Spread Love: Envision Charlotte
Happy Friday! Great things have been in the works for the Queen City, as part of a national initiative spearheaded by Envision Charlotte.
This is an unprecedented plan to align business interests with smart grid technology in a way that can propel Charlotte to the forefront of energy efficiency in commercial and government buildings. Envision Charlotte is one of the most forward-thinking projects on the East Coast.
Michael Regan, Environmental Defense Fund’s Southeast Energy Director
In May of 2015, Envision Charlotte was the recipient of a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. Launched in 2010 as part of the Clinton Global Initiative, it was revealed that “Uptown Charlotte buildings had reduced energy consumption by 8.4 percent since the initiative was launched, saving businesses an estimated $10 million or more.”
How did they go about accomplishing this task?
Envision Charlotte utilized the grant to incorporate the U.S.D.E.’s “Advanced Energy Retrofit Guides, Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines, and Commercial Building Energy Asset Score,” in order to create a significant savings in the Queen City’s energy consumption.
The success of the pilot program has since inspired a nation smart cities initiative called, Envision America. In January of 2016, “City leaders from 10 communities will meet in Charlotte to work with industry and academic experts in developing local initiatives. Those communities will get technical help for a year.”
The success of this initiative in such a short time will soon be shared by the U.S., and it’s truly an amazing feat that the city of Charlotte is leader in furthering 21st century innovation.
Envision Charlotte believes environmental sustainability, when combined with a pro-business approach benefits the regional economy and is achieved through perpetual, formal stewardship of defined resources in the environment in the areas of Energy, Water, Air, and Waste.
