Over the last year, Clean Energy Coalition, in partnership with NextEnergy, has assisted the City of Detroit with a wide range projects to reduce costs and energy use, such as street lighting efficiency, recycling, and fleet operations.
These efforts, funded by The Kresge Foundation, directly help the City of Detroit save money, attract additional funding, and lay the groundwork for ongoing energy and sustainability initiatives – all at a critical time for the city.
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LED Streetlights
The next time you are in Detroit, take a look above at the new LED streetlights that are starting to appear. Clean Energy Coalition and NextEnergy helped the Detroit Public Lighting Department secure a $100,000 grant from the Michigan Energy Office to implement advanced lighting technology. This grant then led to a $400,000 follow-on grant from the Michigan Energy Office. Together, this $500,000 investment will help install more than 700 LED fixtures in multiple locations throughout Detroit.
At the same time, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, with support from the Department of Energy and the Downtown Detroit Partnership, is investing an additional $1.3 million to install more than 1,000 LED fixtures. In total, about 1,700 new fixtures have been or will be installed throughout the city. These new lamps use about half the energy of traditional streetlight fixtures, last three times as long, and improve system reliability.
Recycling
Clean Energy Coalition, in conjunction with NextEnergy, is also assisting Detroit’s Department of Public Works (DPW) with efficiency improvements to its solid waste and recycling operations, evaluation of the existing residential curbside program, and the expansion of curbside recycling service to an additional 10,000 households.
Our team is also helping the city develop a comprehensive outreach and communication plan to help increase recycling. These materials feature large images of acceptable recyclable items with minimal text to simplify the message and make participation easy. The campaign will include:
- Informative brochures mailed to residents in the expansion areas prior to the program’s rollout and delivered in new customer packets attached to new recycling carts
- A postcard mailed to households in the existing neighborhoods reminding them of which items are accepted in the recycling program and which aren’t
- A series of videos to educate residents about why they should care about recycling and how to participate
- A cart hanger (similar to a door hanger) to be used by city inspection staff to notify residents if they are placing incorrect materials in their recycling carts.
Fleet Operations
Our joint Clean Energy Coalition and NextEnergy team is working closely with Detroit’s General Services Department, DPW, and Department of Transportation to assess the city’s fleet and develop recommendations for reducing spending and improving efficiency. For example, Clean Energy Coalition has helped the City of Detroit establish city-wide contracts for fuel, used motor oil recycling, and retread tire purchases. Combined, these contracts will save the city thousands of dollars every year. The team is also working with fleet managers to identify surplus vehicles and has helped generate $1 million in revenue from the sale of unneeded equipment.
The Clean Energy Coalition and NextEnergy has also helped the city build momentum by seeking funding for major projects.
- Eight new refuse trucks utilizing hybrid hydraulic technology will be added to the city’s fleet through Clean Energy Coalition’s Michigan Green Fleets grant. This $320,000 investment is expected to save the city fuel and operating costs.
- Clean Energy Coalition and NextEnergy helped the Detroit Police Department apply for CMAQ funding for auxiliary battery packs for 200 patrol cars. These battery packs power all systems when the car is parked so fuel is not wasted on idling the vehicle engine.
- 100 diesel oxidation catalysts will be installed on diesel trucks, thanks to a $200,000 grant award to NextEnergy from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
Through LED streetlights, recycling, fleet operations, and more, Clean Energy Coalition and our partners are helping the City of Detroit improve the services offered to residents and reduce energy use, operational expenses, and greenhouse gas emissions. We’re proud of the work we’ve done so far and are looking forward to continuing to make a positive impact in Detroit!
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Source: Clean Energy Coalition
