Weatherization makes for better human health.

Nine out of ten breaths are taken indoors. It’s time we see efficient buildings as a key component to human health. Our children’s health and lives literally depend on it.

written by Mary A English

What is the first piece of technology that pops into your head when you think of energy efficient buildings? Is it solar panels on the roof? That is a common answer.  

Solar panels can be a freeing option for consumers that need a little more room in a tight household budget or want to make clean power, but solar panels do not make for energy efficiency per se. Solar panels provide energy generation. Efficiency is another word for conservation, which is the practice of making a building use less energy. Indeed, the cleanest energy is energy that we never use. There’s a lot of never-used energy involved when a building performs well.

Since joining the building performance industry in the mid-aughts – roughly sixteen years ago – I have seen firsthand how inefficient building features can lead to many painful problems in both residential and commercial buildings. Efficient building features, however, always seemed to lead to improvements in the lives of people who regularly used those buildings. One example of an energy efficient building feature is air sealing, which reduces drafts and heat loss by eliminating air leaks in the building around the chimney, plumbing penetrations, and recessed lights.

The Impact of Inefficient Building Features

Through the years, it became increasingly evident to me that building conditions are not the same across all areas of our metro. I realized that the benefits of energy efficiency need to reach a broader audience. But making that happen presented a challenge.

For building performance professionals there are four benefits of energy conservation that we can recite in our sleep: affordability, durability, comfort, and health. Comfort is usually the reason an energy professional is called by a homeowner to help. (Do you have a bedroom over your garage that is constantly hot in the summer; and cold in the winter, for example?) Affordability means that the cost of energy efficient upgrades can only be a reality for some customers. While all four benefits are important, it is the last one—health—that is most critical, yet services are not always achievable for those who desperately need that benefit.

The importance of energy upgrades for health is shown time and again, as more studies are done on the intersectionality of human health and building efficiency. With each study it is becoming clearer that our inefficient buildings may be the cause of much that physically ails humans—especially children.

A Case Study: The Link Between Weatherization and Childhood Asthma

One of these studies was published this summer by MEC in cooperation with Kansas City’s own Children’s Mercy Hospital (CMH) and the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC).[1] The results of the study indicate that weatherizing a home improves the health of children living in that home. Possible reasons could be that breathability of outdoor air matters, especially when that air comes inside, or that mold grows more commonly when outside air meets the air conditioned inside. Either way, something causes improvements in childhood asthma when a home is weatherized.

The research team used data from the wave of weatherization work MEC managed after passage of The Recovery Act in 2009. Most of the weatherization work done involved air sealing, insulation of the basement’s rim joist, and other energy efficiency improvements such as sealing around windows and doors (Wilson et al. 2023). During data analysis, CMH protected the personal identities of children and families, and economists from UMKC merged the MEC weatherization data with CMH childhood asthma data from the same homes to see if there was a significant link that changed the number of cases of childhood asthma in weatherized homes.

Then the research team compared that with a control group of homes constructed in all eras, even past 1983 (Wilson et al. 2023). This detail is a sign of good study design because most people think that homes built after 1983 complied with modern codes and were more energy efficient, but for most of our region’s municipalities, this is an incorrect assumption. The combined dataset was made up of single-family homes within Kansas City, MO city limits.

The strong correlation revealed in the results of this study turned out to be stunningly significant. The team’s analysis found that the weatherization program “reduced the frequency of pediatric asthma encounters for those children diagnosed with asthma residing in homes that received energy efficiency improvements” (Wilson et al. 2023). The difference between the weatherized set of homes and the control group where no weatherization was executed was a 34% reduction in hospital visits for asthma.

For building performance professionals who work in the field on existing buildings, this may not be surprising. Mold in energy deficient areas of buildings is not uncommon, for example. However, the significance of that statistic—the 34% of children who suffered less because of the energy efficiency upgrades—exceeded expectations for yours truly.

Implications for Policy and Codes

What do we do with this information? Well, first, good science means that this study will need further review. We have a strong correlation of reduced frequency and intensity of asthma attacks after weatherization, but more digging will need to be done by scientific peers to corroborate; and then to determine causation. Is the improved health because better insulation and air sealing keeps out poor outdoor air, like ozone? Or is it because it cuts down on condensation points (which can grow mold if undetected) that can occur when extreme weather seeps into buildings with conditioned air? We need answers. We at MEC hope this leads to further study.

In the meantime, however, this study supports those that advocate for better energy efficiency in our built environment. Policymakers can be assured that any improved codes policy—such as the passage of the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) in Kansas City, MO—is justified. And bonus! The timing of this report publication dovetails nicely with the rebates available to weatherize homes through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). It is up to those of us in the industry to guide consumers towards best practices as our region updates its buildings.

Addressing Renters and Existing Buildings

This is true especially when you know that roughly half of our residents in the entire metro are renters. A common counter from those opposed to more robust energy efficiency laws has been that only a few people want it, and those people can pay for energy efficiency in their new homes. Contrasting against that sentiment, this report begs a new question. Are renting families who have zero power over the energy features of their home to be left out of affordability, durability, comfort, and health?

And what about the home buyer that assumes the law protects them from inadequate construction practices across the country? The data shows that the codes followed in the era when the residential structure was built had no discernible effect on the impact of weatherization on asthma cases. Unfortunately, codes have not protected citizens in all cases. However, the evident strong correlation in this study made it clear: weatherization means fewer severe asthma attacks and generally less intense asthma incidents.

In Kansas City, MO, we are on the right track with a robust energy code passed in 2022 to protect consumers, at last, for new home construction. We now need to apply what we have learned in the existing buildings market. Training contractors on energy efficiency’s human impacts should be an industry priority. (We at MEC hope that other municipalities in our metro follow the City of KCMO’s lead as well.)

In summary, better energy efficiency leads to better health in the home. What, as a society, are we going to do now that we know? Do we ask car buyers to pay extra for seatbelts? No, they are mandatory because they protect the passengers. We shouldn’t ask residents to pay extra for healthy lives brought about through energy efficient buildings.


[1] Wilson N, Aloumon C, Tauheed L, Kennedy K. 2023. The Impact of a Weatherization Program on the Health Outcomes for Children with Asthma. Metropolitan Energy Center. [accessed October 23, 2023]; https://mec.bluesym10.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Health-Impacts-of-EWKC-Program-Activities.pdf

We are funded by readers like you. Even $5 helps expand clean energy access.
Your donation helps scale new technologies—tools that are public-ready, but only utilized by people of moderate affluence at a minimum. Clean-energy technology is a game changer, not only for the planet, but also for small businesses and low-income households. Thank you for helping to broaden clean tech's horizons.
The wall outside Kansas City Public Library's Downtown Branch

A buildings upgrade prize supported community-led transformation of existing buildings into more energy-efficient spaces that are ready for clean energy.

Looking to get involved in this initiative for healthy buildings? Use the form at the end of this article to be included in community planning.

Kansas City, Mo. (October 23, 2023) – Acting in partnership with the Kansas City Public Library to improve local buildings, Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) was awarded $400,000 from the U. S. Department of Energy’s Building Upgrade Prize (Buildings UP). The team is one of 45 across the U.S. benefitting from over $22 million in cash prizes and technical assistance for community project planning. Buildings UP aims to support community-led transformation of existing buildings into more energy-efficient spaces that are ready for clean energy upgrades.

Under the guidance of MEC’s Energy Solutions Hub, the project will leverage federal funding to help local library systems work with community leaders to plan upgraded energy-efficient libraries. These upgrades will complement community-developed, community-approved experiential learning exhibits about energy efficiency. Public libraries reflect the cultures familiar to the communities they serve, an approach that guarantees meaningful reach of important information that improves lives. During extreme weather events, local populations also use library buildings to take shelter. This pilot project will be a scalable, equitable initiative that will impact community members across the Kansas City region, influencing practices across the U.S.

Mary English, MEC’s building performance program manager, said, “This project will unlock people’s lived expertise to influence building improvements affecting heath and quality of life. We are excited to see public libraries delivering these experiential learning exhibits across the region, and someday nationwide.”

Kelly Gilbert, MEC’s executive director, said, “MEC is only effective toward real change when we defer to our region’s varied communities—their experiences of how energy affects their lives give us fuel to drive progress together.”

Rep. Sharice Davids (KS-03) said in support of the initiative, “Through the bipartisan infrastructure law and other climate-smart legislation, we can now make our libraries in the KC area more energy efficient. This will decrease energy costs, reduce carbon emissions, and improve indoor air quality for all folks working or gathering at a public library. I’m glad I could support these projects here at home.”ssss

You can influence your library’s involvement in this initiative by signing up to help using the form below.

About MEC: Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that creates resource efficiency, environmental health, and economic vitality in the Kansas City region – and beyond. The Energy Solutions Hub, as part of the building performance department, informs and supports building owners and their occupants to promote healthy and sustainable buildings in our region. Throughout our 40-year history, MEC has served as a catalyst for environmental and economic vitality of America’s Heartland. We are the only nonprofit in the Kansas City area dedicated to reversing climate change through the reduction of emissions produced in the transportation and building sectors—the two largest sources of greenhouse gases in the U.S.

About the Buildings Upgrade Prize: The Buildings Upgrade Prize (Buildings UP) provides more than $22 million in cash prizes and technical assistance to support the transformation of existing U.S. buildings into more energy-efficient and clean energy-ready homes, commercial spaces, and communities. Buildings UP is an American-Made Challenge funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Building Technologies Office and administered by the National Renewable energy Laboratory.

Guide energy advancement, right from your public library.
Get involved with your favorite library's efforts to plan upgrades, exhibits and public information programs.

July 12, 2023

Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) is pleased to announce we were one of 27 applicants to get the green light from the U.S. Department of Energy to provide workforce development in support of better building policy.

MEC brought together partnerships within their extensive and diverse multistate network of 30 regional, state, and local community partners—including two growing community-based organizations—to build a workforce of energy-efficiency-related vocations in disadvantaged communities in urban and rural areas across Kansas and Missouri.

The selection rewards months of collaboration in response to our region’s need to upgrade its aging buildings to be more efficient, durable and healthy for human habitation. The initiative intends to support communities’ efforts to adhere to best-practice energy efficient construction for new and existing buildings—buildings science practices that lead to better human health, comfort, affordability, and resiliency in built environments.

The construction industry is facing change after the City of Kansas City, MO led a recent effort to update critical energy policy in our region. Other municipalities are expected to follow suit, an additional workforce is needed to support these efforts. Unfortunately, adequate training for energy efficiency and building science haven’t always been available. This initiative corrects that issue.

“As technologies improve and the industry learns more about the connection between building efficiency and human health, it is imperative that every community has access to resources to implement updated building construction policies,” said Mary English, MEC’s Building Performance Program Manager. “Especially as extreme weather events intensify, creating a skilled labor force to work in building performance vocations will lead to better buildings, better jobs, and more liquidity in the communities that have been left out of economic benefits by similar programs in the past.”

MEC is eager to begin working on the project with partners to equip communities across Kansas and Missouri with safe and healthy places to live, work and play for years to come.

About the Bi-State Partnership: Our partnership includes these organizations: Beyond Housing; Boys and Girls Club of the Ozarks; Cabanne District Community Development Corporation; City of Columbia, Missouri; City of Kansas City, Missouri; Climate Action KC (Building Energy Exchange Kansas City); Climate + Energy Project; Hathmore Technologies; J. Gordon Community Development Corporation; Kansas City Kansas Community College; Kansas Department of Commerce and Office of Apprenticeship; LivZero, LLC; Mid-America Regional Council; Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance; Missouri Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs; Missouri Botanical Garden and EarthWays Center; Missouri Gateway Green Building Council; Building Energy Exchange St. Louis; Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development; Missouri University of Science and Technology; National Institute for Construction Excellence; RATERusa, LLC; Resiliency at Work 2.0 Career and Technical Education; State of Missouri, Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Energy; Strategic Workforce Development; University of Missouri – Columbia; Verdatek Solutions, LLC; Workforce Partnership (Kansas); Washington Wheatley Neighborhood Association. 

We are funded by readers like you. Even $5 helps expand clean energy access.
Your donation helps scale new technologies—tools that are public-ready, but only utilized by people of moderate affluence at a minimum. Clean-energy technology is a game changer, not only for the planet, but also for small businesses and low-income households. Thank you for helping to broaden clean tech's horizons.

Kansas City, Mo. (August 1, 2023)

Results from a new preliminary study indicate that weatherizing living spaces can dramatically improve children’s health by improving indoor air quality and reducing exposure to outdoor air pollutants. The research project came about due to previous work and research of the Children’s Mercy Kansas City (CMKC) Healthy Homes Program, where hospital staff witnessed positive health outcomes with many of their young asthma patients whose families had enrolled in the program and received home weatherization repairs.  

Dr. Elizabeth J. Friedman, MD, Medical Director of Environmental Health at CMKC said, “This is a great example of both how much our built environment can impact our health and why it is so important to consider our patients’ lives beyond our clinic walls.” 

Weatherization is a building upgrade process that keeps indoor air in and outdoor air out. A good weatherization upgrade keeps you safe and comfortable in your home, no matter what the weather is doing. For nearly a decade, Kansas City-based nonprofit Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) administered weatherization and energy efficiency renovations under various partnerships, including the City of Kansas City, MO’s EnergyWorks KC (EWKC) program. 

A research partnership with MEC, CMKC and the Center for Economic Information at the University of Missouri Kansas City (CEI) brought even bigger data to the table for a more comprehensive picture of potential health improvements. Staff at CMKC and CEI matched MEC-weatherized homes with CMKC historic health data for acute care visits in children with asthma living in the homes. A research database maintained by CMKC provided encounter-level historic pediatric asthma data, and the CEI team collected additional geographic and census data as part of the KC Health CORE research collaboration with CMKC. 

The team compared frequency and severity of healthcare visits before and after the upgrade and found “as much as a 33% reduction in the frequency of acute care visits for children with asthma” who resided in homes that received energy efficiency improvements. 

Kevin Kennedy, Environmental Health Program, Children’s Mercy Kansas City, said that for their patients’ families, the preliminary report indicates that “even if you participate in a program like this weatherization program just to make improvements to your home, and not because you were thinking about a health impact, there can also be big improvements in your health, especially if you have a chronic respiratory condition like asthma.” 

Kelly Gilbert, Executive Director of MEC said, “this stunning result demands more research to discover which home upgrades have the biggest impact on health, and we look forward to supporting that work in the future.” 

The research team is preparing to develop and submit a peer-reviewed academic report with the goal of publication in a research journal later this year. 

The preliminary report is available here.

We are funded by readers like you. Even $5 helps expand clean energy access.
Your donation helps scale new technologies—tools that are public-ready, but only utilized by people of moderate affluence at a minimum. Clean-energy technology is a game changer, not only for the planet, but also for small businesses and low-income households. Thank you for helping to broaden clean tech's horizons.

Going green with energy efficiency can put money back in your pocket.

written by MEC Clean Cities intern Drew Arends

In the past year or so, there has been a multitude of funding opportunities released to promote electric vehicle infrastructure. While some of this funding has been automatically allocated to state governments, the rest of it is available through a competitive grant application process. With so much funding available, the “how” in obtaining this funding can be difficult for the everyday person. With sales of electric vehicles surpassing one billion dollars to date, there is no better time to shed light on how federal funding can be achieved, especially for those in the heart of the Midwest.  

At Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC), a portion of the services we provide include consultations and grant writing services for anyone looking to find financial support for alternative fuel and energy efficiency projects. In this post, I will outline some helpful tips to find grants and three particular grants available for Missourians and Kansans.  

Climate Program Portal is one central location for key funding opportunities and developments related to large pieces of federal legislation, most notably the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). By enrolling in a free membership, you can have access to the details and deadlines behind various projects. When you become a member, the dashboard part of the site provides you with the most important information. For instance, as of (date of publication), there are 44 different requests for proposals (RFPs), requests for information (RFIs), and notices of intent (NOIs). These calls stem from a wide range of organizations, with the leaders being the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but closely followed by state agencies and the Department of Transportation (DOT). Further along the dashboard, you can find the specific details of each proposal, with links for more information providing additional insight under the “source” column.  

Currently, some of the biggest opportunities for Missourians and Kansans include the FRE, CRP, and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grants programs.  

Freight Enhancement Program (FRE)  

The FRE program is open to public and private entities to construct non-roadway projects to improve freight efficiency in Missouri. All project awards are subject to approval of the $3.25m included in the legislative budget (HB4) that is signed by Gov. Parson. Applications are due by 5p.m. May 19, 2023. Projects must be completed and billed to MoDOT by 6/15/2024. 

A Call for Projects for the Carbon Reduction Program (CRP)  

Mid-America Regional Council is soliciting project proposals for the Federal Highway Administration’s Carbon Reduction Program (CRP) for Federal Fiscal Years 2022-2024. Eligible Applicants include local governments, transportation agencies and non-profits located within MARC’s MPO Boundary (Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami and Wyandotte counties in Kansas, and Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte counties in Missouri. MARC is providing office hours April 19, May 9 & 15 to answer any questions you may have. Project Applications are due May 19. 

Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program 

This program is divided into two categories: Community Programs and Corridor Programs. The Community Programs category is more of a general group meant to provide funding for projects along parks, schools, roads, and parking lots, while the Corridor Programs are meant to assist with more complex projects along designated alternative fuel corridors. The total amount available for recipients is around $700 million (FY 2022 $300 million and FY 2023 $400 million) and one of those recipients could be a Missourian or Kansan like you! Eligible applicants include states or political subdivisions of states; metropolitan planning organizations; units of local governments; special purpose districts or public authorities with a transportation function, including port authorities; Indian tribes; U.S. territories; and authorities, agencies, or instrumentalities or entities owned by one or more entities listed above. Applications must be submitted electronically through grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m., eastern time, on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications before the deadline, set up an account and regularly monitor for updates.  

—— 

These are merely three examples of the many funding opportunities currently available. Representing various entities like nonprofits, local groups, state governments, and community-based organizations, they are a raindrop in the ocean compared to the numerous funding opportunities out there. As such, I recommend that for whatever reason you are seeking funding, you not only consult databases like Climate Program Portal, but the federal websites of places like the DOE, EPA, and DOT. Help is most definitely here, and it is the pleasure of those of us at MEC to help you find what you’re looking for. Our bi-weekly newsletter consistently provides you with information regarding funding, and our social media accounts (Twitter @KCCleanCities and @MetroEnergyKC; Instagram @metroenergykc ; Facebook @MetropolitanEnergyCenter) supply real-time updates. Of course, our services with grant writing and consultations go beyond these briefs and give you the opportunity to work alongside us.  

With the right insight and partnership, your idea could be the next recipient of funding to advance sustainability efforts in your own community! For more information regarding ongoing funding opportunities, check out this page for follow-up blog posts, and sign up for our Clean Cities newsletter to follow all relevant updates and new funding opportunities.   

——

Author Bio: Drew Arends has been a Sustainable Transportation Intern at Metropolitan Energy Center since November 2022. His primary efforts have involved newsletter production, campaign development, and community outreach. In his work, he has encountered several instances of funding opportunities, a few of which are highlighted in this blog piece. As Drew studies abroad for the next few months, he looks forward to contributing to the efforts of MEC through blog posts like these. 

We are funded by readers like you. Even $5 helps expand clean energy access.
Your donation helps scale new technologies—tools that are public-ready, but only utilized by people of moderate affluence at a minimum. Clean-energy technology is a game changer, not only for the planet, but also for small businesses and low-income households. Thank you for helping to broaden clean tech's horizons.

written by MEC Greater Kansas Clean Cities coordinator Jenna Znamenak

This article chronicles recent efforts by Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) and its Clean Cities Coalitions to make electric vehicle operations a reality in areas that are often left out of new connectivity trends. 

To a person who has always lived in a highly populated city, connectivity is a daily reality. Cities get the fastest internet, the most cell coverage, and more nicely paved trafficways. But for the 20% of the population of the United States who live in rural areas, equal connectivity has never been the norm. 

As reported in the January/February issue of the Kansas Government Journal by Mike Scanlon, City Manager of Osawatomie, Kansas, “It is no secret that rural communities are historically left behind when the United States adopts the latest technology.” And in recent months, more rural leaders are seeing a potential pitfall that could widen the access gap for their communities: the advancement of electric vehicles (EVs). 

As the latest consumer-use scenarios are analyzed and early-adopter reviews roll in, the reality is clear: EVs cost less money to fuel and to maintain than their gasoline-fueled counterparts. And with the recent monumental increases in grants and tax incentives for EV purchases, governments are becoming much more interested in EV funding pipelines than they are in vehicles fueled by oil pipelines. But urban and suburban governments are making the switch much faster than rural governments. 

Scanlon is not surprised, but he is hopeful that this time rural America can keep up with the trend. “By 2030 the federal government proposed that half of all new cars sold in the U.S. will be zero-emission vehicles, with 50,000 electric charging networks. By proactively supporting rural EV development now, we can prevent history from repeating itself.” His article in the Kansas Government Journal, co-written with MEC’s Central Kansas Clean Cities Coalition coordinator Jenna Znamenak, prepares rural leaders with real facts and funding connections so they can stay in the fight to stay connected. 

The most exciting grants on the list are the ones that get rid of nitrous-oxide-producing diesel school buses by helping school districts convert to EVs, for little to no cost to the schools. “These grants replace older school buses with electric school buses to reduce harmful emissions around children,” says Central Kansas Clean Cities coordinator Jenna Znamenak. But she says there are enough programs available through MEC’s grant assistance to help more institutions than just schools involved with the national sea-change. 

For many rural leaders, adapting to standardizing trends sounds like “small budgets with not much room for experimentation, time constraints that do not allow us the ability to learn about technology, and grant opportunities that can look like a 10-acre corn maze,” says Scanlon. “That’s why we’re here for you—we’ve helped connect local communities and fleets to easier funding for clean energy for the past 40 years,” says Znamenak, referring to MEC’s stockpile of resource-accessing tricks and their dependable grant assistance services. 

See the original article published in the Kansas Government Journal here

To stay current on all available funding, sign up for MEC’s free newsletter at metroenergy.org/newsletter-sign-up. To talk to an expert about your next clean energy project, call 816-531-7283.

We are funded by readers like you. Even $5 helps expand clean energy access.
Your donation helps scale new technologies—tools that are public-ready, but only utilized by people of moderate affluence at a minimum. Clean-energy technology is a game changer, not only for the planet, but also for small businesses and low-income households. Thank you for helping to broaden clean tech's horizons.

This morning, the U.S Supreme Court issued an opinion on the case West Virginia v. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). The decision drastically limits the power of the EPA to interpret, dictate, and enforce policies that help protect our environment under the Clean Air Act of 1970.

With the majority of our city’s greenhouse gas emissions coming from the built environment and transportation, Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) conducts crucial programs that help reduce emissions to make the Kansas City region safe, healthy, and energy efficient for all.

MEC remains dedicated to our mission: “creating resource efficiency, environmental health, and economic vitality in the Kansas City region and beyond.” To learn more about our work, please visit our website at metroenergy.org. We look forward to continued work with our community partners, stakeholders, and EPA Region 7.

We are funded by readers like you. Even $5 helps expand clean energy access.
Your donation helps scale new technologies—tools that are public-ready, but only utilized by people of moderate affluence at a minimum. Clean-energy technology is a game changer, not only for the planet, but also for small businesses and low-income households. Thank you for helping to broaden clean tech's horizons.
Metropolitan Energy Center Kansas City Hub Building Efficiency

written by Kansas City Regional Clean Cities Coalition director, David Albrecht

There’s a lot to like about electricity from hydropower.  It produces zero emissions.  It can respond quickly to sudden increases in demand.  A dam can also protect against floods, store water to fend off drought, slake the thirst of cities and irrigate cropland while generating clean energy. 

The Age Of Dams

Dams can even serve as sources of national inspiration.  In the depths of the Great Depression, building Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam) didn’t just provide thousands of desperately needed jobs.  The project made news.  It was the biggest dam ever tried, built in a searing desert environment.  Vital engineering problems were solved with construction already underway.  And it was proof that even during tough times, Americans could undertake big, ambitious projects and succeed.  10,000 spectators turned out in 102-degree heat when FDR dedicated the dam in September 1935, a job completed under budget and two years ahead of schedule.

Hoover Dam – Arizona/Nevada

Hoover Dam marked the start of what some have called the Age of Dams.  From the 1930s through the early 1980s, America built thousands of large dams.  Some are truly huge (like Grand Coulee on the Columbia), some just garden-variety big.  These structures rerouted rivers, irrigated vast areas of land, and made desert cities like Phoenix, Los Angeles and Las Vegas possible.  There are now about 100,000 large dams nationwide, 5,500 of them 50 feet high or taller.  In 2019, America’s 2,400 hydropower dams generated 274 billion kilowatt-hours, a shade under 7% of all of our electricity.  So, given all the benefits dams can provide, why aren’t we using more of this clean energy source?

Location, Location Location

It’s complicated.  As implied above, only a small minority of dams provide power, and the biggest dams are federal projects.  For these dams, there’s a kind of legal division of labor between multi-purpose dams providing power, storage and irrigation, and flood-control dams.  Flood-control dams can generate power, but that’s not their main purpose.  Example – the vast Fort Peck Dam in Montana has a volume of 96 million cubic meters, and generates 185 megawatts of power.  Grand Coulee Dam has one-tenth the volume – 9.1 million cubic meters – but maximum electrical output of over 7,000 megawatts – 37 times more than Fort Peck.  Different rivers, different sites, different designs – and different reasons for being.  Fort Peck was designed for flood control, with some generation capacity.  Grand Coulee was all about power.  Could existing dams be retrofitted to generate more power?  Possibly, but at high cost, and at the expense of other missions they’re required by law to fulfill. 

In a sense, geography is in control.  There are only so many rivers that are big enough to dam.  On each of those rivers, there are only so many sites that make sense. Even then things don’t always work out.  A case in point – Optima Dam.  Sited on the North Canadian River in Oklahoma, Optima was completed in 1978, after 12 years of planning and construction.  Today Optima Lake is effectively empty.  The North Canadian was once fed by underground water from the Ogallala Aquifer.  But over time, farmers have pumped so much water from the Ogallala for irrigation that there’s now nothing left for the river or the reservoir.  Beyond extremes like this, nearly all the best locations were developed during the Age of Dams.  What sites remain are, for the most part, remote, expensive or potentially dangerous.

Approaching An Age Of Extremes

There’s also maintenance.  Dams look massive and unchangeable. But they’re subject to the ravages of time like we are (it just takes longer).  By 2020, more than 70% of all the dams in this country were more than 50 years old.  Really big hydropower dams like Hoover, Bonneville or Shasta are regularly inspected by federal authorities, but they’re the exception to the rule.  And even these kinds of massive structures are now being put to the test by more extreme weather events.  Oroville Dam in California faced disastrously sudden melting of a heavy snowpack in 2017. The result was an overloaded spillway, 200,000 residents evacuated and a repair bill north of $1 billion.  The May 2020 dam failure in Michigan and the collapse of Spencer Dam in Nebraska during 2019’s intense “bomb cyclone” are  examples of what can happen to older, smaller systems facing extreme stress without regular inspection.

Finally, dams have finite lives.  They may endure for centuries, but in the end, all reservoirs will fill with sediment.  In the Sierra Nevada, in hard rock terrain, a dam might endure millennia.  But in much of the American West, where soils erode easily and where flash floods roll car-sized boulders, it’s different.   Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado was completed in 1963. It created a reservoir that could hold 27 million acre-feet of water.  Today that reservoir – Lake Powell – can hold about 24.3 million acre-feet when full. That missing 10% – enough to cover 2.7 million acres with one foot of water – cannot be replaced, because there’s mud and sand where water used to be.  The original capacity of Lake Mead, behind Hoover, was 32 million acre-feet. Today it’s down to 25.8 million – a loss of almost 20%.  Ongoing drought, like the Colorado River basin is now experiencing, also limits electricity a dam can produce.  The deeper the water above the turbine, the greater the energy output – and vice-versa.  As reservoirs fall, so does potential power output.  In a region where entire states depend on these dams and lakes, and the power they produce, these physical limits are becoming visible.

While the big picture may look a bit bleak, boosting clean energy output using existing infrastructure may be possible – while stabilizing the grid at the same time.  At peak generation, California solar and wind power output is now so large that the state at times is forced to give away electricity.  What if that renewable energy could be used to pump water from the Colorado back up behind Hoover Dam to generate more power?  In effect, this would use the dam as a kind of battery, without the need for actual batteries.  It wouldn’t be cheap.  The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which supports the concept, estimates a cost of $3 billion, but these kinds of retrofits may be a path forward for enhanced hydropower generation and a more reliable electrical system.

We are funded by readers like you. Even $5 helps expand clean energy access.
Your donation helps scale new technologies—tools that are public-ready, but only utilized by people of moderate affluence at a minimum. Clean-energy technology is a game changer, not only for the planet, but also for small businesses and low-income households. Thank you for helping to broaden clean tech's horizons.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (November 8th, 2021) – The U.S. Department of Energy has selected Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) for a $5.2 million award to lead electric vehicle (EV) and charging station projects under the Low Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Vehicle Technologies Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment program.  Funded projects will reduce diesel fumes in the air we breathe by supporting EV purchases, charging station installations, and outreach efforts to notify communities of these resources.  The funds will also help small businesses and rural cities accelerate their transition to electric vehicles in Missouri and Kansas.

As part of the award program, eight businesses and municipalities in Kansas and Missouri have pledged more than 15% of their own project budgets in contributions to help smaller communities qualify for federal cost-share matching requirements.  These businesses and muncipalities operate within environmental justice areas, opportunity zones, and other underserved areas. In addition to sedans, they are replacing small and heavy trucks with electric models.  Diesel emissions from heavy vehicles and off-road machinery contribute to early deaths, asthma rates and family illness keeping people away from jobs and school.  Those are just some of the health and social impacts from diesel fumes that affect the community members MEC serves.

Additionally, thanks to this award and generous overmatch contributions from some funding recipients, MEC can offer a small grant program for underserved communities.  Small grant recipients will define for themselves what project features would be locally most beneficial, like projects to install public EV charging stations in parking lots and curbsides near multi-unit residential complexes and retail businesses.  The success of the program depends upon placing EV charging stations within underserved or rural areas that feel the effects of environmental justice issues.

Executive director Kelly Gilbert said, “MEC will use our access to reach and empower communities in underserved urban and rural areas.  We will provide funds that communities can use in the ways that they decide will best meet their local needs.  We’ve seen that publicly funded EV chargers are even less likely than privately funded chargers to land in underserved areas, and it is important to change that trend.”

The award is expected to be finalized and the project to begin in early 2022; small grants are expected to be available in 2023.  Organizations interested in learning more about the upcoming small grant program opportunities should contact Miriam Bouallegue at miriam@mec.bluesym10.work.

We are funded by readers like you. Even $5 helps expand clean energy access.
Your donation helps scale new technologies—tools that are public-ready, but only utilized by people of moderate affluence at a minimum. Clean-energy technology is a game changer, not only for the planet, but also for small businesses and low-income households. Thank you for helping to broaden clean tech's horizons.