As part of a continued effort to make Omaha a leader in the green economy, Mayor Jim Suttle announced today that he has signed the United States Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement, wherein supporting mayors pledge to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in their communities.
“One of my top priorities is to ensure that the City of Omaha is implementing green initiatives that reduce our energy consumption,” Mayor Suttle said. “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a community-wide effort that will take everyone working together to achieve.”
As part of Mayor Suttle’s goal to make Omaha more energy efficient, the City will begin the Program for City Building Energy Efficiency, a comprehensive plan focused on energy efficiency and conservation efforts within the operations and maintenance of the City’s existing buildings. Starting this month, four graduate students will work with City facilities management and the City’s Sustainability Coordinator, Kristi Wamstad-Evans, to inventory and audit 50 of the City’s buildings, including Omaha’s public libraries, community centers, fire stations and other public buildings. An additional 50 buildings will be added later in the year. Once the audits are complete, the City will retrofit the buildings to improve their energy efficiency.
Under the guidance of a contracted professional energy engineer, the energy audits will include:
- On-site measurement and testing of select facilities to determine energy losses;
- Measurement of energy consumption by building type, usage, size and age;
- Energy Star and Carbon Footprint analysis;
- Identification of both technical and policy solutions that will lead to reduced energy consumption; and more.
The program is a proposed activity of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) strategy, supported by a direct formula allocation the City received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The EECBG federal grant provides funding that cannot be diverted or used for any purpose other than energy efficiency projects. The program will cost an estimated $335,500 and will take two years to complete.
The Christie Heights Community Center, located at 5105 S. 37th St in South Omaha, is one of the first 50 City facilities to undergo an energy audit.
Mayor Suttle signed the agreement just weeks after joining the Mayors’ Alliance for Green Schools, a coalition of mayors seeking to strategically harness the leadership and creativity of community leaders across the country to promote the benefits of “green” schools.
Over 1,000 mayors nationwide have signed the Climate Protection Agreement. For more information about the agreement, visit the Mayor’s Climate Protection Center website.
