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Joining forces for tailored, integrated solutions

one smart city at a time

Collaboration is critical. 

For cities to maximize the benefits of next-generation technologies, cross-sector partnerships and information-sharing are key. From funding opportunities to data tools, MiNextCities gathers resources for small and midsized Michigan communities to best incorporate next-generation technologies into their planning and maintenance activities.

EV Funding Finder
Source: Electrification Coalition

Looking for ways to fund an EV project for your business, community, or home, but don’t know where to start? Try out Electrification Coalition’s EV Funding Finder tool. This user-friendly resource helps eligible recipients navigate through the sea of funding pathways made possible by unprecedented levels of federal investment in vehicle electrification.

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Inflation Reduction Act Savings Calculator
Source: Rewiring America

How much money can you get from the Inflation Reduction Act to decarbonize your home? Rewiring America’s easy-to-use calculator tool provides a quick summary of the savings you’re eligible for based on income, household size, and tax filing status. The tool even offers estimates for the savings on your utility bills for the year. Give it a try today and see the savings you can receive over the next 10 years!

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Electrify Everything in Your Home
Source: Rewiring America

Rewiring America developed this guidebook for homeowners to take steps in – you guessed it – electrifying everything in their homes. The guidebook offers manageable recommendations for homeowners (as well as options for renters) with tasks as simple as researching electric appliances to replace existing fossil-fuel powered devices at the end of their useful lives. The easy-to-read guide even offers suggestions for how to find qualified contractors and serves up available incentive programs to bring down the cost of electrifying your home.

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Local Government Playbook
Source: Electrification Coalition

A handy guide for cities, townships, and counties to use for preparing their respective local units of government for an EV transition. This playbook from the Electrification Coalition provides a checklist leaders can reference to assess their levels of readiness and covers topics such as short- and long-term policy strategies, community engagement, site planning, and resources for leveraging federal funding available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.

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The Enhanced Air Sensor Guidebook
Source: EPA

In this newly updated guidebook, the EPA offers communities a detailed overview of best practices and questions to considers in planning and collecting air quality measurements using air sensors.

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Current State of Smart Cities Programs
Source: MI Next Cities/NextEnergy

In this report prepared for the MiNextCities program, Public Sector Consultants investigates examples of smart city programs across the country and highlights best practices employed to overcome barriers to successful projects and deployments.

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The Enhanced Air Sensor Guidebook
Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency

In this newly updated guidebook, the EPA offers communities a detailed overview of best practices and questions to considers in planning and collecting air quality measurements using air sensors.

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MINextCities Program Primer
Source: NextEnergy

NextEnergy is developing MiNextCities one smart city at a time.

The MiNextCities program is engaging stakeholders statewide to identify and deploy tailored solutions that improve energy efficiency, reliability, sustainability, safety, and quality of life for a broad spectrum of residents.

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The Benefits of LED and Smart Street Lighting
Source: City Lab Insights and Northeast Group, LLC

Findings from a performance benchmark for cities who modernized their street lighting infrastructure with LED luminaires and smart control systems. What benefits do these upgrades offer? Have installation costs improved over time? The study is a great resource for communities and street lighting providers who might be on the fence about pursuing these upgrades.

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The Outdoor Lighting Accelerator: Lighting the Way Forward
Source: Department of Energy

Final report from the Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Outdoor Lighting Accelerator initiative which aimed to help municipalities and other public agencies overcome barriers in upgrading their street lights to modern, efficient, and high-performance systems. The report highlights pathways cities took to enhancing their street light systems, including incorporating smart street light elements such as sensors, adaptive lighting, and wireless communication capabilities. Pathways to energy savings, cost reduction, and technology enhancement are provided for municipally-owned systems as well as utility-owned and operated systems.

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