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Madison, WI expands energy benchmarking program for commercial buildings
The City of Madison has launched a new phase of its benchmarking program aimed at enhancing energy efficiency in large commercial buildings, requiring owners of properties over 50,000 square feet to report annual energy and water usage starting in 2025. The initiative, supported by the Wisconsin Realtors Association and the City, seeks to provide building owners with data to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Madison, WI
United States
Ann Arbor, MI to create state's first sustainable energy utility
Ann Arbor, Michigan, voters have approved the creation of a sustainable energy utility, making it the first municipality in the state to adopt such a model. This utility will focus on providing renewable energy at lower costs and is expected to start operations in 2026, with initial projects including solar installations and energy efficiency upgrades. The utility will be funded without new taxes, through on-bill financing where savings from energy upgrades offset costs.
Ann Arbor, MI
United States
Vincent, WA partners with Cerclos to drive low carbon designs of low to medium scale dwellings
Cerclos, a global life cycle assessment software provider, collaborated with the City of Vincent to develop a net zero home app, RapidLCA, for fast, intuitive and affordable life cycle assessment of low to medium density housing. The outcomes of this trial exceeded expectations and incurred no direct financial cost to the City. The City integrated RapidLCA into the development assessment process for applicants to demonstrate compliance with environmental performance
Vincent, WA
Australia
Wollongong, NSW works toward its long-term emissions goals with a pilot of kerbside EV chargers
Wollongong's Climate Change Mitigation Plan 2023-2030 calls for net-zero emissions by 2050. A one-year pilot with Endeavour Energy and EVX Australia tests the impacts of kerbside vehicle charging on carbon emissions. Five locations throughout the council were selected based on grid and local attraction proximity. Each location features a pole-mounted charger and two dedicated parking spots. EV owners can recharge their batteries for AU$0.50 per kilowatt hour.
Wollongong, NSW
Australia
Rainbow Lake, AB partners with E2E Energy Solutions on first-in-Canada geothermal energy pilot
The Enhanced Geothermal Reservoir Recovery System (EGRRS) will meet 100% of the town's energy needs by 2028. This technology turns reservoirs and wellbores from fossil fuel extraction into geothermal aquifers. Heated fluid from the production well powers surface-level turbines, thus generating electricity for local homes and businesses. Rainbow Lake studied geothermal options for six years before approving a three-stage development for low-cost and sustainable energy.
Rainbow Lake, AB
Canada
Aalborg, DK and community partners make events more sustainable with a mobile power bank
Aalborg, university researchers, and private-sector partners spent a year evaluating alternatives to generators for outdoor events. The result of this collaboration is a compact trailer with an 80-kilowatt battery and nine exterior solar panels. This zero-emission power source can be pulled by most passenger vehicles and provides enough electricity for concerts and cultural festivals. Municipal officials first introduced the power bank for an October 2023 concert at Skørbæk Søpavillon.
Aalborg, DK
Denmark
Minneapolis, MN accelerates its climate change mitigation efforts with the Climate Legacy Initiative
The Climate Legacy Initiative is a 10-year plan for improvements in areas like green jobs and tree canopy. Businesses, nonprofits, and community members will coordinate on community-wide projects like home weatherization. City officials and community organizations will use public dashboards for transparency about CLI objectives. Minneapolis partnered with local utilities on the collection of a utility franchise fee to fund CLI with 40% of funds dedicated to projects in low-income areas.
Minneapolis, MN
United States
Greater Manchester Combined Authority, GB develops a 5G SMART Decarbonisation Network
Local officials are kicking off the 5G SDN by connecting air-source heat pumps in social housing to a single network. This integration is the first step toward smart grids with remote monitoring and management of environmental conditions. Manchester will also conduct a digital road pilot involving smart stoplight prioritization and public transit routing. The 5G SDN - supported by £3 million in 5G Innovation Regions funding - will expand to functions like mold detection and virtual health.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority, GB
United Kingdom
Santa Clara, CA promotes battery storage installations by residents with rebate pilot
City-owned Silicon Valley Power (SVP) offered multiple incentive tiers for new battery installations through November 15, 2023. Households contracting through Bay Area Sunshares during the pilot period received $0.15 per watt-hour up to $2,700. The program also offered $2,000 per customer in the Financial Rate Assistance Program and $2,000 for income-qualified customers. This initiative complemented SVP rebate options covering everything from smart electric panels to e-bikes.
Santa Clara, CA
United States
Eurobodalla, NSW partners with Repurposing for Resilience on solar panel reuse project
A drop-off center at Moruya Transfer Station accepts panel drop-offs for free, thus eliminating the AUD 10 fee charged at other stations. RfR's volunteer engineers and electricians evaluate panels for potential reuse or recycling. Panels meeting the standards for reuse are distributed or sold at steep discounts with warranties to low-income households. The group repurposes non-functional panels into products like outdoor furniture and dog kennels.
Eurobodalla, NSW
Australia
Bridgeport, CT partners with Cadenza Innovation on BESS pilot for Fire Department building
The pilot involves a battery energy storage system (BESS) built with Cadenza's superCell solution. On-site storage allows the Fire Department to continue operations during grid outages. This system also supports the efficient use of electricity, thus decreasing utility costs for the city. Real-time data sent from the BESS to the Cadenza Cloud support analyses of system performance. Local officials will use pilot results to identify further opportunities for BESS use.
Bridgeport, CT
United States
Saskatoon, SK turns publicly available data into home retrofit suggestions with its Home Energy Map
Saskatoon worked with OPEN Technologies on an AI-powered map of all residential properties in the city. Map users can enter their addresses or filter lots by building types, neighborhoods, year built, and energy usage percentile. Each property profile includes a graph of how energy is used, overall energy usage, and projected usage after retrofits. The Retrofit Roadmap option offers retrofit ideas and cost estimates based on additional homeowner information.
Saskatoon, SK
Canada