Cincinnati
City Scorecard Rank
43
Cincinnati, OH
29.00Scored out of 100Updated 10/2020
Community-Wide Initiatives
Score: 4 out of 15 points
Community-Wide Climate Mitigation and Energy GoalsList All
Climate Mitigation Goal
The 2018 Green Cincinnati Plan established a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 84% below 2006 levels by 2050, with an interim goal of 40% below 2006 levels by 2028. Based on ACEEE’s analysis of past years emissions data, ACEEE projects that the city will achieve its near-term community-wide GHG emissions reduction goal.
Cincinnati conducted a greenhouse gas emissions inventory in 2015.
Energy Efficiency Goal
The 2018 Green Cincinnati Plan established a goal to reduce energy consumption 2% annually.
Renewable Energy Goal
The city committed to using 100% renewable energy by 2035.
The city has an interim goal to triple renewable energy assets for residents and businesses within 5 years, per the 2018 Green Cincinnati Plan.
Last updated: August 2023
Equity-Driven Approaches to Clean Energy Planning, Implementation, and EvaluationList All
Equity-Driven Community Engagement
As part of the 2018 Green Cincinnati Plan community engagement process, the city held development meetings in Spanish and in communities of color, as stated in the 2018 Green Action Plan.
Equity-Driven Decision-Making
We were unable to determine if the city has created a formal role for marginalized community residents or local organizations representing those communities to participate in decision-making that affects the creation or implementation of a local energy, sustainability, or climate action plan.
Equity Accountability Measures
The 2018 Green Cincinnati Plan established a goal to reduce the household energy burden by 10% within 5 years.
Last updated: August 2023
Clean Distributed Energy ResourcesList All
The city has not adopted a formal policy, rule, or agreement that supports the creation of clean distributed energy systems.
Last updated: August 2023
Mitigation of Heat Islands List All
Urban Heat Island Mitigation Policies and Programs
A joint program by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati, and the Cincinnati Office of Environmental Quality provides green roof loans. Title XIV of the city's zoning code allows cluster house zoning in all districts.
Resilience Hubs
We were unable to determine if the city has supported the creation of resilience hubs that incorporate clean energy resources and are sited in disadvantaged communities.
Last updated: August 2023
Buildings Policies
Score: 9 out of 30 points
Building Energy CodesList All
Overview
The State of Ohio has set mandatory building energy codes statewide. The Ohio Board of Building Standards adopted the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and ASHRAE 90.1-2010 with amendments for commercial buildings. Ohio based its energy code for residential buildings on the 2018 IECC. To learn more about Ohio’s building energy code requirements, please visit the State Policy Database.
Commercial
Commercial buildings in Cincinnati comply with the state mandated codes. The city’s zEPI score for their commercial energy code is 63. The city actively monitors state level discussions concerning building codes, advocates for improvements and participates in the 2018 IECC voting process.
Residential
Residential buildings in Cincinnati comply with the state mandated codes. The city’s zEPI score for their residential energy code is 60.55. The city actively monitors state level discussions concerning building codes, advocates for improvements and participates in the 2018 IECC voting process.
Solar-readiness policies
The city has not adopted a policy mandating new construction be solar-ready.
EV-readiness policies
The city has not adopted a policy mandating new construction be EV-ready. The city has passed a policy requiring garages that receive city incentives to include charging at 1% of their spaces, and be equipped with electric capacity at 5% of the spaces.
Low-energy use requirements
The city does not have authority to set low-energy use requirements for municipal or certain private buildings.
Electrification policies
The city does not have authority to adopt electrification policies.
Last Update: September 2023
Building Energy Code Compliance and EnforcementList All
We were unable to determine the amount of staff effort dedicated to energy code enforcement. The city requires plan review and site inspections to verify energy code compliance. We were unable to determine if the city requires performance testing. The city offers consultations prior to permit issuance through its Business Development and Permit Center.
Last Update: September 2023
Policies Targeting Existing BuildingsList All
Commercial and multifamily benchmarking
The City is in the process of exploring the feasibility of benchmarking given current state policy. All City facilities are currently benchmarked.
Building performance standards
The City is in the process of exploring the feasibility of building performance standards given current state policy.
Incentives
Cincinnati and the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance offer residents and business a range of incentives and financing options for home energy efficient improvements and renewable energy upgrades.
Cincinnati also offers the Community Reinvestment Area (RCA) Residential Tax Abatement to city residents, which allows building owners to pay taxes on the pre-improvement value of their property after making efficiency improvements.
The city also allows commercial property owners to apply for property assessed clean energy financing for energy efficiency projects.
The City has partnered with Solar United Neighbors to operate its Solarize program.
The city partnered with Duke Energy Ohio and Over-the-Rhine Community Housing (OTRCH) to offer the Whole Building Retrofit Pilot program, which will provides comprehensive energy efficiency upgrades to buildings within the existing OTRCH portfolio in order to yield measurable wins for tenants, the organization, and the environment.
Program outcomes
The city collects data on its incentive or financing programs to understand participation rates and allocation of program benefits among disadvantaged communities
Voluntary programs
The city runs the Cincinnati 2030 District, a voluntary benchmarking program for commercial buildings.
Last Update: September 2023
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Workforce DevelopmentList All
Workforce development for disadvantaged workers
We could not determine if city has partnered with a local education institution, labor union, or community-based organization to create, support, and/or incentivize the development of clean energy workforce development initiatives that target training and support services for potential or existing workers from disadvantaged communities to obtain and keep in-demand jobs.
Workforce development for the broader community
We could not determine if city has partnered with a local education institution, labor union, or community-based organization to create, support, and/or incentivize the development of clean energy workforce development initiatives that target training and support services for potential or existing workers from the broader community to obtain and keep in-demand jobs.
Outcomes tracking
We could not determine if the city has instituted a mechanism to measure the performance and/or success of equitable workforce development initiatives focused on the clean energy sector.
Last updated: August 2023
Transportation
Score: 7 out of 30 points
Sustainable Transportation Planning List All
Sustainable Transportation Plan
The Green Cincinnati Plan was adopted in 2023 and includes sustainable transportation strategies.
VMT/GHG Target and Stringency
The City of Cincinnati does not have a codified VMT or transportation GHG reduction target.
Progress Achieved Toward VMT/GHG Targets
The City of Cincinnati does not have a codified VMT or transportation GHG reduction target, and therefore cannot make progress toward the target.
Last Updated: September 2023
Location Efficiency List All
Location Efficient Zoning Codes
We were unable to find information indicating that the City of Cincinnati has made changes to its zoning code in the past 10 years to facilitate more residential density, mixed-use development, or transit-oriented development.
Parking Requirements
Cincinnati has eliminated parking minimums in certain districts.
Location Efficiency Incentives and Disclosure
The City of Cincinnati does not have location-efficient development incentives or disclosure policies.
Affordable Housing around Transit
No data was found that to show the City of Cincinnati requires, preserves, or incentivizes the development of affordable housing near transit.
Last Updated: September 2023
Mode Shift List All
Mode Shift Targets
The City of Cincinnati does not have a codified mode share target.
Progress Achieved Toward Mode Shift Targets
The City of Cincinnati does not have a codified mode share target, and therefore cannot make progress toward the target.
Subsidized Access to Efficient Transportation Options
The City of Cincinnati partners with Red Bike for its Red Bike Go Program, which provides access to a bike sharing network for residents with a household income 200% below the federal poverty guidelines.
Last Updated: September 2023
Public Transit List All
Transportation Funding
The transit entities that serve the City of Cincinnati have received $86,359,710.80 on average annually between 2017 and 2021 from local sources. That equates to roughly $115.93 per capita between 2017 and 2021 within the service area.
Access to Transit Services
The AllTransit Performance Score measures a given community's transit access and performance. The score considers connections to other routes, access to jobs, service frequency, and the percent of commuters who ride transit to work. The City of Cincinnati’s AllTransit Performance Score is 6.8, scoring 1 point in the City Scorecard.
Last Updated: September 2023
Efficient VehiclesList All
Efficient Vehicle Purchase Incentives
Neither the City of Cincinnati nor the local utility provide incentives for purchasing efficient vehicles.
Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Incentives
Neither the City of Cincinnati nor the local utility provide incentives for the installation of EV charging stations.
Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Requirements
The City of Cincinnati does not require new developments to install EV charging stations.
EV Charging Ports
The City of Cincinnati has 90.8 vehicle charging ports per 100,000 people available for public use.
Electric School Bus Goal
Neither the City of Cincinnati nor the local school district have set an electric school bus goal.
EV Transit Bus Goal
Neither the City of Cincinnati nor the local transit agency have set an electric transit bus goal.
Last Updated: September 2023
Freight System EfficiencyList All
Sustainable Freight Plans
The City of Cincinnati does not have a sustainable freight plan or freight mobility plan in place, nor is it pursuing any freight efficiency strategies.
Open Data Portals
The City of Cincinnati does not have an open data portal with real-time freight data.
Last Updated: September 2023
Community Energy Infrastructure
Score: 9 out of 40 points
Community Energy Infrastructure Summary List All
Duke Energy Ohio, an investor-owned utility (IOU) and subsidiary to Duke Energy, is the primary electric utility and natural gas utility serving Cincinnati. Under the state’s EERS, Ohio’s investor-owned utilities were required to implement energy efficiency plans and file annual reports to the commission. However, HB 6 (2019) terminated the state’s EERS, cutting energy efficiency and renewable energy standards and eliminating the energy efficiency programs for residents and businesses. These programs were phased out by the end of 2020. To learn more about the state requirements for electric and gas efficiency, please visit the Ohio page of the State Database.
The City of Cincinnati also has an electric and natural gas aggregation program that allows residents to receive 100% green electricity. Cincinnati is the first U.S. aggregation program to offer 100% carbon-free energy for both natural gas and electricity, with all electric aggregation program participants receiving 100% green energy. Since 2017, Cincinnati became the first aggregation program in the country to provide green natural gas from renewable sources, including this as an "opt-in" program.
The Greater Cincinnati Water Works provides drinking water services to the City of Cincinnati. The Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSD) provides wastewater treatment services to Cincinnati.
Last Updated: September 2023
Electricity and Natural Gas Efficiency SavingsList All
In 2021, we were unable to verify energy efficiency program spending and savings for Duke Energy Ohio. While no formal partnership exists, the City of Cincinnati is working with Duke to offer a bill repayment and energy efficiency program for low-income residents. This is a 6-year program developed as part of a rate case settlement.
Last Updated: September 2023
Low-Income & Multifamily EE Programs List All
Low-Income Programs
Duke Energy Ohio offers the Low-Income Services, Pay for Performance and the Neighborhood Energy Saver program to qualified low-income customers. Customers may receive energy efficiency products and services such as compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs), low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators, water heater wraps, HVAC cleaning, HVAC filters, and energy efficiency education. The program is offered through a partnership with People Working Cooperatively (PWC) and specifically targets elderly customers.
In 2021, Duke Energy Ohio reported 251 MWh in energy savings, while spending $41,537 on its low-income programs and served 605 households These programs are electric only, with no gas savings, customers or spending reported.
In 2020, the City of Cincinnati, in partnership with Duke Energy Ohio, launched a low-income multifamily energy efficiency program, called Warm Up Cincy, which improves building efficiency and provides tenants with energy efficiency education that will stay with them for life. The six-year program serves households at or below 200% of the federal poverty level and addresses the gap in energy efficiency offerings for low-income renters. The program is funded through a rate case settlement with Duke Energy Ohio. The program operates in partnership with the Community Action Agency, Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance, and People Working Cooperatively to reach and engage participants.
Multifamily Programs
Duke Energy Ohio’s Multifamily Energy Efficiency Program provides apartment complexes with free and installed lighting and water measures. Eligible units are Duke Energy Ohio served apartments on a residential rate. Traditionally, the properties targeted have four or more units. Franklin Energy is the program administrator and manages outreach, direct installations, and customer care.
In 2021, we were unable to verify savings for this program.
Last Updated: September 2023
Provision of Energy Data by UtilitiesList All
Duke Energy Ohio does not provide building managers with automated benchmarking data through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager for multitenant commercial or multifamily buildings.
Duke Energy Ohio provides energy usage data to the city who uses the data in their planning processes, yet this data is not made available to the public. The City of Cincinnati does not advocate for better access to utility data for ratepayers or the establishment of data-sharing agreements between the city and its utilities.
Last Updated: September 2023
Decarbonization and Climate Change Mitigation Efforts of Cities and Energy UtilitiesList All
Utility Climate Mitigation Goal
In September 2019, Duke Energy set a goal to reduce carbon emissions by at least 50% by 2030 from 2005 levels, with a goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
City-Led Efforts to Decarbonize the Electric Grid
In 2011, voters approved a ballot initiative to launch Community Choice Aggregation in the City of Cincinnati. In 2016, Cincinnati residents saved $1.5 million on electricity and $2 million on gas costs through the Cincinnati’s Aggregation Program. The electric aggregation program provides 100% green energy by purchasing renewable energy credits to offset consumption. In 2017, the City added an opt-in option for green natural gas option.
The city of Cincinnati engages with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio on relevant energy rate cases that involve renewable energy developments. The City was active in the opposition to House Bill 6 which provided bailouts to coal-fired and nuclear facilities in the state of Ohio. The City also signed a 35 MW Power Purchase Agreement to serve the City government, and an additional 65 MW is under negotiation to serve the residents and small businesses through the Community Choice Aggregation Program.
Clean Distributed Energy Resources
The city has not adopted a formal policy, rule, or agreement that supports the creation of clean distributed energy systems.
Municipal Renewable Energy Procurement
Cincinnati has installed 1.8 MW of solar on 27 city facilities. By the end of 2023, they plan to have a total of 4.4 MW of onsite solar operational. The City also has a PPA for 35 MW of solar that is located 40 miles east of town. The City is in the process of creating a system to monitor and display the production from the various arrays.
City Renewable Energy Incentive and Financing Programs
Cincinnati and the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance offer residents and business a range of incentives and financing options for home energy efficient improvements and renewable energy upgrades.
The city also allows commercial property owners to apply for property assessed clean energy financing for energy efficiency projects.
The City has partnered with Solar United Neighbors to operate its Solarize program.
Last Updated: September 2023
Efficiency Efforts in Water ServicesList All
Citywide Water Efficiency and Goals
The energy utilities do not provide water efficiency as part of their energy efficiency program offerings. The Greater Cincinnati Water Works has not yet established a water efficiency goal and does not have funded programs to help customers save water. The energy utilities do not provide water efficiency as part of their energy efficiency program offerings.
Water Plant Efficiency and Self-Generation
MSD is working to reduce energy consumption by auditing and improving light fixtures and the heating and cooling systems at wastewater treatment plants. MSD also self generates energy at wastewater treatment plants by using dewatered sludge to fire two incinerators. Greater Cincinnati Waterworks recently refurbished their 175 KW hydro turbines. In addition, they have two solar arrays installed on their facilities. MSD is in the process of developing plans for a biodigester.
Last Updated: September 2023
Local Government Score:
3 out of 10 points
Local Government Climate and Energy Goals List All
The Green Cincinnati Plan establishes both municipal and community-wide goals for the City of Cincinnati.
Climate Mitigation Goal
The city does not have a climate mitigation or greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal for municipal operations.
Energy Reduction Goal
The Green Cincinnati Plan includes a goal to reduce energy use by 2% annually, including specific local government actions to achieve this goal.
Renewable Energy Goal
The Green Cincinnati Plan set a goal to use 100% renewable energy for city government operations by 2035.
Last updated: June 2021
Procurement and Construction Policies List All
Fleet Policies and Composition
Cincinnati committed to 100% clean and renewable fleet by 2035. Cincinnati's fleet is currently composed of 2.6% efficient vehicles, including hybrid and battery electric.
Public Lighting
Cincinnati has not adopted a policy requiring efficient outdoor lighting, such as the International Dark-Sky Association’s Model Lighting Ordinance. Streetlights are scheduled for operation only when needed. The City has upgraded all city-owned and operated streetlights to LED technology through performance contracts.
Onsite and offsite renewable systems
Cincinnati has installed solar capacity on several city facilities, with a capacity of 25 MW.
Inclusive procurement
While we were unable to confirm that the policy had been applied to recent energy projects, the city’s municipal contracts include a Minority Owned Business Enterprise and Woman Owned Business Enterprise inclusion requirement corresponding to the scope of work.
Last updated: June 2021
Asset Management List All
Building Benchmarking
The City of Cincinnati has entered all of its government owned buildings in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Energy use is updated and monitored monthly.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City of Cincinnati has completed over $22 million in efficiency improvements through performance contracting and retro commissioning. The improvements have impacted over 50 percent of public buildings. In 2021, the City will embark on a $19M energy efficiency project that will include the installation of an additional2 MW of onsite solar, 34,000 LED lighting fixtures, conversion of 155 HVAC units away from R22 refrigerant.
Last updated: June 2021