Cleveland
City Scorecard Rank
38
Cleveland, OH
34.00Scored 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 Climate Action Plan includes goals to reduce community-wide greenhouse gas emissions 40% below 2010 levels by 2030 and 80% by 2050. Based on ACEEE’s analysis of past years emissions data, ACEEE projects that the city will meet its near-term community-wide GHG emissions reduction goal.
The city’s greenhouse gas inventory records emissions from 2010 to 2016.
Energy Efficiency Goal
The Climate Action Plan includes goals of reducing residential and commercial energy use 50% under 2010 levels by 2030 and industrial use by 30% under 2010 levels by 2030.
Renewable Energy Goal
The 2018 update to the Climate Action Plan includes a goal of having 100% of electricity supplied by renewable sources by 2050, with an interim goal of 25% by 2030.
Last updated: August 2023
Equity-Driven Approaches to Clean Energy Planning, Implementation, and EvaluationList All
Equity-Driven Community Engagement
We were unable to determine whether relevant decision-makers have taken a unique and expanded approach in conducting engagement for multiple clean energy initiatives with marginalized groups compared to engagement with other city constituencies.
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
Appendix E of the Climate Action Plan includes equity metrics by which to assess the efficacy of their climate objectives.
The city also developed a racial equity tool to evaluate every objective in the 2018 update.
Last updated: August 2023
Clean Distributed Energy ResourcesList All
The City of Cleveland supports two district energy systems operated by the Cleveland Thermal and Medical Center Company. The Cleveland Thermal plant was retrofitted in 2017 to incorporate natural gas combined heat and power. The city has also completed a feasibility study for a microgrid in Cleveland's downtown area, which will incorporate combined heat and power.
Last updated: August 2023
Mitigation of Heat Islands List All
Urban Heat Island Mitigation Policies and Programs
The city participates in the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s Green Infrastructure Grant Program which has provided grants for incorporating low impact development techniques in site design. The city has a private tree protection ordinance.
The city’s Municipal Building Policy encourages the installation of sustainable roofs on city-owned buildings.
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: 6 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. The city advocates to the state for more stringent energy codes through the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. To learn more about Ohio’s building energy code requirements, please visit the State Policy Database.
Commercial
Commercial properties must adhere to the 2012 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2010 with amendments. The city’s zEPI score for their commercial energy code is 63.
Residential
Residential properties must adhere to the 2018 IECC. The city’s zEPI score for their commercial energy code is 60.55.
Solar-readiness policies
The city has not adopted a formal policy mandating new construction be solar-ready
EV-readiness policies
The city has not adopted a formal policy mandating new construction be EV-ready.
Low-energy use requirements
The Sustainable Municipal Building Policy requires new municipal construction and major renovations to achieve LEED Silver standards and achieve energy efficiency levels 30% beyond ASHRAE 90.1.
Electrification policies
The city is prohibited from adopting electrification policies by the state.
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 does not require plan reviews, site inspections, and/or performance testing as a means of compliance verification; however, property owners that participate in the Cleveland Green Building Tax abatement program must have the properties verified. The city does not offer upfront support to developers or owners for energy code compliance.
Last Update: September 2023
Policies Targeting Existing BuildingsList All
Incentives
Cleveland partnered with the Northeast Ohio Advanced Energy District to offer commercial property owners access to property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. The city’s municipal utility, Cleveland Public Power, offers rebates for energy efficiency projects through a partnership with Efficiency Smart.
Cleveland’s Green Building Standard includes energy efficiency and renewable energy provisions that qualify new residential developments for property tax abatement for up to 15 years.
The City also supports commercial properties in the Cleveland 2030 District with financial assistance for energy efficiency, water conservation, and decarbonized transportation projects.
In 2023, the City launched it's Low to Moderate Income Solar program, which will install solar panels on 10 LMI homes in Cleveland at no cost to the homeowners. This program is meant to serve as a pilot to explore positive impacts of solar on LMI communities and to help identify barriers that residents face when trying to go solar, and to develop solutions to address those barriers.
Program outcomes
We could not verify if the city collects data on incentive and financing programs to ensure equitable outcomes.
Voluntary programs
The city runs the Cleveland 2030 District, a voluntary benchmarking program for commercial buildings in the downtown area.
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: 11.5 out of 30 points
Sustainable Transportation Planning List All
Sustainable Transportation Plan
The Cleveland Climate Action Plan was updated in 2018 and includes sustainable transportation strategies.
VMT/GHG Target and Stringency
According to the Cleveland Climate Action Plan, the city has a goal of reducing GHG emissions from transportation 28.66% by 2030 from 2010 levels.
The city’s target requires a 2.51% average per-capita annual decrease from its target baseline. Therefore, Cleveland earned 1 point for the stringency of its target.
Progress Achieved Toward VMT/GHG Targets
Based on the data provided, Cleveland is projected to reduce its per capita GHG emissions by 18.58% per year. Therefore, the city is on track to meet its target of a 28.66% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030.
Last Updated: September 2023
Location Efficiency List All
Location Efficient Zoning Codes
We were unable to find information indicating that the City of Cleveland 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
Cleveland has eliminated parking minimums in certain districts.
Location Efficiency Incentives and Disclosure
The City of Cleveland does not have location-efficient development incentives or disclosure policies.
Affordable Housing around Transit
The City of Cleveland does not require, preserve, or incentivize the development of affordable housing near transit.
Last Updated: September 2023
Mode Shift List All
Mode Shift Targets
According to the Cleveland Climate Action Plan, adopted in 2018, the City has a goal of 45% of all trips being made by non-single occupant vehicles by 2030.
Progress Achieved Toward Mode Shift Targets
The City of Cleveland did not provide data collected on mode share since the adoption of its goal in 2018; therefore, we cannot assess progress toward the goal.
Subsidized Access to Efficient Transportation Options
We were unable to find information on programs or policies subsidizing access to efficient transportation for disadvantaged groups.
Last Updated: September 2023
Public Transit List All
Transportation Funding
The transit entities that serve the City of Cleveland have received $277,645,786.60 on average annually between 2017 and 2021 from local sources. That equates to roughly $337.3 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 Cleveland’s AllTransit Performance Score is 9.3, scoring 4 points in the City Scorecard.
Last Updated: September 2023
Efficient VehiclesList All
Vehicle Purchase Incentives
Neither the City of Cleveland nor the local utility provide incentives for purchasing efficient vehicles.
Vehicle Infrastructure Incentives
Neither the City of Cleveland nor the local utility provide incentives for the installation of EV charging stations.
Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Requirements
The City of Cleveland does not require new developments to install EV charging stations.
EV Charging Ports
The City of Cleveland has 22.7 vehicle charging ports per 100,000 people available for public use.
Electric School Bus Goal
Neither the City of Cleveland nor the local school district have set an electric school bus goal.
Electric Transit Bus Goal
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority set a goal of transitioning 100% of its bus fleet to electric by 2050. Cleveland plans to prioritize routes serving communities with high asthma rates as it transitions to electric buses.
BONUS: Equitable EV Charging
Cleveland issued a Request for Proposals to identify a vendor to install and maintain charging stations on city property. The RFP noted that preference would be given to contractors that can install stations in disadvantaged communities as determined by the Justice 40 mapping tool.
Last Updated: September 2023
Freight System EfficiencyList All
Sustainable Freight Plans
The City of Cleveland 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 Cleveland does not have an open data portal with real-time freight data.
Last Updated: September 2023
Community Energy Infrastructure
Score: 8.5 out of 15 points
Community Energy Infrastructure Summary List All
The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company (CEI), an investor-owned utility (IOU) and subsidiary to FirstEnergy, is the primary electric utility serving Cleveland. Dominion Energy Ohio, an IOU, is Cleveland’s primary gas utility. 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 electric 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.
Cleveland has a Community Choice Aggregation program for FirstEnergy customers. While Cleveland withdrew from the program in 2022 when its previous vendor terminated its agreements due to rising electricity prices, Cleveland has opted to relaunch its program in summer 2023 with a new vendor.
Cleveland Water provides drinking water services and stormwater management to the City of Cleveland. The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) is a regional wastewater utility that serves Cleveland.
Last Updated: Septermber 2023
Electricity and Natural Gas Efficiency SavingsList All
We were unable to verify savings, spending, and customers served for CEI's energy efficiency programs in 2021.
We were unable to verify savings, spending, and customers served for Dominion Energy's energy efficiency programs in 2021.
The City of Cleveland partners with CEI and Dominion Energy Ohio to promote participation in their energy efficiency programs. In 2020, the City of Cleveland was heavily involved with the development of the 100% Clean and Renewable Energy by 2050 plan. This plan includes policies and actions that prioritize equity and access to clean energy, and was released in Spring 2021. Cleveland Public Power (municipal electric utility) has separately developed its own clean energy goals: 15% from advanced or renewable sources by 2015, 20% by 2020, and 25% by 2025.
Last Updated: September 2023
Low-Income & Multifamily EE Programs List All
Low-Income Programs
FirstEnergy offers the Community Connections program which operates as a standalone program to serve low-income customers who are not eligible for other state program resources. Participants receive an in-home energy use evaluation and energy-saving home improvements such as sealing air leaks in attic walls or foundations, attic and/or wall insulation, appliance testing and possible replacement, electric water heater inspection, faucet aerators, and energy education. FirstEnergy also includes the installation of health and saftey measures such as carbon monoxide detectors, roof repairs/replacement, electric wiring repairs and upgrades, furnace repairs, and appliance replacements.
We were unable to verify program spending, customers served, or savings for CEI and Dominion Energy Ohio for 2021.
Dominion Energy Ohio offers the Housewarming Program which provides home weatherization assistance to income-eligible customers with the purpose of increasing energy efficiency and reducing energy costs. Through the Housewarming Program, eligible customers receive free weather stripping, attic and sidewall insulation, door sweeps, smoke detectors, programmable thermostats, as well as the repair or replacement of certain natural gas appliances and heating systems. The program is administered by the Cleveland Housing Network (CHN) in partnership with the Home Weatherization Assistance Program (HWAP), Electrical Partnership Program (EPP), Cleveland Public Power Program, FirstEnergy’s Community Connections Program, Water Conservation, and other partner agencies.
We were unable to verify program spending, customers served, or savings for CEI and Dominion Energy Ohio for 2021.
Multifamily Programs
We were unable to verify program spending, customers served, or savings for CEI and Dominion Energy Ohio for 2021.
Last Updated: September 2023
Provision of Energy Data by UtilitiesList All
Neither FirstEnergy (Cleveland Electric Illuminating) nor Dominion Energy Ohio provide building managers with automated benchmarking data through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager for multitenant commercial or multifamily buildings.
Dominion East Ohio provides city-wide natural gas data, Cleveland Public Power (municipal utility) and First Energy provide city-wide Electricity data. Dominion and CPP's data is current as of 2020, while First Energy's data is current as of 2018. The city has continued to request updated data from First Energy.
Under its Climate Action Plan, the City of Cleveland has begun to advocate for improvements in data provision by the utilities. The City is actively in the process of incorporating data access into their advocacy efforts in relation to Ohio's most recent Renewable Portfolio Standard and Energy Efficiency Resource Standard rollback attempts at the state level. The City also works closely with the Department of Energy's Better Buildings accelerator programs, as well as the regional Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, to advocate for better data access.
Last Updated: September 2023
Decarbonization and Climate Change Mitigation Efforts of Cities and Energy UtilitiesList All
Utility Climate Mitigation Goal
In 2020, FirstEnergy, the parent company of CEI, set a goal to become carbon neutral by 2050, with an interim goal of lowering greenhouse gas emission by 30% from 2019 levels by 2030. To achieve this goal, FirstEnergy will need to reduce emissions by 2.77% annually from 2019 levels.
City-Led Efforts to Decarbonize the Electric Grid
The City has sent letters to legislators and the Public Utility Commission of Ohio related to keeping the State's renewable and efficiency standards, as well as support for Project Icebreaker, the first offshore freshwater wind project in North America. In 2013, 2015, and 2018, the city of Cleveland incorporated renewable energy into electric aggregations for CEI customers, helping to spur renewable energy investments on the CEI electric grid.
Clean Distributed Energy Resources
The City of Cleveland supports two district energy systems operated by the Cleveland Thermal and Medical Center Company. The Cleveland Thermal plant was retrofitted in 2017 to incorporate natural gas combined heat and power. The city has also completed a feasibility study for a microgrid in Cleveland's downtown area, which will incorporate combined heat and power.
Municipal Renewable Energy Procurement
Cleveland introduced an ordinance in December 2020 to install onsite solar at up to 15 City facilities through a PPA model. We were unable to confirm the capacity of existing onsite solar. They are planning to install approximately 7 MW of onsite solar in 2024.
City Renewable Energy Incentive and Financing Programs
Cleveland partnered with the Northeast Ohio Advanced Energy District to offer commercial property owners access to property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
Cleveland’s Green Building Standard includes energy efficiency and renewable energy provisions that qualify new residential developments for property tax abatement for up to 15 years.
In 2023, the City launched it's Low to Moderate Income Solar program, which will install solar panels on 10 LMI homes in Cleveland at no cost to the homeowners. This program is meant to serve as a pilot to explore positive impacts of solar on LMI communities and to help identify barriers that residents face when trying to go solar, and to develop solutions to address those barriers.
Last Updated: September 2023
Efficiency Efforts in Water ServicesList All
Citywide Water Efficiency and Goals
Cleveland Water, the City-owned, regional drinking water utility has taken several steps to improve energy performance. This includes capital projects to address pump efficiency improvements within its distribution system, as well as significant investment in water main renewal to address break rates, water loss, and flow deficiencies caused by undersized and older water mains.
Water Plant Efficiency and Self-Generation
The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District has a LEED Gold-certified Renewable Energy Facility (REF) that provides biosolids dewatering, handling, malodorous air capture & treatment, and incineration. The process is autotrophic, so it does not require additional natural gas, which provides a savings of ~2.5M cubic feet per year of natural gas that previously went into the incineration of biosolids. Waste heat from the process is recovered and used to generate electricity for elsewhere in the wastewater treatment plant. The REF began operation in 2014
Last Updated: September 2023
Local Government Score:
4 out of 10 points
Local Government Climate and Energy Goals List All
The City of Cleveland’s Sustainable Cleveland Municipal Action Plan (SC-MAP) establishes comprehensive climate and energy goals for the Cleveland’s city government.
Climate Mitigation Goal
SC-MAP establishes a goal to reduce municipal emissions 45% below 2010 levels by 2030, with an interim reduction goal of 20% by 2020. To meet this goal, Cleveland must reduce per capita emissions by 2.48% annually. Based on ACEEE’s analysis of past years emissions data, ACEEE projects that the city will meet its near-term GHG emissions reduction goal for municipal operations.
Energy Reduction Goal
SC-MAP sets a goal to reduce total energy use 20% below 2010 levels by 2030, with an interim reduction goal of 10% by 2020. Within this goal, the city plans to reduce building energy use by 50% below 2010 levels by 2030, with an interim goal of 20% by 2020. The city also participates in the Better Buildings Challenge to reduce energy use 20% below 2010 levels by 2022.
Renewable Energy Goal
As stated in SC-MAP, Cleveland city government plans to install on-site renewable energy systems to meet 5% of energy use by 2030, with an interim goal of 2% by 2020. An ordinance introduced in 2020 directs the City to install solar on up to 15 City facilities.
Last updated: June 2021
Procurement and Construction Policies List All
Fleet Policies and Composition
Cleveland does not have a formal fleet procurement or fuel efficiency policy for its vehicle fleet. However, the City completed a comprehensive fleet analysis to identify opportunities for procurement of energy efficient and alternative fuel vehicles. Cleveland also joined the Climate Mayor’s Electric Vehicle Purchasing Collaboration. Through the Purchasing Collaborative, Cleveland purchased its first electric vehicles in 2019.
Cleveland’s fleet is composed of 1.4% efficient vehicles, including hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles.
Public Lighting
Cleveland has not adopted a policy requiring efficient outdoor lighting, such as the International Dark-Sky Association’s Model Lighting Ordinance. The City of Cleveland Public Power (CPP) has begun a comprehensive upgrade of all 61,000 streetlights to LEDs. As of 2021, the city had converted 87% of streetlights to LED.
Onsite and offsite renewable systems
The city introduced an ordinance in December 2020 to install onsite solar at up to 15 City facilities through a PPA model.
Inclusive procurement
Through the Office of Equal Opportunity, Cleveland has inclusive procurement and contracting processes for all projects. The city promotes procurement and contacting with small business enterprises, minority business enterprises, and sustainable business enterprises. The policies were applied to a recent solar RFP issued by the City.
Last updated: June 2021
Asset Management List All
Building Benchmarking
Cleveland benchmarks 95% of the municipal buildings which is exported to ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. 4.5 million square feet is reported publicly through DOE’s Better Building Challenge. Facility energy use is monitored continuously throughout the year through the City's use of the EnergyCAP Energy data management system. In-depth analysis is conducted at least on an annual basis
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City has a formal Energy Manager and an Energy Analyst on staff. The City continues to perform energy audits at facilities that are candidates for capital improvements, and incorporate energy efficiency improvements such as LED Lighting, higher efficiency equipment and Building Automation Systems (BAS) Controls, within the scope of such Capital improvements. The Energy Management team implements small-scale proof of concept projects such as integrating BAS systems across various facilities, and from a strategic perspective coordinates the implementation of the City's Sustainable Municipal Building Policy in new construction and capital improvement projects.
Last updated: June 2021