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Resilience for Free: How Solar+Storage Could Protect Multifamily Affordable Housing from Power Outages at Little or No Net Cost
October 14, 2015
This report from the Clean Energy Group uses project data for buildings in New York, Chicago, and Washington, D. C. , to examine the financial case for installing solar photovoltaics (PV) and battery storage systems (“solar+storage”) to support multifamily affordable housing. With the right market structures and incentives, solar+storage systems can provide an economic return, on par with energy efficiency or stand-alone solar. They can also help make affordable housing energy resilient by guaranteeing power for common area lighting, water, and communications.
Authors or Affiliated Users: Lew Milford, Robert Sanders, Seth Mullendore
Resource Category: Solutions
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Washington DC: Targeting Urban Heat Islands
August 2015
This case study discusses how Washington DC is preparing for the impacts of climate change including sea-level rise, increasing flood risks, and heat waves. The case study explores how District agencies integrated considerations of climate change when developing the city's Sustainable DC plan, which was developed through an interagency working group. This effort spurred the development of a city-wide vulnerability assessment and adaptation plan. The case study also explores the District’s efforts to reduce urban heat islands by making grants to pilot the use of cool roofs, implementing the Smart Roof Initiative to retrofit District-owned buildings, and adopting of a new Green Building Code.
Author or Affiliated User: Sara Hoverter
Resource Category: Solutions
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DC Water Green Infrastructure, Clean Rivers Project (District of Columbia/Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland)
May 2015
The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water), the District of Columbia, the U. S. Department of Justice and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have established an agreement which allows DC Water to pursue an integrated green/gray infrastructure approach to reduce combined sewer overflows into rivers and to capture rainwater. The agreement addresses water quality and supply issues in the Rock Creek and Potomac watersheds which traverse Maryland, Virginia, and the District.
Resource Category: Solutions
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Washington, DC Flood Levee System Improvements
December 2014
To prevent water from the Potomac and Anacostia rivers from flooding downtown Washington, D. C. , the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is improving the levee system along the north side of the National Mall, running from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument. A levee system was originally erected to protect the District in 1939, following a major flood event in 1936. This project will improve the levee system through a series of upgrades: a permanent closure at 23rd Street and Fort McNair, and the installation of a more robust removable wall, which will provide flood protection but also allow for traffic flow on 17th street between flood events.
Resource Category: Solutions
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Encroaching Tides: How Sea Level Rise and Tidal Flooding Threaten U.S. East and Gulf Coast Communities over the Next 30 Years
October 2014
This report from the Union of Concerned Scientists describes the threat of tidal flooding in the East Coast and Gulf regions and offers steps that communities can take to adapt. The report makes the case that tidal flooding, currently just considered a nuisance, could become a daily or weekly occurrence, redefining how and where people along the coast “live, work, play, and move through their daily lives. " Data was collected in 52 locations to provide projections for sea level rise and tidal flooding in the region until 2045.
Authors or Affiliated Users: Erika Spanger-Siegfried, Melanie Fitzpatrick, Kristina Dahl
Resource Category: Solutions
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Washington D.C. DDOT Green Infrastructure Standards
May 1, 2014
In 2014, the District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT) released design requirement standards for Green Infrastructure (GI) design, construction and maintenance in the public right-of-way. The intent is to provide stormwater retention to meet the regulatory requirements, along with the infrastructure requirements within the public right-of-way. The standards were developed for Low Impact Development techniques including bio-retention, permeable pavement, and street tree space design.
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Clean Rivers, Green District Agreement
December 2012
In 2012, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water), and the Government of the District of Columbia (Washington D. C. ) joined in a partnership agreement to to advance green infrastructure in D. C. The “Clean Rivers, Green District” agreement outlines the collaborative steps to support green infrastructure to achieve sustainable stormwater management, more livable communities, and other environmental improvements in the District.
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Washington D.C. Smart Roof - Roof Asset and Energy Management Program
Through the Smart Roof Program, the Washington D.C. Department of General Services (DGS) is successfully integrating roof asset and energy management projects to reduce its energy use by 20 percent across its entire municipal portfolio. The strategic approach to portfolio-based roof management is being applied across 435 buildings including schools, police stations, fire stations, parks and recreation centers, and office buildings that make up 321 acres of roof area in D.C.
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Washington D.C. Green Roof Program
2007
In 2003, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation initiated a green roof demonstration project funded under the terms of a consent decree negotiated by the D. C. Water and Sewer Authority. The money was used to issue grants for the installation of eight different pilot green roofs that would reduce the cost of each green roof cost to the building owner by up to 20 percent. The pilot roofs served as models that building owners could use for future green roof projects, by providing data on costs, construction methods, performance, and maintenance needs.
Resource Category: Solutions