The Power of Resiliency with Ann Kloose, Michael Kilpatrick, and Whit Remer, Ep #14

This episode is made in partnership with Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions.  Municipalities across the U.S. experience any number of challenges when building infrastructure projects and energy solutions, but one of the biggest is building with future needs in mind. The issues of resilience and sustainability are front and center in this undertaking, and the guests on this episode are on the front lines of the fight. Join John Failla of Smart Energy Decisions as he hosts a conversation about resilience and sustainability, with his guests Ann Kloose, City of Fresno Manager of Sustainability; Whit Remer, City of Tampa Sustainability and Resilience Officer; and Michael Kilpatrick, Key Segment Manager for State and Local Governments at Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... Ann’s past experience and role in the City of Fresno [1:54] Whit’s past experience and role with the City of Tampa [3:23] Michael’s past experience and role with Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions [5:16] How does resiliency play into an overall sustainability plan? [6:19] What is happening in municipalities across the U.S. [9:51] How infrastructure can be designed in adaptable and user-friendly ways [16:55] The biggest challenges in building future-ready projects [26:54] Unifying stakeholders around common goals [31:21] Specific projects happening in Fresno and Tampa [33:56] Trends being seen across the United States [40:49] How social equity figures into resiliency [43:33] How do Resiliency and Sustainability work together? In Whit Remer’s view, resiliency is the top-line of any sustainability plan. It requires looking at the shocks and stressors that affect the community being served. He says the acronym, E.S.G. — the Environmental, Social, and Governance measurement of energy solutions — is a helpful way to remember what resiliency is all about. Sustainability comes into the picture when the Environmental area is considered. How can we take care of the water, land, and air in a community? A good resiliency plan should include sustainability initiatives to ensure that the provision of energy for the community is not damaging the area, and in fact, is helping to improve the community. There’s a “Resiliency Movement” happening in municipalities across the U.S. Michael Kilpatrick has the opportunity to see and hear what a variety of communities across the U.S. are doing to increase both the resiliency and sustainability of their energy solutions. He says that in the past, the two were often not tied together. But things are changing now, due to the impacts of COVID and a growing realization that sustainability and resilience support each other. This new approach is benefiting communities across the nation. Community-wide, resiliency is simply defined as improving the quality of life across the entire population. As an example, the design of streets has an amazing impact on a community. Do they include protected bike lanes? Are they complete and well maintained? Are they aesthetically pleasing? Do they include walking trails or sidewalks as part of their design? These factors and many others create vibrant, connected neighborhoods that provide access to businesses, community features, and public services conveniently and easily. The biggest challenges when building future-ready projects It’s impossible to predict the future, but municipalities have been attempting to wisely forecast future needs when planning infrastructure and improvements. But working to meet future needs doesn’t happen without challenges. Communities around the nation are finding common roadblocks such as… Communicating effectively about budgetary and timeline needs for large scale projects such as solar arrays Many governments still operate in “siloed” ways, with each department competing with the others for budget, resources, etc., when the real need is for cooperation and coordination between departments to build