Louisville, KY

Louisville Metro Government (LMG) is consolidated city/county government with over 750,000 residents. This Ohio River city covers almost 400 square miles and is the largest city in Kentucky. LMG manages close to 4 million square feet of buildings ranging from historic city hall to the two LEED certified branch libraries. Louisville has been a member of Climate Mayors since 2016, has completed a GHG inventory and set a reduction target of 80% by 2050, released an emissions reduction plan, and completed climate adaptation planning. As the climate crisis has intensified, LMG has revised its targets to support the Paris Climate Accords, and Metro Council passed three renewable energy goals: 1) 100% clean electricity for LMG operations by 2030, 2) 100% clean energy for LMG operations by 2035, and 3) 100% clean energy community-wide by 2040.

The largest success so far has been the hiring of a full-time energy manager. In his first year, he saved LMG over $750,000 and reduced energy use by 7%. These savings will be reinvested in additional energy efficiency measures such as LED lighting, new HVAC equipment, and rooftop solar where appropriate.

LMG is partnering with the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) to develop a roadmap to achieve the first goal of clean electricity for government operations by 2030. We also are exploring the option of municipalization for government operations, which would allow us to shift to renewable energy, and NREL is helping us develop tools to prioritize investments in energy efficiency upgrades by: 1) using available data and institutional knowledge to identify and prioritize near-term capital investment opportunities for the efficiency savings reinvestment fund; 2) streamlining the process for how building control data are used to identify and execute no- or low-cost operational improvements; and 3) working with Metro Government to build up the necessary data collection/management/analysis infrastructure to improve and automate these processes in the future.

LMG has also prioritized fleet electrification through an Executive Order, starting with passenger vehicles, to reduce GHG emissions.

Implementation Model

Louisville, KY: Launching a Self-Financed Energy Management Program

Presentation

Show Me the Money: Selling Financing Strategies to Achieve Savings

Video

VIDEO: In Case You Missed It 2023 Better Buildings & Better Plants Summit Sampler

Webinar

In Case You Missed It: 2023 Better Buildings & Better Plants Summit Sampler

Solutions

Leadership Commitments

Better Buildings Challenge

Goal

Commitment