Buildings and Energy

Buildings and Energy

The ThriveTogether Sustainability Playbook for Greater Cincinnati features a series of Implementation Measures for the community called the Priority Climate Action Plan.

This table of strategies was compiled from the direct input of shareholders in the region, gathered primarily on the Go Vocal platform.

With a diverse and varied region, robust public engagement is the central mechanism that formulates the planning and implementation process.

Proposed Implementation Measures for (Area) from the Priority Climate Action Plan include:

1. Continue to track EV charging stations and EV registrations to reliably identify gaps and needs within the region's charging network
2. Continue to provide access to funding to help local governments provide EV charging points at public buildings, parks, airports, and other locations for public use.
3. Develop more affordable housing close to good transit service.
4. Provide funding support through loans and grants to local governments to support the conversion of street lights to LED fixtures
5. Develop community solar to support local nonprofits and community-based groups.
6. Support the implementation of municipal virtual power plants
7. Support solar installations for local governments through financing options that are tailored for their situation
8. Continue the development of hydropower along the Ohio and Great Miami Rivers.
9. Encourage the development of private solar installations, especially the utilization of large rooftops for solar or solar development on dormant landfills.
10. Increase adoption of SolSmart principles by area local governments to make the installation of solar easier and less costly in the region
11. Encourage community aggregation programs that include or are exclusively renewable energy.
12. Increase the region's low and moderate income households' access to inexpensive renewable energy.
13. Support the adoption of Renewable Portfolio Standards policies.
14. Implement a carbon earnings tax and dividend to low-income and low polluters.
15. Streamline utility grid permitting.
16. Create a fiscally-positive revolving loan fund or grant opportunity to finance energy-efficient and/or solar improvements for local and county public entities (governments, schools, libraries, park districts, etc.) in the region.
17. Help connect non-profit organizations with funding for energy efficiency and solar.
18. Conduct energy audits and make energy efficient building upgrades to public buildings
19. Adopt Energy Efficient Portfolio standards
20. Support foundational work, such as the regional 2030 District as they develop methods to achieve building efficiency goals.
21. Expand the number of households in the region served by the Home Weatherization Assistance Program.
22. Provide incentives to replace inefficient household appliances and HVAC equipment with new electric-based equipment.
23. Encourage the development of residential units that are more energy efficient / adopt enhanced energy efficiency standards.
24. Incentivize energy-efficient improvements through a property tax abatement program.
25.  Expand the MowGreener program in the region to electrify lawn care equipment.
26. Conserve embodied carbon in existing buildings by avoiding demolition of existing buildings where possible. 
27. Promote Transit oriented development zoning and incentives for this type of development.
28. Enhance energy standards for new construction to reduce the life-cycle carbon emissions of new buildings. Do this through the promotion of model codes to be adopted by applicable jurisdictions.
29. Advance industrial decarbonization through alternative fuel and energy-efficient equipment/infrastructure replacements/upgrades.
30. Identify transportation options for hydrogen.
31. Explore opportunities to develop local production of hydrogen, especially green hydrogen.
32. Provide access to recycling service / containers at multi-family buildings.
33. Capture methane from wastewater treatment facilities and use it to generate electricity to help offset the power needs of the facility.
34. Explicitly label food options' energy intensity.

Please share your insights on our existing implementation measures or submit new ideas below on what can be done to improve Buildings and Energy in your community.