February 3, 2023
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.
Fairborn’s First Environmental Advisory Board Meeting
The City of Fairborn launched its Fairborn Environmental Advisory Board (FEAB) on February 1. The board, chaired by city councilmember Tana Stanton, will serve as an advisor to the city on sustainability issues. The board will be charged with making recommendations on PACE project approval, serve as the city's tree advisory board for TreeCity USA, and present the city council with Fairborn's first sustainability plan. The board is a group of community volunteers interested in furthering their city's carbon emission reductions and sustainability goals.
Mayor Patterson Touts Athens Partnership with PCFO
"Without PCFO, our journey in Athens would have been a longer journey and probably a more difficult journey." Mayor Steve Patterson, Athens

Congratulations to the City of Athens for winning the Clean Energy Innovator Award at last month's Clean Energy Champions Awards.
Encouraging Environmental Excellence Awards
Ohio EPA's Encouraging Environmental Excellence (E3) Program recognizes an organization's exceptional achievements in environmental stewardship. The E3 program now consists of three program elements designed to enhance opportunities for recognition.

A new program has been added this year to recognize local governments for environmental stewardship commitments and practices.

Applications must be filled out online at their Customer Support Center. Application submissions are due April 30. The Encouraging Environmental Excellence - How to Apply fact sheet provides more guidance on how to start an application.
 
Monthly Plug-in Electric Vehicle Sales in the United States Exceeded 7% of All New Light-Duty Vehicle Sales for the First Time in September 2022
Monthly sales of new plug-in electric vehicles (PEV), including all-electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), reached 7.4% of all light-duty sales in September 2022, exceeding a 7% share for the first time.

Of these, 6.2% were EVs and 1.2% were PHEVs. From the introduction of mass-market PEVs in 2010, it took about a decade for monthly sales of PEVs to routinely exceed a 2% share of all light-duty vehicle sales. That share then more than tripled in just two years to over 7%. Read More
PCFO INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT SNAPSHOTS
Federal Funding: Find it here!
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 American-Made Community Power Accelerator Prize is a $10 million prize competition designed to fast-track the efforts of new, emerging, and expanding solar developers and co-developers to learn, participate, and grow their operations to support multiple successful community solar projects.
Application Deadline: March 15, 2023

The Department of Energy is soliciting feedback and best practices to inform the development of Home Energy Rebate programs that will support residential energy efficiency and electrification improvements.
Application Deadline: March 3, 2023

The EJCPS Cooperative Agreement Program provides financial assistance to community-based organizations working to address local environmental or public health issues. The program assists recipients in building collaborative partnerships with other stakeholders to develop solutions to environmental or public health issue(s) at the community level.
Application Deadline: April 10, 2023

The Environmental Justice Government-to-Government (EJG2G) program provides funding to support government activities that lead to measurable environmental or public health impacts in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harms. EPA aims to fund projects that transform overburdened and underserved communities into healthy, thriving communities capable of addressing the environmental and public health challenges they have historically faced, as well as current and future challenges.
Application Deadline: April 10, 2023

The Department of Energy is now accepting applications for the Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund Capitalization Grant Program from states and territories. $250 million in formula funding is available through this program to provide grants that will enable states and territories to establish revolving loan funds to invest in energy audits and energy efficiency upgrades and retrofits of commercial and residential buildings. In addition, states can use up to one-quarter of the funding for grants and technical assistance to low-income homeowners and small businesses.
Application Deadline: April 21, 2023

The Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Communities Program aims to provide technical assistance to assist communities facing brownfields challenges. Awarded entities will help communities tackle the challenge of assessing, cleaning up and preparing brownfield sites for redevelopment, especially underserved/rural/small and distressed communities.
Application Deadline: February 14, 2023

The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program funds surface transportation infrastructure projects that will improve: safety; environmental sustainability; quality of life; mobility and community connectivity; economic competitiveness and opportunity including tourism; state of good repair; partnership and collaboration; and innovation. There is also $75 million set aside for eligible planning, preparation, or design of projects. 
Application Deadline: February 28, 2023
Upcoming Events
Saturday, February 4
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
1850 Belmore Rd., East Cleveland, Ohio 44112

Living Truth Center For Better Living will host their first Ohio Climate Justice Fund Listen, Lead, Share and Learn conversation. Community listening is the first step in organizing grassroots power in supporting clean equitable clean energy policies.

They want to hear and learn from the lived experiences of the people within the community.
Hosted by the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
Tuesday, February 7
11 a.m.

Learn about electrification strategies for multifamily buildings of varying ages, climate zones, and sizes.
Hosted by the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
Thursday, February 9
1 p.m.

Based on outdoor temperatures, the energy requirements and HVAC needs of homes change regularly. In this Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call, learn about how to right-size HVAC system needs and save energy.
Thursday, February 9
6-7 p.m.

On Thursday, February 9 at 6 pm Eastern, join Global Shapers Cleveland, Black Environmental Leaders, and FreshWater Cleveland for the sixth conversation in a series of virtual talks on the intersection of climate change, environmental justice, and the future of quality of life for residents in greater Cleveland and Northeast Ohio!
Thursday, February 9
7-8:30 p.m.

Motherful is having another round of Listen.Lead.Share.Serve. Community Conversation about climate change on February 9th and February 23rd from 7-8:30 pm via Zoom. Click here to RSVP.
February 14
11 a.m.

Learn about the client barriers to routine design and delivery of zero-carbon buildings and the resources developed by Better Buildings Design and Construction Allies that address the challenges.
February 22 and 23
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Join Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and the departments of Interior, Commerce, and Transportation for a virtual conference to discuss the Floating Offshore Wind Shot—an ambitious initiative to cut the cost of floating offshore wind energy by over 70% by 2035.
Interested in getting started? Join today!
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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