Energy Productivity

Establish a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target.
Inventories are important tools to establish emissions quantities and sources. The City last published a greenhouse gas inventory in March 2010 that assessed emissions during FY09. Emissions for both City operations and the community were highest from energy consumption. An updated inventory would not only be instrumental in setting a greenhouse emissions reduction goal but to pinpoint sectors and City facilities where the greatest emissions reductions could be achieved through energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other methods to curtail costly wasted energy.

Policies
AQ-2:Conduct greenhouse gas emissions inventories every five years to capture both City operations and community-wide emissions.
AQ-3:Use emissions data to establish reduction targets.
AQ-4:Develop an emissions reductions strategy.

Install solar on City property.
New City facilities and those seeing significant renovation should be candidates for solar installations. These projects should be subject to a solar feasibility and cost-benefit analysis built into the required scope of architectural and engineering requests for bids.

Incorporate solar and wind best management practices into development regulations.
Chapter 59 of the City’s municipal code should be updated to explicitly allow photovoltaic solar panels as a permitted, or by right, use. This will ensure no barriers and, other than electric permit requirements, see no additional review procedures or permits are needed. Small wind systems are presently height-restricted and require a variance even in large acreages. Larger properties in conformance with planokc land use typologies could allow larger systems.

Consider geothermal technology to heat and cool City facilities.
New City facilities and renovations to existing facilities should be candidates for geothermal installation. These projects should be subject to a geothermal feasibility and cost-benefit analysis built into the required scope of architectural and engineering requests for bids.

Provide renewable energy education opportunities for residents and businesses.Community workshops should be held to help residents and businesses navigate City and utility processes for solar, wind, and geothermal as well as existing programs for energy efficiency improvements. These should be conducted in collaboration with community partners including OG&E, neighborhood and homeowners’ associations, and trade associations.

Policies
EP-1:Allow photovoltaic solar panels by right in all zoning districts.
EP-2:Increase renewable energy education opportunities and promote completed projects.
EP-3:Engage utilities to advance renewable energy use and identify partnership opportunities.
EP-4:Create solar-ready guidelines for builders in Oklahoma City.
EP-5:Develop criteria for using renewable energy in City projects and include in the City’s Interdepartmental Guidelines on Coordination of Facility Projects.
EP-6:Perform cost-benefit analysis of including renewable energy on new or more than 50% renovated City facilities.
EP-7:Train appropriate staff to use cost-benefit tools to assess return on investment of renewable energy in new construction and major renovation (50% or more) projects.
EP-8:Require solar-ready construction for new City facilities that meet the criteria established in EP-5.
EP-9:Develop criteria for solar-ready construction requirements for developments seeking public financial assistance.
EP-10:Increase the number of Green Home Loan projects that include renewable energy.
EP-11:Identify opportunities and determine viability of solar energy generation on public property including, but not limited to, under-utilized land, brownfields, or Opportunity Zones.

Perform field inspections to verify compliance with adopted international energy code.
City Council voted unanimously to adopt an amended form of the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) in 2012. The City must target barriers to enforcement and integrate IECC into the plan review process to comply with both Council-approved policy and the terms of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Enforcement would ensure new commercial construction is as efficient as possible to reduce overhead and limit energy cost pass-through to consumers.

The City is responsible for the cost of lighting, heating, and cooling more than one million square feet of public facilities. Data on facility energy use and costs is vital to reducing demand. New City facilities are built to adopted energy code standards and major facility renovations should also be opportunities to ensure energy code compliance.

One way to realize cost savings from outdated, inefficient public buildings is to ensure their future operations minimize costs. These renovations and improvements typically include public libraries, parks and recreation centers, maintenance facilities, and police and fire stations. Such facility renovations and improvements should require bringing facilities up to, at minimum, IECC 2009 to defray future energy costs as much as possible and remain consistent with the City’s adopted codes.

Policies
EP-12: Provide energy code training for plan review, inspection, and code enforcement staff.
EP-13: Implement field inspections for energy code compliance.
EP-14: Perform energy code field inspections for municipal construction and major renovation (50% or more) projects.

Expand the Green Home Loan program to offer more residents access to funding for energy efficient home upgrades.
In 2010, the City created a revolving loan fund (RLF) with a portion of the $5.4 million formula grant from the Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant program.

The Green Home Loan program is a proven success and efforts should be made to increase the RLF budget, expand the program’s reach, and better integrate options for renewable energy systems into the program offerings and audits.

Provide information on the City’s website about utilities, state, and federal energy efficiency programs available to property owners and residents.
There is no cost to the City to promote existing energy efficiency opportunities. Examples include OG&E’s free Home Energy Efficiency Program, Commercial and Industrial Energy Efficiency Program, or the federal tax credits for geothermal, residential wind turbines, and photovoltaic solar systems. Knowing about these opportunities - much less navigating them - can be a difficult feat but we can combine information on applicability and eligibility to help Oklahoma City residents make the most of these programs. 

Policies
EP-15: Promote utility, state, and federal energy efficiency programs available to property owners and residents.
EP-16: Increase funding to expand the Green Home Loan program.
EP-17: Explore revising public financial assistance policies to include energy efficiency standards.
EP-18: Connect owners of multi-family properties to energy efficiency resources.
EP-19: Offer technical assistance and promote energy efficiency to businesses engaged in the Commercial District Revitalization Program.

Collaborate on a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program.
Already enabled by state legislation, working to establish a county PACE program would provide another economic development tool in addition to diminishing costly, wasted energy consumption. PACE could incentivize corporate redevelopment or relocation as well as stoke local energy efficiency and renewable energy economic expansion. Reductions in energy use at commercial buildings and offices not only lessen pass-through costs but provide capital assistance to businesses and developers.

Extend government relations efforts to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
Responsible for the regulation of prices and service reliability for numerous industries, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s oversight includes the three investor-owned utilities operating across much of Oklahoma. Rate changes and the introduction of new tariffs are set with the approval of the three elected Corporation Commissioners through administrative hearings, technical conferences, and rulemakings.

As the City contracts with lobbyists and drafts state and federal legislative agendas, a presence at the Corporation Commission is vital to ensure a voice in future rate cases. Changes in electricity regulation affect not just City operations but every resident, business, and institution within Oklahoma City.

Propose to include renewable energy in the City’s Legislative Agenda.
Each year, the Mayor, City Council, and City Manager work together to create a Legislative Agenda to establish priorities, initiatives, and positions in anticipation of the annual session of the Oklahoma State Legislature. State policy changes could create jobs, add manufacturing opportunities, expand finance and lending offerings, attract investment, and reduce both business overhead and resident utility costs.

These prospects should be explored in greater detail and articulated to City policymakers forconsideration. Expansion of local opportunity for renewable power already aligns well with a federal legislative priority: to monitor enforcement and definitions of compliance with the Clean Air Act and EPA standards. Renewable energy sources emit no emissions and efficiently support reduced energy and water consumption. As result, fewer point sources contribute ozone precursors to the Oklahoma City metro’s air.

Work with local schools, colleges, and universities to establish solar training programs. Oklahoma City has the potential to be a major solar market. Key to ensuring that potential is realized is a trained, qualified workforce that can meet local demand. Programs and curricula to certify and train workers for solar occupations are needed to see local workers better positioned to occupy local jobs. Community colleges and technology centers are ideal starting points to develop and implement these programs.

Incorporate renewable energy into economic development programs.
Oklahoma City and Oklahoma disproportionately rely on jobs related to oil and gas. The share of Oklahoma City’s economy related to oil and gas is 6.65 times the national average and Oklahoma’s oil and gas-related sectors are about 5.8% of total state employment, well above the national share of 2.4%. The renewable energy sector is a major employer nationally as the solar workforce increased by 25% in 2016 and wind employment increased by 32%. Oklahoma City has not been able to foster expansion due to barriers in state law.

The City, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, and the Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City work together on programs to provide performance-based incentives for qualifying employers in the renewable energy sector whenever possible.

Policies
EP-20:Establish a Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing program.
EP-21: Participate in Corporation Commission rulemaking and tariff processes.
EP-22: Build regional coalition of municipalities for representation at Corporation Commission.
EP-23: Partner with educational institutions, including colleges and metro technology centers, to develop renewable energy certificate programs.
EP-24: Support renewable energy and alternate energy sector businesses in pursuit of local and state job creation incentives.

Track and publish utility consumption data from City facilities.
The importance of transparency in how public funds are spent cannot be understated. As with other public financial transactions, the City’s energy consumption and costs are indicators to residents that we are continually striving to improve. We should work to publish the energy use and cost of Oklahoma City’s operations to demonstrate how design, construction, and operations influence costs and how energy efficiency itself can be a source of savings.

Establish dedicated funding for ongoing energy efficiency improvements in municipal facilities.
The City’s Energy Management program requires funding to assess and implement efficiency measures. A dedicated operating budget is a necessity. Options should include savings generated by the City’s opt-out of OG&E Demand Program Rider, savings generated by efficiency programs, or General Fund revenue. Regardless, dedicated operational funds are the best route to reducing long-term utility costs for the City.

Use third-party commissioning for municipal construction projects and major renovations. Third-party commissioning should be integrated into existing project management processes to verify building performance and functionality prior to final acceptance.

For retrofits and improvements of existing City facilities, energy service companies, or ESCos, can enter into an agreement with the City, called performance-based efficiency contracts, which include contractually-guaranteed annual energy cost savings.

Performance-based efficiency contracts are a means to incentivize energy efficiency by contractually tying ESCo profitability to performance, ensuring the City would see a return on investment, and assuring cost savings are persistent and consistent.

Policies
EP-25:Perform third-party commissioning for municipal construction projects or major renovations.
EP-26:Pursue dedicated funding source for on-going energy efficiency improvements in municipal facilities.
EP-27:Track municipal facilities in Energy Star Portfolio Manager.
EP-28:Publish municipal facilities’ energy consumption and cost data to the public.
EP-29:Target cost reductions in City facilities with high energy demands by using performance-based energy efficiency contracts with guaranteed return on investment.

Define the City’s opportunity to monetize carbon emission offsets. Multiple markets exist for the purchase of carbon offsets including one promulgated in Oklahoma via the Oklahoma Carbon Sequestration Enhancement Act. These markets require quantification and verification through a third party of projects before approval to be placed on a market. The calculated benefits from projects that offer some form of ecosystem services, such as trees that capture carbon, filter polluted water, or general biodiversity conservation, can be available for sale, trade, or transfer via payment for ecosystem services (PES) programs.

Private companies in Oklahoma, including Devon Energy and Chesapeake Energy, already make use of PES markets for carbon offsets and the research journal Nature Sustainability estimates more than $36 billion is exchanged each year in PES programs with the category of watershed services ($24.7 billion in 2015) leading the way.

Broadly, local projects could include transitioning vehicles to alternative fuels, tree plantings, or installing renewable energy systems on City land or facilities. Greater scrutiny of markets’ required methodologies as well as the cost associated with quantifying and submitting projects should be assessed.

Policies
EP-30:Develop process to submit carbon emissions reductions from City projects for sale on market.