Miami-Dade County is now a member of the City Energy Project, a united effort of 20 U.S. communities to address their largest source of energy use and carbon pollution — buildings.
The project ultimately can save Miami-Dade County residents and businesses close to $200 million annually on their energy bills by 2030.
This will add up to a reduction of more than 1.2 million metric tons of carbon emissions from buildings annually in Miami-Dade County alone, the equivalent of taking more than 26,000 cars off the road annually.
If U.S. buildings were considered a nation, they would rank third in global energy consumption, using more primary energy than all major energy consuming nations except the U.S. and China. What’s more, buildings are the single largest user of energy and source of carbon pollution in the U.S., with much of the energy consumed wasted by inefficient systems and operations.
“Over the years, Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez and our board of county commissioners have entered into several commitments requiring the reduction of greenhouse gas pollution emissions to help combat climate change and associated sea level rise. Through the City Energy Project, we can achieve real progress in meeting these commitments,” said James Murley, chief resilience officer for Miami-Dade County.
“By taking action at the local level, Miami-Dade County has the power to attain environmental, economic, and social benefits such as creating local jobs, increasing asset value and market competitiveness in the real estate market, reducing harmful pollution, and reducing our energy and water consumption,” he added.
With the support of other county agencies, municipalities, business groups, nonprofit organizations, and other partners, the county’s focus is to develop a locally tailored plan to significantly reduce building energy and water consumption. This plan will help Miami-Dade County become a more resilient and sustainable community.
“Miami-Dade is certainly demonstrating leadership on innovative energy and water efficiency programs,” said Joseph Spector, vice president of operations for Ygrene Energy Fund Florida, a private partner assisting Miami-Dade County in the project. “Once implemented, the program will increase energy and water efficiency in Miami-Dade buildings and will definitely expand market opportunities for private-sector investment in water and energy efficiency.”
The City Energy Project is a joint project of the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Institute for Market Transformation, and is funded by a partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and The Kresge Foundation. The City Energy Project works to create healthier, more prosperous American cities by making buildings more energy efficient, boosting local economies, and reducing harmful pollution.
Participating cities and counties develop locally tailored plans comprising multiple integrated strategies to significantly reduce building energy use, recognizing that a suite of initiatives can be more effective than one program or policy alone. In addition to providing energy expertise and guidance on initiative planning, design, and implementation, the City Energy Project offers a platform for peer-to-peer sharing of lessons learned and best practices.
Miami-Dade County is the first county to participate in the City Energy Project, and along with the cities of Des Moines, IA; Fort Collins, CO; New Orleans, LA; Pittsburgh, PA; Providence, RI; Reno, NV; San Jose, CA; St. Louis, MO, and St. Paul, MN, joins the original 10 pioneering cities. By 2030, all 20 members of the project have the power to achieve significant collective impact with the potential to save more than $1.5 billion annually in energy bills and reduce carbon pollution by more than 9.6 million metric tons.
