Charlotte, Orlando, and Pittsburgh Join U.S. Cities Using Siemens’ Virtual Infrastructure Planning Tool to Address Regional Challenges

In conjunction with this year’s Infrastructure Week, Siemens is announcing the results of studies conducted to help Charlotte, NC identify the technologies that will provide the greatest impact for its respective growth, infrastructure, sustainability and economic priorities. Through Siemens’ City Performance Tool (CyPT), a virtual planning and software platform, key findings indicate that implementing digital infrastructure initiatives could have a significant impact on job creation and training through the installation, operation, and maintenance of low carbon energy, mobility, and building systems. The tool determined 16 ‘smart’ building and transportation technologies that could help Charlotte reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% and create nearly 100,000 jobs by 2050. Siemens is also deploying its CyPT with Orlando, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. as part of their sustainability planning efforts.

By 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population is expected to live in cities. The Siemens CyPT is designed to reduce environmental impact of everyday activities while addressing regional growth needs and opportunities for job creation and training in installing, operating, and maintaining city solutions. It leverages a proprietary, data-driven modeling tool to help cities calculate the environmental and economic impacts of building, transport, and energy technologies.

“As our country takes a closer look at its infrastructure needs, it’s important to recognize that the real implementation work is happening at a local and regional level,” said Judy Marks, CEO of Siemens USA. “While we look to maintain and digitalize decades-old infrastructure, priority projects will vary by city and region. Siemens is proud to work with our nation’s leading cities to help identify areas of greatest impact and effectiveness, so these cities can address infrastructure needs of today and tomorrow.”

Charlotte, NC

Siemens worked with the Charlotte’s Sustainability Office to review potential impacts of investing in technologies that could contribute to a smart, sustainable future in the city. The study found that by implementing 16 ‘smart’ building and transportation technologies the City could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent and create nearly 100,000 jobs by 20501.

"Siemens has been a wonderful partner as Charlotte looks at sustainability options for a very fast growing Charlotte,” said Rob Phocas, Sustainability Director, City of Charlotte. “The CyPT tool gives us an opportunity to understand the impact that certain technologies would have as we plan for a sustainable future."

The Siemens CyPT is a part of Charlotte’s initiatives to further position it as a leading smart city. Another key component of the City’s efforts is Envision Charlotte, a voluntary program for downtown commercial buildings that has resulted in 19 percent energy savings since 2011.

Key CyPT findings include:

• Buildings contribute to 75 percent of Charlotte’s greenhouse gas emissions, so smart building technologies will have the greatest impact on Charlotte’s sustainability goals.
• Approximately 95 percent of the City’s residents rely on cars to commute. Electronic car sharing can create almost 22,000 jobs by 2050, while intelligent traffic lights can optimize traffic flow.
• E-ticketing can provide a multi-modal transport planning tool for users that shifts people out of cars and into public transportation.

The City Performance Tool report for Charlotte can be found here.

Orlando

Siemens is now deploying its CyPT with the City of Orlando to create a technology roadmap as part of the city’s Green Works Orlando initiative. Siemens’ CyPT will evaluate city data and provide an analysis of opportunities for economic development and infrastructure planning.

“We have set aggressive goals to reduce our environmental impact through our Green Works Orlando initiative,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “Siemens’ CyPT tool will help us to reach those goals by identifying innovative technologies that can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, make our buildings more energy efficient, transform our transportation and mobility options, and more.”

Configuring the CyPT will require more than 350 data inputs from Orlando’s transport, energy, and buildings sectors. Inputs include population and growth, the supply mix of electricity generation, transport modalities, and travel patterns, building energy use, and the built environment footprint. The final report is anticipated by the end of 2017.

Pittsburgh

The City of Pittsburgh has partnered with Siemens and 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) to implement the CyPT to analyze the economic and environmental impacts of Pittsburgh’s proposed energy districts, an initiative to implement on-site power systems as part of the city’s ONEPGH Resilience Strategy.

“We’re proud to partner with Siemens and 100RC as the City of Pittsburgh continues to develop and investigate stronger energy infrastructure investments,” said Mayor William Peduto. “Cities serve as the key to solving issues like climate change, but we also need to recognize that cutting emissions does not mean impeding economic opportunity or healthier communities, but rather they go hand-in-hand and are mutually beneficial. We’re trying to plan for everyone in mind as we bring new energy solutions to Pittsburgh.”

Pittsburgh’s ONEPGH Resilience Strategy, developed by the City of Pittsburgh in conjunction with 100RC, highlights the city’s resilience framework, p4, focusing on People, Place, Planet and Performance. Pittsburgh has identified challenges within each of these key areas and identified potential partner organizations that have the capacity to support the city in delivering on these goals.

Washington, DC

Siemens is currently working on a study that will result in one technology-driven scenario on how the District of Columbia could reach its ambitious goal of reducing carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050. The study will use data from official District plans, including Sustainable DC, Climate Ready DC, and Clean Energy DC, to estimate emissions, air quality, and jobs impacts for technologies as wide-ranging as electric vehicles, building automation systems, and combined heat and power. This research is being done in conjunction with an ongoing partnership between Siemens and the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance – an effort launched through the White House Smart Cities Initiative in 2015.

About the Siemens City Performance Tool

Launched in 2015, a growing list of cities are implementing the Siemens City Performance Tool to leverage data for infrastructure decision-making plans and programs as part of their broader sustainability initiatives. U.S. cities currently testing or using the tool include Boston, MA; Charlotte, NC; Los Angeles, CA; Minneapolis, MN; New Bedford, MA; Orlando, FL; Pittsburgh, PA; Portland, OR; Riverside, CA; San Francisco, CA and Washington, D.C.

About Siemens

Siemens Corporation is a U.S. subsidiary of Siemens AG, a global powerhouse focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization. One of the world’s largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is a leading supplier of systems for power generation and transmission as well as medical diagnosis. With approximately 351,000 employees in 190 countries, Siemens reported worldwide revenue of $88.1 billion in fiscal 2016. Siemens in the USA reported revenue of $23.7 billion, including $5.4 billion in exports, and employs approximately 50,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

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1 One full time equivalent job (FTE) equates to 2,080 hours of labor per year.

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