According to recent survey findings released by the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) at their 82nd Annual Winter Meeting held Jan. 22–24 in Washington, D.C., energy-efficient technologies are an area in which U.S. cities will be making a significant investment over the next five years. The survey, conducted between Nov. 25 and Jan. 14, was prepared by the USCM and sponsored by Philips, who is a business council member of the USCM and a partner in the Mayors’ Lighting Partnership, a group established in January 2013. Nearly 1,400 mayors were contacted whose cities have a population of 30,000 or more; 288 cities responded by the deadline. Some of the key findings were:
Three in 10 cities—29 percent of respondents—are making LED/energy efficient lighting technology their top priority over the next 24 months.
Most mayors expect to use their own local resources as sources of financing for their “top priority” technologies. After that, they will pursue partnerships with the private sector.
Four out of five cities, 82 percent, indicated that out of 15 technology categories seen as promising for reducing energy use and carbon footprint, LED and other energy-efficient lighting was the most as the promising. After that was solar electricity generation at 54 percent and low-energy buildings at 53 percent.
Public buildings (83 percent) and outdoor lighting (54 percent) are the top two priorities for cities in improving the energy efficiency of city infrastructure.
Three-quarters of cities (76 percent) have developed an energy emergency response plan that maintains key municipal services during power outages. Four in 10 cities (41 percent) have been affected by a power outage or multiple outages in the past five years, due to a severe climate event. As a result, they have made modifications of varying degres to their emergency repsonse plans.
Thirty-six percent of cities already have comprehensive energy plans. Seventy-nine percent are expected to develop plans by 2016.
The survey in full is available online here.
