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Environment office reports $36.8M in grants, progress on solar and recycling but flags federal pauses and EV charging needs
Summary
Office of Environment and Sustainability said it secured $36.8 million in grant awards, reached nearly 40% greenhouse-gas reductions since 2006 and reported 103 MW of city-owned solar assets; staff warned federal pauses and charging infrastructure limit near-term projects.
The Office of Environment and Sustainability (OES) told the Budget and Finance Committee it has secured $36.8 million in grant funding for climate, energy and resilience initiatives in fiscal 2025 but that several federal awards remain paused or not yet contracted, creating implementation uncertainty.
Director Prentiss (presenting for OES) said the department is tracking Green Cincinnati Plan implementation (84% of 130 strategic actions are in motion or complete), and highlighted progress on city-owned solar and recycling: OES reported about 103 megawatts of city-owned solar generation and said it is marching toward a 125 MW target; citywide recycling participation rose from about 66% to 67% and the department is focusing outreach on multifamily buildings to widen participation.
OES emphasized two operational challenges. First, several federal programs — notably EV charger grant awards — have been paused or delayed, slowing contracts and reimbursements and making partners reluctant to spend until awards are formalized. Second, electricity prices are rising amid increased demand for power (including from data centers), and the office warned that higher market rates will raise city and resident utility costs. Prentiss said the city’s 100 MW solar procurement supplies roughly 35 MW for city operations and 65 MW for the aggregation program and accounts for about 20% of city load; the solar PPA was locked at a rate substantially below current markets.
On fleet electrification, members discussed status: the transcript records 69 electric vehicles in the city fleet, which Budget Director (referred to in the transcript as Doctor Dutis) calculated as roughly 4% of an approximately 1,800-vehicle fleet. OES said higher-speed charging infrastructure is needed before larger-scale fleet electrification can proceed.
"A $7,000,000 investment in our office is now close to a $50,000,000 return for city government," Prentiss said, citing grant and savings multipliers from energy and resilience projects.
Less critical details: OES noted aging recycling carts (about 80,000 distributed under a 2009 grant) are beyond life expectancy and have limited the department’s ability to close cart-maintenance service requests quickly during shortages; cart procurement and inventory management were highlighted as items requiring funding and attention.
