Mayor's Office

Five agencies across the City of Madison were recently recognized as Climate Champions by Dane County for their efforts to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. We are proud to join the more than 25 other Dane County Climate Champions - local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations – who are leading on climate action.

The Climate Champions program was launched by Dane County last year as part of their Climate Action Plan to recognize local entities that are leaders in building energy use, fleet operations, employee commuting, water saving practices, agricultural practices, and net carbon emissions. The City of Madison received recognition for four facilities in the Net Building Energy Use category which recognizes buildings that use less energy per square foot than a typical building. They include:

• Midtown Police District Station - Constructed in 2018, the Midtown District station is the City of Madison’s sixth police station and serves areas in the near west side of the city. The 30,000 SF facility includes a 21.6 kW solar PV system as well as unique design features, including stained glass panels from the church that previously stood on the site and a community room. The facility is certified LEED v3 Gold and received the Leadership Award of Merit in Innovative Design and New Construction category from USGBC-WI.

• Fire Station 12 - The station, built in 2009, is LEED v2.2 Platinum and features a 20 kW solar PV system. Sustainability features include abundance of windows lining the walls and doors providing daylight, cutting down on the need for artificial lighting. Underneath the apparatus bay floor runs a network of geothermal pumps radiating heat to the bay. A solar powered hot water system and booster pumps produce 50% of the hot water used at Fire Station 12. A green roof also helps redirect rain water into a gray water storage system collecting approximately 80% of storm water that is retained on site and used later.

• Madison Municipal Building – An award winning historic renovation that was completed in 2019, the building earned LEED v3 Platinum status and ENERGY STAR status in 2020. In addition to a full historic restoration and interior architectural improvement, it included the following energy saving features: energy efficient windows, insulation, green roof, high performance LED lighting and HVAC system resulting in a 50% reduction of electricity and heating / cooling use. Also included is a recently installed 28 kW solar PV system that will produce about six percent of the energy usage at the building and reduce 22.4 tons of carbon per year.

• Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center - The facility is LEED v3 Existing Building Gold certified and uses about 25% less energy than comparable facilities. Contributing to its LEED Gold certification, Monona Terrace has reduced water usage to 46% below the LEED benchmark, purchased Green Energy to offset 100% electric power consumption and 100% offset of nonelectric carbon emissions and moved to LED technology and away from fluorescent and metal halide lighting.

The City of Madison also received recognition in the Fleet Operations category which recognizes entities for having a clean energy fleet. City of Madison Fleet Services was lauded for efforts to convert vehicles to biodiesel and, increasingly, to 100% electric power. They have also converted more than 500 vehicles to date, reducing emissions by more than 4.3 million pounds. Some of the city’s electric vehicles are running on clean energy from Madison’s three completely off the grid solar chargers that can each charge up to two vehicles simultaneously.

These projects are just a few examples of the City of Madison’s efforts to advance sustainability and achieve community ..climate goals. I am thankful to all the City staff who have shown a commitment green buildings and green fleets, and to the County’s work to spread the word about the good work happening through these awards. I hope our whole community will follow the example of all the Climate Champions, and I look forward to the next round of awards so we can continue to celebrate local sustainability action and leadership across all sectors.

To learn more about all the Dane County Climate Champions, visit their website, or this Interactive Map.