Sustainability in Roanoke

SOLARIZE Roanoke

Language Assistance

If you do not speak, read, or write English well, the City will provide an interpreter at no cost to you!  This is available for all services and programs the City offers.  For language assistance, please call 540-853-2000 and press 2.

Asistencia Lingüística

Si usted no habla, lee, o escribe el inglés bien, ¡la Ciudad proporcionará un intérprete sin costo a usted!  La interpretación está disponible por todos servicios y programas que ofrece la Ciudad.   Para obtener asistencia lingüística, por favor llame a 540-853-2000 y oprime el 2.

Welcome Solarize Roanoke 2022!

What is Solarize Virginia? 

 Solarize Virginia is a community-based outreach initiative managed by the local nonprofit LEAP (Local Energy Alliance Program). It reduces the cost and complexity of going solar by providing a one-stop shop for education and installation. Through a competitive review process, LEAP evaluates proposals from local installers and selects high-quality installers that commit to providing discounted prices to all program participants. After you sign up, LEAP will do a free solar satellite assessment to see if you are a good fit for solar. If you are, you will be connected with one of our pre-selected installers who will guide you through the process of solarizing your home. 

Throughout the process, experts at LEAP will be by your side to provide ongoing customer support and education to make the experience as streamlined as possible. 

The Solar Income Tax Credit is dropping from 26% to 22% at the end of 2022, so be sure to take advantage of the higher rate while you can!

This year's campaign will run from April 1 - June 30, 2022.

Click here to learn more.....

The City of Roanoke is committed to making “clean and green” an integral part of the way we do business. We work in partnership with residents, businesses, schools, and civic organizations to take an active role and responsibility for improving and preserving the visual appeal and natural beauty of the community.  For more information please read the official Clean and Green Pledge (PDF).
  1. Climate Action
  2. Community
  3. Livability
On Sept. 2, 2008, Roanoke City Council signed onto ICLEI/ Local Governments for Sustainability and adopted greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets for the city and community. Council committed by resolution to reduce GHG emissions from municipal operations by a total of 12.5% over a five-year period between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2014. Council also established a goal to reduce community-wide GHG emissions by 10% over a five-year period during the same time frame. At the end of CY 2014 the city had surpassed the municipal goal by achieving a 25% GHG reduction and an impressive 13% for the community.

In June 2016, council adopted new targets of an additional 12.5% for the municipal operations and an additional 10% for the community by the end of CY 2019.

With these emission reduction targets in mind, City staff was charged with developing a Climate Action Plan for the Roanoke community and implementing the programs, initiatives and best practices to the extent practical and achievable within available funding and resources.

ICLEI

Roanoke has completed the community inventory every year since 2008. The municipal footprint is now on a biannual basis with the last completed GHG measurement in 2014. ICLEI provides the city with a reporting software ClearPath which is used by a large number of cities across the world. ClearPath provides consistency in data collection and analytics.


Better Building Challenge

In 2012 Roanoke joined the Better Building Challenge as an early adopter, the city committed to a 20% energy reduction on  over a million square feet by 2022. In 2018, Roanoke achieved a 23% reduction becoming a U.S. Department of Energy - Better Buildings Challenge GOAL ACHIEVER!

Compact of Mayors 

Roanoke signed on to the Compact of Mayors, the first global coalition of local government committed to reducing and track the greenhouse gas emissions. Last year  the Compact of Mayors merged with the Covenant of Mayors, to form the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy.

Greenlogo