Subject
title
Presentation of the Annual Climate Action Plan Update
end
Department
PW - Environmental Management
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Mayor and Council receive the presentation on the Climate Action Plan 2024 Annual Report.
Discussion
This is the third annual report for the Mayor and Council following the adoption of the Climate Action Plan (CAP) on January 10, 2022. The annual report fulfills CAP Action C-26 to track and report CAP progress to foster public transparency and accountability. The 2024 annual report provides detailed action-level summaries of progress for calendar year 2024, including potential issues, next steps, equity considerations, grants, and performance metrics, when available. The report is presented on two platforms to improve public access:
• Written report that summarizes 2024 accomplishments, data and trends for CAP metrics, and action status updates (Attachment 1).
• CAP online dashboard (<https://performance.envisio.com/dashboard/rockvillemd3023>). The dashboard is updated to provide interactive and accessible content to the community to show the status and details of work in progress for each of the actions.
Background
The Mayor and Council adopted Rockville’s first Climate Action Plan (CAP) to chart a path to reduce greenhouse gases, build resiliency, and incorporate equity in public engagement and oversight. The CAP sets a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent (from 2005) by 2030 and approach carbon neutrality by 2050. Since the plan adoption, the Maryland General Assembly established a more ambitious goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent (from 2006) by 2031 and net zero by 2045.
Rockville's CAP comprises 42 current actions and 8 actions for future monitoring in categories involving energy efficiency, renewable energy, transportation, land use management, materials and waste management, resiliency, and public engagement and oversight. There are 16 municipal actions that involve carbon emissions and resiliency associated with municipal operations and services and 26 community actions that involve community carbon emissions and resiliency. The CAP relies on developing and maintaining multi-level partnerships to achieve transformational change in the years ahead. The CAP positions Rockville to leverage state and federal resources to advance climate goals. As various funding opportunities are released from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and other sources, staff utilizes the CAP to strategically identify projects and programs and seek coalition partnerships that can position Rockville to be the most competitive for funding.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory
Rockville’s largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions are energy use from buildings and transportation. The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) generates greenhouse gas emissions inventories for 24 local governments. MWCOG releases inventories approximately every three years. The last inventory was calculated for the year 2020 and showed pre-CAP progress towards reducing emissions by 34% since 2005. MWCOG anticipates the next round of inventories for calendar year 2023 will be released in 2025.
Greenhouse gas emissions from local government municipal operations represent approximately 1.1 percent of total community emissions, with the majority of municipal emissions (0.87%) generated from electricity and natural gas consumption and the remainder from fleet fuel consumption. The emissions associated with electricity and natural gas used by Rockville-owned and operated facilities, parks, streetlights, traffic lights and water and wastewater utilities increased 2% between 2023 and 2024; although emissions decreased 20% between 2021 and 2024. The slight increase in annual emissions reflects post-pandemic growth in operations and the added square feet of building space comprising the northern wing of the city's newest facility at 6 Taft Court. As the City’s fleet electrification is ongoing, a significant reduction in gasoline and diesel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions has not yet been realized. Various factors influence total fleet fuel consumption, including the number of snow and ice events occurring per year, police vehicle miles travel, and the use of diesel fuel consumption for heavy duty operations.
Status of Climate Actions
In 2024, the plan has made significant progress toward completion by the goal year 2030:
• Nine actions (including one future monitoring action) are completed or institutionalized in annual practices (21 percent).
• 30 actions are in progress or ongoing actions (70 percent).
• Four actions are phased and will need future resources to meet intended goals of the plan (9 percent).
Funding and Grants
The FY 2025 budget included more than $4.3 million for CAP initiatives, such as continued food waste composting program, facility energy audits and improvements, LED streetlight replacement, storm drain rehabilitation, stream restoration, an expanded stormwater incentive program that includes the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program, expanded RainScapes Rebates, and competitive watershed grants. This figure does not include bicycle and pedestrian facility and safety projects.
Solving climate change is a whole-of-community effort, especially for a small city. Much of the focus has been to nurture partnerships and pursuing funding opportunities to support CAP implementation. These investments position Rockville to move forward in unison with the broader region and with the benefit of additional resources and expertise in the coming year as awards are announced and contracts approved.
Table 1 summarizes FY 2025 grant and rebate awards for CAP related initiatives to date, totaling more than $1.2 million to support LED streetlight conversations, facility energy retrofits, EV charging stations, solar rooftops, reforestation, and flood resiliency master planning. Transportation initiatives also support the goals of the CAP, but funding and grants are tracked separately through Vision Zero reporting. EV charging station partnerships for installations on City property and rights-of-way are also not included in the table below but are also valued at more than $1 million in investment.
Table 1: FY 2025 CAP Outside Funding Summary
|
Source |
Outside Funding/Project |
Amount |
|
Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) |
Maryland Smart Energy Communities Grant - EV Charging Stations |
$48,000 |
|
|
Maryland Smart Energy Communities Grant - Thomas Farm Community Center energy efficient LED lighting upgrade |
$63,000 |
|
|
Streetlight and Outdoor Lighting Efficiency Grant - Phase 3 LED Streetlight (TA22) |
$130,600 |
|
FEMA/Maryland Department of Emergency Management |
Flood Mitigation Assistance Program - Flood Resiliency Master Plan (SA23) |
$700,000 |
|
Department of Energy |
Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant - Lincoln Park Community Center rooftop solar |
$134,050 |
|
Chesapeake Bay Trust |
RedGate Tree Planting (Phase 2) |
$181,720 |
|
Total FY 2025 Awards (to date) |
$1,257,370 |
Rockville also continued to pursue partnerships and funding opportunities to promote equitable access to energy investments and healthy and safe environmental quality. Staff applied for the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Carbon Reduction Program grant, which is funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, for several community electric vehicle charging stations and will partner with Montgomery County to install them. Staff is also providing technical assistance to Rockville Housing Enterprises to connect them with clean energy and energy efficiency funding sources. The Swim and Fitness Center was awarded four DC fast chargers through a Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) grant partnership with the Maryland Clean Energy Center. However, federal funding for this project is currently on hold. Staff continues to pursue alternative funding sources where needed. The city also expanded the partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Trust to continue to administer the RainScapes program, administer the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program with support from the Montgomery County Green Bank to remove barriers to upfront investment in flood protection, and provide watershed grants to serve more property owners. The CAP is intentionally incorporating equity in every action for implementation, recognizing there is much more to do to reach this ideal.
2024 Highlights
In the three years since the plan was adopted, remarkable strides have been made to direct resources towards energy efficiency, clean energy, improved resiliency, and equitable outcomes. Numerous interdepartmental working groups collaborated to implement climate-related projects and programs. The city’s fiscally responsible approach to execute the CAP involved strategies to evaluate technology and markets conditions, leverage partnerships, and pursue grants and outside funding to expand programs to serve more residents and advance the climate initiatives. The following highlights key progress and metrics in each CAP category.
Energy Efficiency
• Approximately 1,826 homes participated in Pepco’s residential energy efficiency programs, close to three times more than last year. (C-05)
• Three Rockville homes utilized Montgomery County’s home electrification program, Electrify MC, that provides technical assistance and incentives to help homes transition from fossil fuel to electric home systems (e.g., cooking, hot water, heating, and cooling, etc.). (C-06)
• Replaced 1,045 lightbulbs with energy efficient LEDs at the Senior Center, Twinbrook Community Recreation Center, and Rothgeb Maintenance Facility leveraging $250,000 from grants and rebates. (M-01)
• Awarded MEA grants ($63,000) to upgrade lighting at the Thomas Farm Community Recreation Center to save energy and improve the visitor experience. (M-01)
• Converted 1,900 city-owned streetlights to energy efficient LED with funding from the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) and Pepco rebates. (M-02)
Renewable Energy
• The Environment Commission dedicated more than 30 volunteer hours to promote the Capital Area Solar Switch (formerly the solar co-op); resulting in 682 registrations from Rockville addresses, up from 210 the prior year. (C-09)
• The cumulative total number of solar energy systems permitted by the city rose to 1,162; up from 1,080 the prior year. (C-09)
• The US Department of Energy approved the City’s application for a $109,900 project to install solar on Lincoln Park Community Center under the Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant. (M-04)
• Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) announced that Rockville will receive technical assistance to evaluate solar feasibility for additional sites. MEA began assessing the Swim and Fitness Center, City Hall, Senior Center, Recreation Services, and F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre. (M-04)
Transportation
• Rockville's first Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan was drafted in 2024 and adopted in 2025. The number of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles owned in Rockville zip codes again more than doubled in two years to 5,936 and the number of EV charging ports available to the public increased from 184 to 264. (C-11)
• Adopted electric vehicle charging station requirements in the building code for new construction and major renovations including 2% EVSE-installed in most commercial properties and 10% EVSE-installed in multi-unit properties. (C-12)
• In FY 25, the city received over $860,000 in grant funds from four different sources, including the federal Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment program and the Maryland Carbon Reduction program. The grants cover a variety of projects including complete streets studies, bicycle lanes designs, and new bike share stations. (C-14)
• In 2024, the city fleet included 21 battery electric vehicles (BEV), 1 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), and 3 hybrid vehicles. Of the 70 leased vehicles currently suitable for electrification, currently 31% (up from 23% in 2023) have been converted to an electric version. (M-06)
• Pepco completed installation of five public EV charging stations at Mattie Stepanek Park, Thomas Farm Community Center and on-street parking at City Hall/Vinson Street, Fallsgrove Drive/Prettyman Drive, and Twinbrook Station/Bouic Avenue. (M-07)
Land Management
• Weed Warriors engaged 465 volunteers to remove non-native invasive plants from city parks. (C-17)
• Planted 1,500 trees and shrubs in the northern section of RedGate Park and Arboretum funded by a $199,930 grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust, planted an additional 429 trees on city property, and distributed 200 free native trees to residents. (C-17, C-24)
• Partnered with the Chesapeake Bay Trust (Trust) to administer the Stormwater Incentive Program, a comprehensive program with a total budget of $300,000 that allocates funds between the RainScapes Program, Flood Mitigation Assistance Program, and the competitive water quality grants program. (C-17, C-20, C-24)
• The RainScapes program issued $49,043 in rebates to support 56 tree canopy, rain barrel, conservation landscaping, permeable pavement and pavement removal projects at 26 properties. (C-17, C-24)
• Under Montgomery County Council’s enacted Bill 18-22, Noise Control- Leaf Removal Equipment - Amendments, the sale of gas-powered leaf blowers is prohibited starting July 1, 2024, and the use is prohibited starting July 1, 2025. The city began transitioning city-owned landscaping equipment and contracts to comply with the new legislation (FM -03)
Materials and Waste
• Opened a third food waste compost drop-off station at the Twinbrook Community Recreation Center. The stations collected a total of 114 tons of food scraps for composting. (C-18)
• Continued a waste diversion rate of 43% for city collections of single-family attached and detached homes. (C-19)
Resiliency
• Awarded the contract for the Flood Resiliency Master Plan (FRMP) and held a project kick of meeting to discuss project implementation and schedule. The Flood Resiliency Master Plan is partially funded by a $75,000 grant from Maryland Department of Natural Resources, $179,000 in technical support from Army Corps of Engineers (50 percent cost-share) and $700,000 for Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant from Maryland Department of Emergency Management/FEMA. (M-13)
• Developed a residential flooding guide, “Go With the Flow: A Homeowner’s Guide to Responsible Stormwater Solutions”, to help residents learn about reducing flooding impacts to their home and neighborhood. The guide is available in English, Spanish and Simplified Chinese at www.rockvillemd.gov/flooding. (C-20)
• Partnered with the Montgomery County Green Bank (MCGB) and the Chesapeake Bay Trust to leverage additional funding for the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program (FMAP) and remove the barrier of upfront investment for low- and moderate-income property owners In 2024. The Flood Mitigation Assistance Program reimbursed a total of $22,448 for 14 flood mitigation projects at 11 properties. (C-20)
• Mailed 374 letters to residents with structures or property affected by the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) update. 143 people attended three information sessions. (C-21)
Public Engagement and Oversight
• Awarded $1.2 million in grants and rebates to support LED streetlight conversions, facility energy retrofits, solar on Lincoln Park Community Center, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, flood resiliency master planning, and tree planning at RedGate park. (M-15)
• Pursued grants and rebates from the State of Maryland, utilities, and the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, partnering with multiple levels of government and community organizations to apply. (M-15, M-16)
• Published 10 issues of the Environment & Sustainability newsletter, which rose to 3,243 subscribers. Hosted 3 virtual Climate Solution education sessions attended by 56 participants and 12 in-person outreach events. (C-25)
Mayor and Council History
The Mayor and Council adopted the Climate Action Plan (CAP) on January 10, 2022. The first annual report for calendar year 2022 was provided to the Mayor and Council on March 27, 2023. The second annual report for calendar year 2023 was provided to the Mayor and Council on April 29, 2024.
Boards and Commissions Review
The Environment Commission continued to support implementation of the Climate Action Plan throughout 2024. The Commission received an overview of the online dashboard on April 2, 2025 and provided suggestions for further public engagement.
Next Steps
As the Climate Action Plan is implemented, several CAP-related initiatives are expected to move forward. Many of these will come before the Mayor and Council for consent, award, review or discussion, and/or possible adoption over the next year; including but not limited to:
• FY 2026 Budget Appropriations: Continue stormwater management incentives, compost programs, and energy programs. Additional funding for various stormwater CIPs, new funding to develop a Green Space Management Plan, funding increases for contracted invasive species management, and an electric Senior Center transit bus replacement.
• Policies and Code Amendments: Updates to Chapter 5 (Buildings and Building Regulations) for the green building regulations, Chapter 10 (Floodplain Ordinance) to ensure compliance with updated FEMA requirements, Chapter 21 (Streets, Roads, Rights-of-Way, and Public Improvements) to permit certain private improvements in the rights-of-way, Chapter 10.5 (Forest and Tree Protection Ordinance) for compliance with state requirements, maintain and increase tree canopy, and provide flexibility for solar and EV charging, and the comprehensive rewrite of Chapter 25 (Zoning Ordinance).
• Plan Development and Implementation: Adopt and implement Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan, launch modeling and stakeholder engagement for the Flood Resiliency Master Plan (SA23), and continue implementation of Vision Zero, Bikeway Master Plan and Pedestrian Master Plan.
• Projects and Programs: Implement phases 2 and 3 of LED streetlight conversions (TA22) and LED lighting upgrades at Thomas Farm Community Center, install EV charging stations, and procure rooftop solar at Lincoln Park Community Center.
The fourth annual report covering 2025 is anticipated to be provided to the Mayor and Council in early 2026. CAP programs and updates will continue to be posted at www.rockvillemd.gov/climate <http://www.rockvillemd.gov/climate>.