AIRE Conditioning: How the Energy Program is cooling down Arlington

It has been one of the hottest summers on record. Arlington’s Energy Program is working hard to keep you cool. 

Arlington’s Initiative to Rethink Energy (AIRE), a division of Arlington County’s Office of Sustainability and Environmental Management (OSEM), operates as the County’s core agency for climate mitigation, adaptation/resilience programs and community-facing energy programs.  

One of AIRE’s efforts to improve the community is through execution of the Community Energy Plan (CEP), through the implementation blueprint of the CEP Roadmap. Understanding Arlington’s CEP and CEP Roadmap is important for you and your community, since the initiatives directly affect daily life.

Here’s why you should care:

1. Healthier Environment: From reducing energy costs to improving air quality, the CEP Roadmap strategies aim to create a healthier, more sustainable environment for you and your community.
2. Community Benefits: By supporting the CEP, the AIRE team is contributing to a collective framework for mitigating and adapting to climate change. The Roadmap identifies and interconnects strategies that will continue to position Arlington as a leader in sustainability, attracting like-minded businesses and community members.
3. Flexibility: The CEP Roadmap is designed to be flexible and elastic, ensuring that Arlington can stay ahead of technological advancements and fiscal, political, and legislative changes. This means a more resilient community that can better handle future challenges.
4. Accountability and Transparency: The detailed timelines, assigned responsibilities, and impact tracking frameworks of the Roadmap ensure that you can see exactly how the plan is progressing. This transparency builds trust and allows you to hold local leaders accountable.

Check out the updated Roadmap on our website next month to see AIRE’s goals for years 2024-2026. 

Advancing Goals Through Federal Funding 

Federal funding is one of the key ways Arlington improves its community and supports the CEP. Through grant funding, AIRE enables residents to live healthier, more equitable and sustainable lifestyles, which lead to a cooler Arlington. 

Recently, the AIRE team, led by OSEM Bureau Chief Demetra McBride, received $267,820 from the Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program for an application to provide e-bike vouchers to the community.

This voucher program will support the County’s CEP through incentivizing residents to adopt lower-emission transportation options by shifting from single-occupancy vehicles to e-bikes. This project, set to launch by Spring 2025, plans to provide nearly 250 e-bike vouchers, ranging from $600 to $1,650 based on income.

Similarly, a winning application from McBride and the AIRE team was awarded $980,350 under the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Justice Government-to-Government (EJG2G) program in response to OSEM’s Energy-Health-Equity Proposal (EHE Project). The EJG2G Program promotes local government collaboration with demonstrated community-based organizations.

In addition to the EHE Project partnership with George Mason University’s Virginia Climate Center, the EHE Project will deploy strong partnerships with Columbia Pike, the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance and Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action.  

The EHE Project aims to improve building energy performance in residential and small commercial structures within disadvantaged communities, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to improve indoor environments (including indoor air quality) for populations that are disproportionately impacted by emissions and climate extremes. 

Managed by OSEM, the EHE Project will produce three key deliverables or assets: a decision-support tool, a financing portfolio summarizing all financial options, mechanisms and incentives, and a community engagement strategy that is responsive to the specific needs and priorities of underserved communities. These resources will help model energy improvements for affordable housing and commercial structures, and will be tested, refined and scaled for broader impact.

This project will provide a toolkit of resources and information for underserved communities, equipping developers, building owners, and constituents with robust tools to enhance their financial stability and improve health outcomes. Further, this toolkit was specifically designed to be leveraged alongside other grant proposals and funding. 

Partnerships That Have a Regional, National and Global Impact 

The above local partnerships are key to advancing Arlington’s clean energy. AIRE strives to expand its partnerships at the regional, national and global scale through dedicated leadership. These connections invigorate Arlington’s collaborative efforts for a more sustainable future.

Here are 3 major ways OSEM and AIRE have shared its successes with other advocates: 

1. OSEM Bureau Chief Demetra McBride recently developed and hosted two summits supporting global efforts to advance efforts on energy, renewables, climate adaptation, green building science and clean transportation. McBride was joined by AIRE Managers Stephen Burr and Richard Dooley. 

• • On June 10, sponsored by the U.S. State Department’s Vista Program for government and energy sector executives from the Baltic Republics, OSEM hosted a cohort of government and corporate leaders from the energy sectors of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia to discuss transformation of the energy sector, cross-sector developments in energy, and emerging energy resources, policies, and strategies. The visiting cohort represented director-level government and energy corporate executives from the Baltics. The discussion focused largely on low-carbon technology, carbon-zero policymaking and planning, decarbonization of transportation, and regional coordination and cooperation towards low-carbon energy plans and infrastructure. McBride developed and delivered a presentation reflecting the Baltic Republics transition from a fossil-fuel based grid to the European renewables-powered grid, briefed the Cohort on United States and regional leaderships efforts and programs, and mutually discussed effective programmatic, project-based, transactional, financial, behavioral change and policy strategies in the Energy Sector.  

1. • In July, the Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC) worked with OSEM and AIRE to host a multi-disciplinary, multi-sector discussion to build upon the County’s 2-½ year collaboration with the Area Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB) under the European Union International Urban and Regional Cooperation Program. The AMB showed particular interest in the sustainability of large-scale urban redevelopment projects like Crystal City and the socially inclusive mitigation of urban heat islands, especially in public spaces. McBride and Dooley represented the County. 
2. In July, OSEM was invited to join a plenary panel under the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Climate, Energy and Environment Policy Committee. The agenda was dedicated to climate risk, adaptation, and resilience. McBride delivered a public sector-specific presentation, informed by the County’s Stormwater Risk Assessment Management Plan (RAMP), as well as her cross-sector climate adaptation experience in Florida and California over the past 15 years. 
3. The EPA’s Green Power Partnership collaborates with a diverse array of leading national organizations, including Fortune 500® companies, various levels of government, and an increasing number of colleges and universities. The Top Partner Rankings showcase the annual green power usage of top Green Power Partners in the United States and across different industry sectors. The EPA’s Top Partner Rankings highlight organizations that excel in using clean power. Arlington County was recognized as a standout partner this quarter, alongside well-known names like Microsoft, Staples, and Dow, Inc. With an increase of nearly 63 million kWh, Arlington County now uses over 84 million kWh of green power, moving up on the Top 30 Local Government List. The AIRE Team under Energy Manager Stephen Burr is primarily responsible for the County’s performance in this arena. 

Meet AIRE at The County Fair 

To learn more about AIRE’s efforts and individual ways to save energy, visit the AIRE team at the Arlington County Fair indoor vendor table section on August 16-18. You will have the chance to ask energy-related questions and hear more about IRA incentives, greenhouse gas emission dashboards and more.