Smiley to Require City Buildings to Become Carbon Neutral - Cost in Hundreds of Millions
GoLocalProv News Team
Smiley to Require City Buildings to Become Carbon Neutral - Cost in Hundreds of Millions
It will carry a major cost for taxpayers.
On Tuesday, Smiley will be signing an ordinance to make Providence public buildings, including the schools, carbon neutral by 2040.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"Providence continues to be ahead of the curve in addressing the impacts of climate change on our city and residents. I am proud to sign this critically important ordinance into law," said Smiley. "By committing to carbon neutrality in all city-owned buildings by 2040, we are paving the way for a healthier, more sustainable future for generations to come by leading the charge towards a greener, more resilient future."
The Providence move comes after the City of Sacramento, California, passed a similar plan for its schools with a deadline of 2045. Sacramento officials have estimated that the cost to retrofit their schools at more than $750 million. The Providence ordinance requires all public buildings including historic structures like City Hall to be compliant.
Many of Providence’s schools are older and the cost to replace the heating system, new lighting and other critical components are higher.
“By creating the path for carbon neutrality in Providence-owned buildings, the city is leading by example,” said Council President Rachel Miller (Ward 13). “We’re ensuring that public dollars are creating energy efficiency and savings in well-maintained public buildings, and while we do it, we're committing to developing a world-class workforce at the leading edge of the new energy economy. ”
Smiley refused to answer questions about the costs to taxpayers.
Parker Gavigan, a spokesperson for the Providence City Council wrote in an email to GoLocal last week, “The council did not independently conduct a cost analysis of the carbon-neutral ordinance. However, councilors had lengthy discussions with the city’s administration, as they would be responsible for implementing this new law over time. The administration researched buildings and is still collecting data. It’s clear that when you build for energy efficiency, there are significant long-term operational cost savings. It’s cheaper.”
A range of studies show the cost to be between $100 and $400 or more per square foot.
For example, Hope High, which is nearly 200,000 square feet, has a conversion cost of just $100 per square foot, which would be approximately $20 million.
Sacramento officials announced in the fall of 2023, "The goals and guidelines apply to capital projects like new construction and major building modernizations as well as maintenance work and retrofits. By 2030, we aim to drop our energy consumption 40% below baseline; by 2040, below 80% of baseline and by 2045, we’ll achieve carbon neutrality."
According to financial data provided in Sacramento, the estimates are based on conservative costs for soft costs (20%) and contingency costs (10%).
The city estimates the cost of one Sacramento school, Fern Bacon Middle School, to be in excess of $53 million.
Other schools will only be upgraded to “health and safety” improvements, and some of those changes will be in the thousands.