As the federal government deploys record climate investments to Ohio, the city of Cincinnati is preparing to connect people with some of that money.
The state is set to receive hundreds of millions of Inflation Reduction Act dollars in early 2025 to help homeowners make cost-reducing and environmentally beneficial energy efficiency improvements. That looks like rebates for heat pumps, electric stoves and insulation measures.
Council member Mark Jeffreys says houses need to become “upgrade ready” now to take advantage of the savings next year.
“The deployment of these resources is going to happen incredibly quickly, and it will be highly competitive,” Jeffreys said. “When the state of Ohio, for example, deploys the $500 million, it's not going to be allocated by region. It will be first come, first serve.”
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Jeffreys and the Property Tax Task Force are proposing the city create an energy efficiency program that would subsidize energy assessments and home repairs for low- and moderate-income homeowners. He says people won’t be able to use the federal funds for weatherization if their home has lead paint, or they won’t be able to install solar panels if their roof is collapsing.
Jeffreys is requesting the city contribute $10 million. The local investment could help the city get more than $28 million additional federal funds to support energy efficiency upgrades and savings.
“For the average homeowner, it could be up to about $1,200 a year in savings,” Jeffreys said. “At a time (of) rising costs for everything — rising costs of property taxes, rising costs of energy, otherwise — this federal investment gives us an opportunity to leverage those dollars to reduce costs for people who are homeowners.”
The energy efficiency program would be facilitated through a Green Bank, a financing entity that would centralize access to Cincinnati’s several energy efficiency incentive programs.
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“It's not a place where people are depositing money,” Jeffreys said. “It's a mechanism where we and regions or cities can braid together all of the different financing subsidies and options that are available with the passage of the inflation Reduction Act.”
Jeffreys' proposal also includes funding for green job workforce development. More contractors need to be trained to perform energy assessments and heat pump and solar installation as more households make energy efficiency improvements to their homes.
Jeffreys will present the proposal Monday, Sept. 9, at the city’s Budget and Finance Committee.