Power municipal operations through renewable energy and improve the City's energy efficiency

While the Bloomington Sustainability Team is committed to helping expand the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency community-wide, the City also wants to lead by example.

To that end, the City has done an excellent job of kick-starting its journey toward net neutrality:

• The City has already installed solar on 34 different City-owned facilities and will continue to do so in the future.

• The City has also funded solar not just on buildings with municipal employees but also other Bloomington-owned buildings. For example, the City supported a solar installation at Bloomington Housing Authority’s (BHA) Walnut Woods Apartments and provided over $100,000 for installation costs, enabling over 400 solar panels to be installed. Additionally, in 2023, the City of Bloomington provided Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County a $250,000 grant to install solar arrays on 10 low-income residential houses located within the City. This project will decrease energy costs and increase energy resilience for our most vulnerable residents.

• The City has taken major steps to improve the existing energy efficiency of its buildings, including hiring Donovan Energy to lead energy efficiency and decarbonization project management services in 2024. Donovan will be conducting a desktop energy audit of city owned buildings, recommending buildings for onsite energy audits, proposing energy efficiency and decarbonization projects, and managing these projects to completion. Donovan's services will provide a roadmap to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the majority of city owned buildings.