Providence ranks 32nd on city energy-efficient scorecard

PROVIDENCE RANKED 32nd among 51 large U.S. cities for its energy efficiency, according to the City Energy Efficiency Scorecard from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. / COURTESY AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR AN ENERGY-EFFICIENT ECONOMY
PROVIDENCE RANKED 32nd among 51 large U.S. cities for its energy efficiency, according to the City Energy Efficiency Scorecard from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. / COURTESY AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR AN ENERGY-EFFICIENT ECONOMY

PROVIDENCE – Boston is the most energy efficient city in the nation, while Providence lags behind at No. 32, according to the second edition of the City Energy Efficiency Scorecard from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

The report found that Boston continues to be the most energy-efficient city in the nation, receiving 82 out of a possible 100 points, an improvement of more than five points from that city’s 2013 score.

The other top 10 U.S. cities for energy efficiency, in order, are: New York City, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Minneapolis, Portland (Oregon), Austin (Texas) and Denver.
Five areas were studied – government operations, community initiatives, buildings, utilities and transportation.

Providence’s rank in 2013 was not available. The report recognized Providence for a plan that identifies energy-savings goals for municipal buildings. It also was recognized for savings from electric and natural gas utility efficiency programs and having good access to energy data.
But the report said it should increase resources for building energy code compliance, and establish local government and community-wide energy savings goals and regularly report progress in achieving those goals.

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Overall, the report said that all of the ranked cities, even the highest scorers, have significant room for improvement. It said Boston was the only city to earn more than 80 points, and only 13 cities earned more than half of the possible points.

ACEEE research analyst David Ribeiro, said, “Our findings show that cities continue to be laboratories of innovation when it comes to energy efficiency, with many pushing the envelope for more energy savings in the last few years. Cities are also improving their approaches when it comes to tracking and communicating their efforts to save energy. By capturing these efforts in the Scorecard we hope local leaders from cities of all sizes can learn best practices from each other and deliver the benefits of energy efficiency to their communities, such as a stronger economy and a cleaner environment.”

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