The City of Hilliard Sustainability Plan

Hilliard Sustainability PlanAlthough reducing energy consumption is important in a sustainablelifestyle, switching to renewable sources is an excellent way to limit theenvironmental and social impacts of the energy one does use. Renewableenergy technology can be implemented at the utility-scale—such aswind and solar farms and hydropower stations—or on the individualscalethrough infrastructure like residential photovoltaic (PV) arrays,solar hot water, geothermal heating and cooling, or small and microwind turbines. See sidebar “Renewable Energy Options in Hilliard”. Whileutility-scale policy can be somewhat affected by the consumers, Hilliardis under contract with AEP Ohio and has the most control over individualscaleresidential and commercial applications for renewable energy. Theinvestment put into a wide range of this renewable infrastructure could payenvironmental and financial dividends in the future.Short Term (1-3 years)» Draft and implement a renewable energy zoning amendment,specifically outlining regulations and permitted uses for windand solar and possibly creating an expedited review process forrenewable projects. Model ordinances for municipalities can befound from the State of Oregon and the State of Massachusetts. 97,98Parties responsible: Drafting of these codes will go through thestandard procedure for Hilliard zoning changes, including approvalby the Planning and Zoning Commission. Cost: Should be coveredunder the operating costs of these entities.» Begin identifying opportunities for renewable energy installationby the City, including location, type, and size of the project.Springboro, Ohio provides a comparable example for solarinstallation by a municipality, as shown in the sidebar. Partiesresponsible: The application process should be managed by theEnvironmental Sustainability Commission, in junction with theSolar in Springboro, OhioIn 2011, the City of Springboro used a grant from the State ofOhio’s Advanced Energy Fund (AEF), and additional assistancefrom Waste Management, to install 125 solar PV panelson park shelters within the Springboro Parks System. xxxv Thetotal cost of the project was $180,000, and it saved the City$2,630.04 within the first six months (an 85% reduction inelectric costs over the same period from the previous year).xxxviAdditional savings came from Solar Renewable EnergyCredits (SRECs), totaling $2,031.63 in the same period. xxxviiWith these savings, Springboro expects to see a return-on-investmentin only 5.2 years. xxxviii Although funding for the AEFwas not renewed as of December 31, 2010, it has been redevelopedas the Energy Loan Fund, a revolving loan program.xxxix» www.ci.springboro.oh.usECON. EXECUTIVEENERGY DEV. &SOCIAL SUMMARY WASTE EQ.REDUCTION27