By Kevin McCarty
July 4, 2011

Conference of Mayors President Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth B. Kautz, at the June 18 morning plenary session, summarized the results of a new Conference survey, Clean Energy Solutions for America’s Cities, showing how cities are deploying clean energy technologies and energy efficiency measures.

“We asked mayors to tell us what technologies are ‘most promising’ for curbing energy use and carbon emissions,” she said, explaining that LED/other efficient lighting led all technologies, followed by low-energy buildings and solar systems that generate electricity (e.g., photovoltaics).

“The survey tells us that most cities — 75 percent — expect their deployment of new energy technologies to increase over the next five years,” Kautz said.

The survey effort, which was sponsored by Siemens and conducted by GlobeScan Incorporated, secured responses from 396 cities in all 50 states, representing about 74 million people.

“We also found that economic benefits — including job creation, business development, building a greener economy — were driving your energy strategies,” she said. “After the Federal Government at 71 percent, it was the private sector at 59 percent that was cited as the most important partner in deploying new energy technologies.”

Calling attention to the importance of energy block grants (EECBG funding), Kautz noted that 87 percent of cities — the top response — indicated that additional EECBG funds are needed to further the deployment of clean energy technologies, followed by 85 percent citing the importance of initial energy block grants to these deployments.

In his statement on the survey, Conference of Mayors Vice President Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa said, “LED and other efficient lighting sources are the technology of choice for cities aiming to reduce future energy use and climate-harming emissions.” In his statement, Conference of Mayors Second Vice President Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter said, “Making our buildings more energy efficient through the use of new technologies is a clear priority for the nation’s mayors. It is something we can do today, paying dividends to all of us well into the future.”

Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran explained, “Mayors credit energy block grants (EECBG funds) delivering federal resources directly to cities as crucial to the expanded investment partnership between businesses and cities on clean energy technologies and energy efficiency.”

The full survey report can be found at usmayors.org/cleanenergy.