U.S. Cities Increasing Use of Clean Energy Technologies Despite Lagging Economy

Despite current difficulties in the national economy, most cities surveyed in a new report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, said that they have been expanding their clean energy technologies and would continue to grow them over the next five years.

Image courtesy of Earth Infrastructure Ltd.

Cities in the Northeast and South are expecting some of the fastest growth, but nearly all of the 396 cities that participated in the survey are expecting to be “deploying more clean technology in five years than they do currently,” said the report.

The top three most promising choices for energy saving clean technologies by mayors were:

• LED/efficient lighting technologies. The substantial majority of cities (85 percent) already deploy LED lighting, with plans to increase their use in the future.
• Approximately 68 percent of cities reported using energy saving building technologies, such as solar technologies; energy-efficient appliances; and pumps.
• Hybrid vehicles were found by about 40 percent of the cities surveyed as a favorable way of saving energy and carbon emissions.

Philadelphia just released its 2011 GreenworksProgress Report, which highlighted some of the city’s accomplishments over the last year, including:

• The installation of 55,000 new LED traffic signals and the replacement of 30,000 existing conventional traffic signals, saving over $1 million a year in electricity costs.
• The installation of a city-owned solar project, a 250 kW array at the Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant, a city water treatment facility.

The Philadelphia solar project was made possible with $850,000 from the federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant; $850,000 from the Philadelphia Water Department; and technical assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar America Cities program.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ranked Philadelphia as 14th in its 2010 list of U.S. cities with the most Energy Star certified buildings.

Buildings that earn the EPA’s Energy Star certification perform in the top 25 percent for energy efficiency when compared to similar buildings nationwide. These buildings use an average of 35 percent less energy compared to other buildings.

Philadelphia has worked for a swift rise. The city’s Energy Star certification rose to 14th place in 2010 from 23rd place in 2009.

Los Angles is another notable city on the rise when it comes to increasing its energy efficient infrastructure.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, who is also vice president of the conference of mayors, said in a statement about his own city, “We know from our own experience in Los Angeles that LED streetlights are the way of the future and are having a tremendous impact globally. They save money, protect the environment, and create jobs.”

Los Angeles is now replacing 140,000 existing streetlight fixtures with LED units, hoping to see at least a minimum savings of 40 percent on city energy bills, and a reduction of carbon emissions by about 40,500 tons per year.

Something also to keep in mind from the conference of mayors’ report is that, “There are regional differences in how energy technologies are viewed. Cities in the West and Northeast are more likely to see solar electricity potential.”

Midwestern cities are “more positive about wind turbines and geothermal technology,” but “less optimistic about alternative vehicles (such as all-electric or compressed natural gas, but favor hybrids).”

The report also found that, “While cogenerational technology (simultaneously generating electricity and useful heat) is rarely identified as a promising technology by cities overall, it is viewed more favorably in the Northeast.

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