ACEEE Flunks City of Miami’s Sustainability Efforts

American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy gave the City of Miami government only 28.50 points out of a possible 100 in their annual review of how municipalities around the country are implementing energy-efficient policies and programs.  Ouch.

ACEEE’s State and Local Policy Database includes comprehensive information on energy efficiency policies currently implemented at the state and local level. The database tracks policy activity across multiple sectors, including government, utilities, transportation, buildings, combined heat and power, and appliance standards.

The survey breaks the data down into 5 categories with points assigned to each.  Here are some of the stinging comments:

Local Government Operations – Score: 4 out of 15 points

After referencing MiPlan, our city’s climate action plan established under Mayor Manny Diaz in 2008, the report notes:

MiPlan sets a goal to reduce the city government’s greenhouse gas emissions 25% below 2007 levels by 2015. The city council formally adopted this goal when they passed City Council Resolution 08-01096. We did not find quantitative data indicating Miami was on track to achieve its local government goal.

We could not confirm if Miami has a dedicated funding source or budgeting mechanism for local government efficiency investments. We did not find information detailing the frequency of public reporting on progress toward local government initiatives and we do not know if the city uses an independent firm for evaluation, monitoring, and verification of energy savings from government operations projects.

Miami has not put life-cycle costing procedures in place, but the county’s Life Cycle Costing Procedure (Administrative Order 11-3) requires life-cycle analysis that considers maintenance, repair, energy costs, and other expenditures associated with day-to-day operations for certain commodities.

Community-Wide Initiatives – Score: 3 out of 10 points

We could not confirm if Miami has dedicated staff for community-wide efficiency efforts. We did not find other data regarding performance management strategies. Information that we were unable to obtain includes the frequency of public reporting on community-wide energy efficiency initiatives, program evaluation methods, and the existence or amount of dedicated funding for energy efficiency programs.

Buildings Policies – Score: 6 out of 29 points

Miami does not provide upfront support to developers or owners for energy code compliance.

Miami has not yet published an energy-intensity reduction target for its private buildings

Energy & Water Utilities – Score: 3.5 out of 18 points

City of Miami does not partner with FPL or Florida City Gas to promote their energy efficiency programs. Miami has also not begun advocating to the state for legislation increasing the required levels of utility spending and savings for energy efficiency programs. The City of Miami does not have a franchise agreement or municipal aggregation contract in place to ensure energy efficiency while powering city operations.

There is no funding in place to implement green stormwater infrastructure.

Transportation – Score: 12 out of 28 points

At this time, Miami does not offer incentives for citizens to purchase hybrid, plug-in, or EV vehicles. There are no incentives available for the construction of commercial or private EV charging infrastructure. The local government has not yet made any EV charging stations available for public use.

I remember attending several of the public meetings, seeing the enthusiasm and high hopes when MiPlan and the other green initiatives were introduced under Mayor Manny Diaz. What happened?