1 Councilman Kyle G. Baker introduced a resolution for Lakewood to become a SolSmart-designated community, which will directly benefit residential solar use. City council is expected to vote on the resolution at the April 4 meeting.
“SolSmart is a free national technical assistance program to help cities like Lakewood make solar energy easier to implement for residents and business owners,” Baker said.
If Lakewood is approved as a SolSmart-designated community, the city will receive free technical assistance to improve solar market conditions through a Department of Energy grant. By adding solar development planning, zoning, installation and inspection, SolSmart estimates that homeowners could save $2,500 or more. Currently, Lakewood has solar arrays at Lakewood City Hall, and Mayor Meghan George has noted the city’s planning department will be tasked with the city becoming a SolSmart community.
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Euclid to receive Chamber’s Growing Green Award |
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Euclid will receive the Growing Green in Euclid Award at the Euclid Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Awards Ceremony tonight as a result of the city’s leadership on clean energy and its work with PCFO. From the start of PCFO’s collaboration with Euclid, the local leaders and community members have been committed to creating a sustainable community for its residents and we look forward to continuing our support in these efforts. The Chamber is a PCFO Partner and has demonstrated its commitment to working in partnership with elected officials and the community to invest in clean energy solutions.
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PCFO INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS DIGEST Federal Funding: Find it here! |
Four recent grants were just released that may be of interest to your communities. If you are interested in applying or need PCFO’s support please contact Sarah Spence, IGAP Coordinator, at sarah@ohcef.org with any questions. Please see information in the events section below for an upcoming webinar with Clean Fuels Ohio about federal grant opportunities for EV charging infrastructure.
Open Request for Information (RFI): Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool Beta Version. Comments due by April 25.
Provide feedback to help ensure the goals of the Justice40 Initiative are realized! The Council on Environmental Quality released a Request for Information (RFI) on the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool Beta Version. This Screening Tool utilizes key indicators and interactive maps to visualize disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution. Federal agencies will use the Screening Tool to identify communities with historic underinvestment in energy, transit, housing and water infrastructure, disproportionate pollution burden, and job training and employment. For more information on how to respond to this RFI, please visit here.
The Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program makes federal resources available to states and direct recipients to replace, rehabilitate and purchase buses and related equipment and to construct bus-related facilities including technological changes or innovations to modify low or no emission vehicles or facilities. The Low or No EmissionGrant Program is a sub-program.
Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) grants is a competitive program for projects that improve facilities within, or outside of and directly related to operations of or an intermodal connection to coastal seaports, inland river ports, and Great Lakes ports.
RAISE is a competitive grant program for surface transportation infrastructure projects that will have a significant local or regional impact. At least $15 million in funding is guaranteed to go towards projects located in Areas of Persistent Poverty or Historically Disadvantaged Communities.
The minimum RAISE grant award for urban areas is $5 million and $1 million for rural areas.
The Low or No Emission competitive program provides funding to state and local governmental authorities for the purchase or lease of zero-emission and low-emission transit buses as well as acquisition, construction, and leasing of required supporting facilities.
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Two weeks ago, we launched the Infrastructure Grant Assistance Program (IGAP), created to directly support local governments in applying for and strategically deploying federal resources made available through the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Administrator Michael Regan spoke recently on the Biden administration’s emissions reduction investments in the American Rescue Plan and the bipartisan infrastructure law. He shared that states can utilize federal funds to maximize reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and take action on climate change.
At PCFO, we believe local communities will lead on the most challenging issues we face, and we are helping ensure our PCFO Communities are positioned to receive federal funds to do just that. IGAP is designed to support PCFO communities pursuing federal funding for clean energy and clean transportation projects.
To read more, click here.
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Smart Cities Connect Conference & Expo.
April 4-7, 2022, Columbus, Ohio
PCFO staff, technical partners and city representatives will be speaking on a panel on Thursday, April 7 at 10 a.m. - A Local Movement: Building a Clean Energy Future in Ohio - to detail how local cities and counties in Ohio are leading the way! Please join us to engage in the discussion. To learn more and register, click here.
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Webinar: PCFO and Clean Fuels Ohio
April 14, 2 p.m.
Join PCFO and Clean Fuels Ohio on this webinar as they discuss electric vehicle charging infrastructure. They will talk about how your community can prepare for the federal EV infrastructure funding and provide an overview of the free EV charging analysis available to PCFO communities by Clean Fuels Ohio. Cities will receive an invite soon.
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2022 Climate Change Seminar: Making the Business Case for Climate Action
Tuesday, April 26, 2022, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., Dayton Realtors, 1515 S. Main St. Dayton, OH 45409
This in-person event is open to all and free to attend. Presentations will include OSU climate research center report from Dr. Aaron Wilson, legislative updates on climate and energy from Kevin Futryk and Julia Wynn of Government Advantage Group, and a panel on action areas for local government to include local climate and clean energy policy, fleets and making your community solar-ready. To learn more and register, click 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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