Retrofit Feasibility - California Climate and Energy Collaborative

Barrier 4: Retrofit Feasibility

Barrier Statement

Building retrofits including efficiency, electrification, solar and storage upgrades are often difficult for property owners and renters across the state to install at scale due to high upfront costs, old building stock, contractor and market dynamics, and confusing, complex, unreliable, or hard-to-stack incentive and financing programs.

Filterable Database

How communities are experiencing this barrier

View the details on what communities have shared with SLECC from across the state.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Inland Deserts, San Diego, Statewide

Fragmented, complex, and unstable incentive programs, with inconsistent messaging and rigid rules, make it difficult for homeowners, renters, and contractors to plan, stack benefits, or move projects forward, leading to missed opportunities and abandoned retrofits.

Key challenge discussed in - Los Angeles, Inland Deserts, San Diego, Statewide

Aging Housing Stock Raises Pre-Retrofit Costs and Complexity. California’s older housing stock creates major barriers to electrification and resilience upgrades. Many homes require costly pre-work—such as electrical panel upgrades, insulation improvements, roofing repairs, or appliance replacements—before zero-emission technologies can be installed. For historic or complex buildings, cumbersome permitting and compliance requirements further slow implementation. Together, these building-specific conditions make retrofits difficult to scale and disproportionately burden low- and moderate-income households, risking widened inequities without affordability-focused program design.

Illustrative example: In San Diego an estimated 800,000 buildings built before 1978 lack the electrical capacity or structural readiness for electrification, driving up retrofit costs and extending permitting timelines for clean-energy upgrades.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, Statewide

Inaccessible Outreach and Historic Mistrust Undermine Program Credibility and Uptake. Outreach materials and program information are often jargon-heavy, not multilingual, and insufficiently tailored to community language and cultural context, limiting access for underrepresented residents. At the same time, past fraud and deceptive practices in solar and retrofit markets have created deep mistrust, discouraging participation in legitimate decarbonization programs and undermining overall program credibility.

Illustrative example: Residents in Pacoima continue to receive deceptive flyers, robocalls, and door-to-door pitches tied to early solar scams and misleading contractors, blurring the line between legitimate and fraudulent programs. This lasting “trust deficit” suppresses participation in new clean energy and retrofit initiatives and frustrates reputable installers and advocates working to rebuild credibility.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, Statewide

Limited Local Capacity and Poor Interagency Coordination Shift Burden to Residents. Disadvantaged communities—often those with the greatest need for energy affordability, health protections, and resilience upgrades—lack the time, staffing, and technical expertise to navigate complex assistance programs. At the same time, state agencies and utilities rarely coordinate program delivery with local governments, leaving households to navigate a fragmented, duplicative system on their own. These gaps disproportionately impact the communities most in need, reinforcing inequities in access to decarbonization and resilience resources.

Key challenge discussed in - Los Angeles, Statewide

Multifamily retrofits face a persistent “split incentive” problem: landlords bear the costs of upgrades while tenants capture most of the utility savings. Renters often lack authority to make improvements, and property owners are reluctant to invest when tenants pay the utility bills. This misalignment of costs and benefits discourages investment in energy efficiency and electrification upgrades, even when technically feasible.

Local Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by local leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

Local Solution

Work through trusted community-based organizations (CBOs), CCAs, RENs, and other local intermediaries to deliver outreach for retrofit, electrification, and resilience programs. These navigators provide clear, consistent, and unified messaging that reduces confusion and helps rebuild trust in communities affected by past misinformation or bad actors. Effective navigator models include language access and equity supports—such as translation, interpretation, childcare, and food—to ensure engagement is accessible to low-income, rural, Tribal, and linguistically diverse communities. By meeting residents in trusted settings and cultural contexts, navigator-led outreach increases awareness, credibility, and readiness to participate in retrofit programs.

Existing Examples of Progress:

1. GRID Alternatives is conducting solar clinics, town halls, and community engagement events. They are focused on rebuilding trust after bad faith actors, showcasing savings, and engaging community members through local visits and outreach. Pacoima Beautiful is using community engagement to rebuild trust for solar initiatives in historically underserved neighborhoods. They use door-to-door canvassing, community events, and promotional videos to foster trust and awareness. 2. The CPUC established Regional Energy Networks (RENs) in 2012 as non-utility administrators to fill gaps in localized, cross sector energy efficiency delivery, funded through ratepayer funds for Energy Efficiency (EE). RENs often work to stack incentives with other sources for IDSM and DER measures to keep costs as low as possible. 3. The Southern California Tribal Energy and Climate Collaborative is one of six SGC RCC recipients formed to help 25 Tribes access multiple sources of funding. Thanks to a CPUC grant designed to create equitable engagement in regulatory proceedings, SoCalTEC was successful in rallying tribal and local organizations and legislators around extending the CPUC Self Generation Incentive Program rebate deadlines for up to 200 energy storage projects.

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Inland Deserts, San Diego, Statewide

Local Solution

Offer concierge-style technical assistance to help households and small businesses move from interest to completion. Project-specific support includes explaining retrofit options, navigating requirements, stacking incentives, completing applications, and coordinating next steps. By highlighting available rebates and providing direct enrollment assistance, concierge services reduce drop-off from program complexity, increase participation, and improve equitable access to energy efficiency, electrification, and resilience upgrades.

Existing Examples of Progress:

1. South Coast Air Quality Management District is focusing on reducing ozone emissions and particulate matter by controlling NOx emissions, working on regulations to require zero emission space and water heating technologies, and will launch a Go Zero program in early 2025 to help bridge the cost barrier for zero emission transitions. The program will target overburdened communities with rebates, stack incentives, and assistance on finding funding. 2. Basset Avocado Advanced Energy Community Pilot – Provides comprehensive homeowner navigation for retrofit incentives and code compliance; participants recommended replication across the region.3. Silicon Valley Clean Energy has a one-on-one “concierge service” model to navigate incentives and retrofits. 4. The City of Alhambra is enhancing language access and in-person enrollment programs at libraries for rebates and energy programs.

Further Progress Pathways

1. CCEC's assistance marketplace. 2. New local or regional based grant programs: SoCalREN, BAAD, SCAG, CPA.

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Inland Deserts, San Diego, Statewide

Local Solution

Coordinate Regionally to Integrate Incentives and Deliver Turnkey, Multi-Benefit Retrofits. Local governments can participate in regional coordination frameworks—such as collaboration tables or hubs—to align retrofit funding, permitting, and outreach across jurisdictions. Through this coordination, agencies and partners can integrate funding sources behind the scenes using referral systems, bundled incentives, and turnkey retrofit offerings, enabling residents to access a single, streamlined pathway for cooling, electrification, panel upgrades, and resilience improvements.

Existing Examples of Progress:

1. 2. The CPUC established Regional Energy Networks (RENs) in 2012 as non-utility administrators to fill gaps in localized, cross sector energy efficiency delivery, funded through ratepayer funds for Energy Efficiency (EE). RENs often work to stack incentives with other sources for IDSM and DER measures to keep costs as low as possible. 2. A multifamily building was able to install new heat-pump systems only because the owner stacked incentives from two local programs (BayREN and TECH), receiving about $80,000 in grants; even so, he had to front the full amount before reimbursement, highlighting the need for easier, low- or no-upfront models.

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Inland Deserts, San Diego, Statewide

State Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by state leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

State Solution

Reform state retrofit funding and incentive systems to be integrated, flexible, and predictable—enabling incentive stacking behind the scenes, covering pre-condition repairs, expanding eligibility, allowing adaptive use of funds over project lifecycles, and providing stable, rolling funding so residents and contractors can proceed with confidence.

Existing Examples of Progress:

1. The CPUC established Regional Energy Networks (RENs) in 2012 as non-utility administrators to fill gaps in localized, cross sector energy efficiency delivery, funded through ratepayer funds for Energy Efficiency (EE). RENs often work to stack incentives with other sources for IDSM and DER measures to keep costs as low as possible. 2. CEC has funded local programs and projects through recent one-time sources through the IRA DOE HEERHA, HOMES, EECBG programs and the related Local Government Challenge and regionally administered Equitable Building Decarbonization (EBD) program.

Further Progress Pathways

1. GGRG Reauthoritzation & CCI Investment Plan - The Assembly briefly considered allocating a 10% share of GGRF to Clean Energy in 2025. 2. CPUC EE Proceeding. 3. New local or regional based grant programs: SoCalREN, BAAD, SCAG, CPA

Region(s): Los Angeles, Inland Deserts, San Diego, Statewide

State Solution

Provide coordinated, project-level navigation and execution support, through statewide and regional concierge services, clear state advisor roles, and capacity funding for local governments, community-based organizations, and regional intermediaries such as COGs, RENs or CCAs, to help households and property owners move from interest to completed retrofits despite complex requirements, fragmented programs, and multi-agency processes.

Existing Examples of Progress:

1. CCA concierge services (Silicon Valley Clean Energy) – one-on-one support to navigate incentives and retrofits. 2. The Basset & Avocado Heights Advanced Energy Community (BAAEC), a replicable, neighborhood demonstration project led by The Energy Coalition that helps residents in two disadvantaged areas in LA access and stack financial assistance across programs for comprehensive energy retrofits.

Further Progress Pathways

CCEC's assistance marketplace

Region(s): Los Angeles, San Diego, Statewide

State Solution

Establish a Clear Statewide Strategy, Messaging, and Engagement Framework. The state should provide consistent strategy, messaging, and outreach guidance—supported by a centralized engagement calendar and language-access tools—so local governments and partners can educate residents, coordinate engagement, and provide feedback without reinventing materials or approaches each time.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Los Angeles, San Diego, Statewide

Solution Spotlight

CEC has funded local programs and projects through recent one-time sources through the IRA DOE HEERHA, HOMES, EECBG programs and the related Local Government Challenge and regionally administered Equitable Building Decarbonization (EBD) program. San Diego County recently voted to invest $500K to expand the EBD program to all unincorporated areas.

The Southern California Tribal Energy and Climate Collaborative is one of six SGC RCC recipients formed to help 25 Tribes access multiple sources of funding. Thanks to a CPUC grant designed to create equitable engagement in regulatory proceedings, SoCalTEC was successful in rallying tribal and local organizations and legislators around extending the CPUC Self Generation Incentive Program rebate deadlines for up to 200 energy storage projects.

Local and regional agencies have been supporting retrofits for decades. The CPUC established Regional Energy Networks (RENs) in 2012 as non-utility administrators to fill gaps in localized, cross sector energy efficiency delivery, funded through ratepayer funds for Energy Efficiency (EE). RENs often work to stack incentives with other sources for IDSM and DER measures to keep costs as low as possible. The South Coast AQMD Go Zero Program dedicated $21 million in mitigation funds to cover zero emission technology conversions, targeting overburdened communities by helping them find and stack incentives.

CEC funded Bassett & Avocado Heights Advanced Energy Community (BAAEC) stacks capital across programs

The Bassett & Avocado Heights Advanced Energy Community (BAAEC) is a groundbreaking five-year demonstration project that addresses environmental justice through community-scale clean energy deployment in two disadvantaged unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Serving approximately 28,000 residents across 4.7 square miles, the project is funded by a California Energy Commission EPIC Challenge grant and has already provided free solar installations to 34 homeowners while offering 20% average monthly electricity bill savings through its Community Solar program. Advancedenergycommunity Advancedenergycommunity These predominantly Latino communities have been disproportionately burdened by pollution from three nearby freeways, the Quemetco battery recycling center, and a nearby landfill, resulting in chronic health issues including asthma and lung cancer, with neighborhoods predicted to experience over 40 additional extreme heat days per year by 2050. Boom California Homes

BAAEC employs an integrated approach featuring four main components: Advanced Homes providing up to $50,000 in free energy equipment including solar panels and battery storage managed as a virtual power plant; Community Solar offering 100% local renewable electricity at 20% discounts; a Microgrid Resiliency Hub with 4-5 hours of backup power capacity; and Clean Transportation including EV charging infrastructure and zero-emissions mobility services expected to reduce annual emissions by 30.5 MTCO2e. Basset/Avocado Heights Advanced Energy Community (BAAEC) The project also demonstrates innovative technologies like blockchain-enabled carbon credit trading and real-time vehicle emissions monitoring while prioritizing community engagement through youth advocacy programs and leadership academies that train residents to become energy champions.

Led by The Energy Coalition in partnership with organizations including ActiveSGV, UCLA’s California Center for Sustainable Communities, and GRID Alternatives, BAAEC serves as a replicable model for just energy transitions that simultaneously address climate goals and environmental justice. Advancedenergycommunity Advancedenergycommunity The project’s success stems from breaking down structural barriers common in disadvantaged communities—including high levels of renters, lower-income and limited-English-speaking residents—through comprehensive community engagement, cultural competency, and elimination of upfront costs. By centering authentic community partnership while deploying cutting-edge clean energy technology, BAAEC demonstrates how ambitious climate goals and community empowerment can be achieved together, providing valuable lessons for scaling similar initiatives across California and beyond.

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