Distributed Energy Resources, Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions  -  March 28, 2022

Cincinnati Plans 100% Electrified Fleet by 2035

Cincinnati is implementing a new city policy that calls for purchasing only electric vehicles, when available, with the goal of having a 100% electrified fleet by 2035.

“Through an institutionalized tiered preference system for vehicles with zero emissions, we are ready to electrify the entire fleet as our specialized vehicles become available as EVs, said Mayor Aftab Pureval during a recent press conference. “That is emblematic of our commitment to the EV revolution.”

The city's sustainable fleet policy, which will be implemented this budget year,  aligns with the Green Cincinnati Plan to reduce city fleet fuel consumption by 15% by 2023 and 50% by 2028. The Plan, which was created in 2018, is refreshed every five years.

The administration will assess how to leverage federal dollars to electrify not just their own fleet but our neighborhoods as well. A request for information is being launched to identify public-private partnerships to provide EV charging stations across all 52 of the city’s neighborhoods. “We have a generational opportunity to leverage available funds from the bipartisan infrastructure law and we are committed to securing every opportunity we can to create the conditions for residents to invest in an electric vehicle,” said Mayor Pureval.

Michael Forrester, Director of the Office of Environment and Sustainability noted that when the plan was crafted in 2018, “If I told you over the next five years that the city of Cincinnati would construct the largest municipally led solar array in the country, be a  top-five in green building construction, dramatically increase funding for public transportation, actively be constructing a 34-mile bike loop around the city, was rapidly adding electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, would you believe me?”  He continued, “These monumental achievements make Cinncinati a national leader in sustainability and they can all be found in the 2018 Green Cinncinati Plan because the Green Cincinnati Plan is a plan of action.”

Michael Forrester will be a keynote speaker at Smart Energy Decisions’ upcoming Renewable Energy Forum, June 6-8 in Ponte Vedra, Florida.