MCE, The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), BayREN, Napa County, and PG&E have joined efforts to help property owners in Napa County who lost homes in the October 2017 and 2018 wildfires. Advanced Energy Rebuild Napa will provide incentive to support homeowners in rebuilding energy efficient, sustainable homes to 2016 code.

TerraVerde recently supported one of their clients in buying out their solar PPA. This client, a Water Agency served by Southern California Edison (SCE) negotiated a buyout by leveraging available capital, monetizing renewable energy certificates and increasing energy production by re-powering the system. The agency Increased their utility bill savings, made revenue from energy certificates and will have a net financial outcome of 7.9% IRR.

SoCalREN’s Architecture, Construction, Engineering Students (ACES) Pathway Program encourages middle school and high school students to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM). Currently, six high schools participate in ACES, with nearly 400 students enrolled in the program. Students have access to earning transferable college credits through their local community college and paid summer internships. The goal of this program is to provide students hands-on experience to enter the architecture, engineering, sustainability, fuel cell technologies, advanced manufacturing, construction, renewable energy, hydrogen technology, and surveying industries. This program addresses the gaps seen in these industries of people of color and community members.

Atlanta Georgia leveraged tax-increment financing (or in their case, a tax allocation district) to finance the Atlanta Beltline. This mechanism operates on the assumption that the property values of an area will rise as a consequence of development. The increase in value from developed properties is considered city revenue and, after the city fulfills obligations investors and bond-holders, can be used to support sustainability staff and projects. This $4.8 billion urban development project provides transportation access in addition to resilient revenue streams for the area and is expected to create 30,000 permanent jobs and 5,600 units of affordable workforce housing, among a number of other community and environmental benefits.

San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) convened a community steering committee and developed the Community Emissions Reduction Program: South Central Fresno (Program) in coordination and consultation with the community steering committee. At the request of the community steering committee, SJVAPCD also organized a community air monitoring subcommittee composed of community steering committee members interested in participating in more detailed discussions and planning regarding the Community Air Monitoring Plan. The Program focuses on reducing exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), toxic air contaminants (TAC), as well as oxides of nitrogen (NOx)

This program consists of no-cost energy consulting, cash rebates of $750/unit and referrals to other programs.

The Bay Area Multifamily Building Enhancements Program administered by SF Environment helped Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation save energy and money resulting in rent reductions for some renters. Find out how this program helped with San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development goals of making homes more affordable.

In June 2016, Bay Area voters agreed to a new $12-a-year parcel tax that would bring in $500 million over the next twenty years. This funding will support wetland restoration projects intended to reduce pollution of local waters, expand wildlife habitat, and shield communities from flooding.

SunShares pools the buying power of all 9 Bay Area counties to negotiate significant discounts on solar + storage. Sunshares makes it simpler and more affordable for Bay Area residents to go solar with the goal of accelerating clean energy adoption and building regional resilience to climate change. For a limited time each year (Sept. 1 – Nov. 30), Bay Area Sunshares offers significant discounts on solar + storage from pre-vetted installers that serve the entire Bay Area. In addition to significant discounts, Bay Area Sunshares provides educational resources and events to make it easier to understand your clean energy options, and decide what’s best for you.

This rebate program from BayREN offers homeowners up to $5,000 for doing things like insulation, weatherization, and other energy saving updates. The process for homeowners is to go through their county and get connected to Participating Contractors. If homeowners lack information on energy savings and processes, BayREN offers their Home Energy Advisor Hotline – (866) 878-6008 – which helps homeowners understand the step by step process. Another benefit from this service is that advisors will refer homeowners to complementary programs (financing, solar). BayREN encourages local governments to share these services so homeowners feel more prepared to install and retrofit their homes.

After reviewing the recommendations from the Bay Area Multifamily Building Enhancements program, John Gianaras was able to asses and implement water and energy upgrades that were able to save money for himself as well as his residents.

Noble Tower, an affordable senior housing community, participated in the Bay Area Regional Energy Network’s multifamily rebate program. This project aims to provide residents with better, more efficient equipment and lower energy bills.

Thanks to the Bay Area Multi-family Building Enhancements (BAMBE) program which provides flexible rebates and project support, and the programs energy partner, Association on for Energy Affordability, Prometheus, a company that owns and manages 55 properties on the West Coast, was able to transform this giant 766-unit property into a welcoming, efficient place to live. The multi-year renovation, which was completed in 2017, included adding ENERGY STAR® washers and dryers, low-E windows, new toilets, appliances and finishes while updating air circulation on in hallways, heaters and boilers.

The Bay Area Multifamily Building Enhancements Program administered by SF Environment helped Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation save energy and money resulting in rent reductions for some renters. Find out how this program helped with San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development goals of making homes more affordable.

Rebates for energy efficiency measures in single-family homes. Rebates available for Heat Pump Water Heater, Heat Pump HVAC, Heat Pump Clothes Dryer, Induction Cooktop

Tools, guidance, and considerations for effective virtual engagements for COVID and beyond

Strategies for local agencies to gain community feedback during COVID-19. High and low tech options.

In this database, more than 200 CHP Project Profiles compiled by DOE’s CHP Technical Assistance Partnerships (TAPs) can be searched by a variety of characteristics.

This document introduces readers to the benefits of integrating energy efficiency with other distributed energy resources to achieve resilience benefits. It describes two DOE tools that each provides high-level assessments of the size and potential cost of onsite energy systems that can power critical facilities, and presents case studies with completed analysis on potential energy investments at existing facilities managed by three partners in DOE’s Better Buildings Challenge.

BOOST works to increase local government capacity and address resource shortfalls by providing customized coaching – staff training, grant application support, and stakeholder and community engagement – to local governments. Selected communities receive support in the form of trainings, partnership development, community engagement, planning and implementation support, grant application assistance and communications support. This program is for, local governments, disadvantaged and/or low-income communities, demonstrated staff capacity challenges and a desire to work on specific projects related to the goals of BOOST.

Our CCEC Statewide Best Practices Coordinator, Angie Hacker, recently interviewed Shayna Hirshfield-Gold, Climate Coordinator with the City of Oakland.

In this recording they discuss the City’s groundbreaking work to advance equity as part of its climate action efforts. As many in the State move forward from just counting carbon and kilowatts, we invite you to listen to a timely conversation on how to thoughtfully expand local climate work to effectively engage environmental justice voices and ideas and consider impacts and opportunities for historically underserved or marginalized communities. Shayna shares personal experiences and advice on pitfalls, best practices, and successes.

The Governor’s OPR will soon release the HIgh Road Just Transition Roadmap, which aims to incorporate economic diversification, industry planning, safety net updates, workforce development and regional collaboratives in the process of transitioning justly into a sustainable California with principles rooted in equity, inclusivity and good quality jobs.
Funding for the transition will come from CERF and divided into:
– High road transition collaboratives ($50 mill for regional grants)
– High road transition implementation pilots($50 mil in Diversification grants)
– High oad transition Implementation Grants ($500 mil on economic development – job creation)
Local governments wishing to be involved in the process are encouraged to engage by getting involved with collaboratives and by engaging in sustainability activities and economic development plans within their jurisdictions. They are also encouraged to join the OPR Just Transition listserv to receive updates from this program.

Here you will find the tools and resources used by the California Air Resources Board in order to achieve long-term carbon neutrality and building decarbonization goals. These include California’s Climate Change Scoping Plan, existing building codes, efforts being taken to go beyond mandatory building codes through Beyond Code, as well as efforts being put forward by other State departments and NGOs.

An overview of building electrification technologies and common barriers and opportunities for scaling up implementation.

The Building Energy Benchmarking program requires owners of large buildings to report energy use to the California Energy Commission (CEC). These resources will help building owners and managers achieve higher building energy efficiency.

3C-REN’s Building Performance Training is tailored for current and prospective building professionals—with expert instruction, technical trainings, soft skills development and certifications on the latest energy efficiency methods and measures. Building Performance Training is available to designers, contractors, building and safety staff ,realtors and more. Learning units and certifications on various topics such as building science, energy code, decarbonizing technologies, passive house and more are offered through this program. To date, Building Performance Training has trained over 1,200 individuals and is currently exploring how to extend the program’s offerings to younger people and people going through career transitions.

California City used 0% on-bill financing, from Southern California Edison, to pay for a well pump retrofit. The improvement resulted in new infrastructure and $16,000 in annual energy savings, paying for itself in just three and a half years.

Equipment finance agreements from $10k-$250k; energy service agreements from $250,000 to $10 million for multifamily properties where at least 50% of unites are restricted to low-to moderate income households. The program complements existing affordable multifamily energy programs like SOMAH and LIWP

Loans from $2,500 to $50,000 for owners or renters of single-family residences with rates between 3.48% and 8.12%.

Leases and equipment finance agreements from $10,000 to $5 million with terms up to 10 years for small businesses and nonprofits which can be combined with utility incentives and financing programs

TerraVerde is providing regular updates on the status and funding availability for commercial-scale battery projects. The California’s Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP), depending on location of the project and type of facility, can cover between 30-100% of the costs of a battery energy storage project. However, given the rich incentive levels, and the increased demand for energy storage, the funding available for these incentives is moving quickly. The available incentives programs are dependent on energy providers and include the Base Incentive for IOU customers, Resiliency Adder for IOU/CCA customers and in High Fire Threat Districts and the Equity Resiliency for IOU/CCA HFTD’s customers serving disadvantaged communities.

This fact sheet provides an overview on using CHP to protect critical infrastructure, and how CHP can help create a more resilient and modern grid that keeps communities safe and protects businesses in the event of a large-scale power outage.

City and County of San Francisco requires LEED Gold certification for all municipal building construction, both existing and new construction.

City of Albany proposed Measure DD to increase the UUT from 7 percent to 9.5 percent for electricity and gas and apply a tax to water service at 7.5 percent. The measure passed. The measure is estimated to generate an additional $675,600 in new revenues annually for the City.

The City of Albuquerque adopted a mandate for a 3% set aside from the General Obligation Bond Program for the 3% for Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Set-A-Side for Capital Improvements to fund projects that reduce energy consumption in municipal buildings. Building upgrades are chosen by a committee of city fiscal and technical staff based on specific criteria such as return on investment and life cycle cost analysis. Department applications for building upgrades are submitted to the committee for consideration. A project cannot use more than 40% of the funding allocated to the Set-A-Side.

The City of Berkeley got a California Energy Commission grant to do a microgrid feasibility analysis with a fully connected microgrid downtown, but decided it was too expensive. As a result they looked into solar + storage at individual facilities to meet their energy goals. They are partnered with East Bay Community Energy (EBCE) to assess which of their critical facilities in Berkeley would be appropriate. EBCE provided technical assistance and analysis, which Helped them structure a PPA and manage the project. Some products of their initiative are the Center Street Garage, one of the greenest buildings in the city – it has solar on the roof, 80+ EV chargers, bike valet parking, and stormwater catchment. Also, the West Berkeley Library Branch, which is one of the first publicly funded ZNE municipal buildings.

City of Berkeley proposed Measure HH in 2020 to increase the UUT from 7.5 percent to 10 percent for electricity and 12.5 percent for methane gas.85 Despite strong community support from a survey, the ballot measure was ultimately defeated.

Established a Climate Action Plan, declared a climate emergency, and is aiming to be a fossil fuel free city. Path to a clean energy future – reduce energy use, promote cleaner electricity, and electrify transportation & buildings.

The City of Brisbane adopted the Brisbane Building Efficiency Program with the goal to reduce environmental impacts of the built environment to meet climate goals. Through the development process, the first step was understanding the local market. Identifying what buildings exist in the city and establishing ordinances that could be implemented so the program can have a meaningful impact. The City established reporting requirements of energy and water for owners and tenants to work together to improve buildings. After benchmarking, buildings will be required to demonstrate building efficiency performance metrics, or conduct an audit to identify and implement savings opportunities. This compliance pathway starts 2023/2024.

The City of Burlingame designed an EV Action Plan that aligns with state targets and looks to electrify municipal fleets, while prioritizing the implementation of public EV chargers and accessibility to charging stations. Burlingame aims to have 100 charging ports, 5,000 registered EV’s and 10% of all municipal fleet to be EV by the year 2030.

Benefits of project include energy savings and reduced environmental & economic impacts, improved energy resiliency and reliability, improved cybersecurity, support clean energy market transformation, shows city’s commitment to the CEC and 2030 climate and energy goals.The project has struggled due to major changes in city leadership, a lack of funding, and the time lag since the study was presented.

The City of Culver City used on-bill financing to finance a large energy efficiency project that included installation of a Energy Management System (EMS) at the Police Station, Senior Center, City Hall, Veterans Memorial Center, and Transportation Center and Interior and exterior lighting at select sites. The City received financing of $442,000, leaving $53,600 in expenses, however the project is anticipated to save at least $68,000 annually in savings, allowing the city to realize cost savings in as soon as 1-year.

This page contains resources describing in detail the process of developing and adopting reach codes for local governments. Here you will find information on the purpose and importance of reach codes and their role in new construction.

City of Hayward has a resolution requiring city buildings to be Zero Net Energy starting after 2020. All existing City of Hayward buildings which receive renovations exceeding 50% of the buildings’ value shall be ZNE. All other lesser improvements to work towards ZNE by 2030.

The City of Palm Springs was looking to design a policy that will produce cost and energy savings for mixed-fuel existing residential buildings undergoing renovations, with additional measures required for higher building permit values. They started with the Quick Guide and Building Stock Estimates. If your jurisdiction is in two climate zones, identify the boundary from the Climate Zone Search Tool on the CEC website. The City recommends doing a GHG inventory to have benchmarks to state GHG goals, to know the energy policy goals of your City and the CCA / IOU / POU that serves it, understanding the building stock, and the changes that need to be made and need to be filled in the updated Reach Codes.

On February 1, 2021 the Piedmont City Council unanimously approved a second reading of proposed energy reach codes. The reach codes are local building energy codes that reach beyond statewide requirements for energy use in building design and construction. Piedmont is one of the first cities nationwide to adopt reach codes for energy efficiency and appliance electrification in new and existing residential buildings.

Ordinance 750 N.S. amends Piedmont’s City Code regarding requirements for energy efficiency measures, photovoltaic systems, and all-electric construction in new or existing low-rise residential buildings. Ordinance 751 N.S. amends City Code to include requirements for the preparation of a Home Energy Audit or Home Energy Score for low-rise residential buildings.

Key components of the reach codes are as follows:
– Newly constructed low-rise residential buildings and new detached accessory dwelling units (ADUs), must use all electric building appliances, and no gas lines can be hooked up to these buildings.
– Projects proposing an entire new upper level on a low-rise residential building, or that increase a low-rise residential building’s total roof area by 30% or more, are required to install solar panels on the roof.
– A renovation project on a low-rise residential building that costs $25,000 or more, will require the applicant to choose one item from a list of energy efficient insulation or heating system electrification improvements to include in the renovation. A renovation project on a low-rise residential building that costs $100,000 or more will require the applicant to choose two items.
– The energy efficient insulation or heating system requirement can be modified with a Home Energy Score of at least a 7 completed in the last five years.
– An application for an electrical panel upgrade must include capacity in the panel to accommodate future electrification of all appliances in the residence.
– An application for a kitchen or laundry area renovation must include electrical outlets for future appliance installations.
– At point of listing for sale of a property, a report from a Home Energy Audit or Home Energy Score must be provided to potential buyers and submitted to the City – unless the residential building was constructed in the past 10 years.

Piedmont is a largely residential city located in the East Bay Hills of the San Francisco Bay area with a population of approximately 11,000. City staff initiated the process for adopting the reach codes 18 months ago. Along the way, there have been two public opinion surveys, several workshops, virtual town halls, two City Council meetings, and an ongoing dialogue with community members about the proposed reach codes. These reach codes are put in place in order to reduce Piedmont’s natural gas emissions. The reach codes are intended to slow natural gas usage, while still meeting the community standards outlined in the City’s Climate Action Plan.

For more information, please visit: https://piedmont.ca.gov/government/city_news___notifications/reach_codes

Instead of creating a reach code ordinance through the typical legislative process, the City of Riverside aims to create such an ordinance through collaboration with local stakeholders, representatives from SoCalGas, climate advocates, and community leaders. The City of Riverside has created this ordinance, while avoiding traditional bureaucratic barriers and red tape, in order to provide bottom up solutions to address the impacts of climate change on the local level.

In late 2019, the City of San Luis Obispo tentatively proposed a greenhouse gas in-lieu fee for new construction projects that installed fossil fuel consuming appliances, ranging from $6,013 for a typical single-family residence up to $89,000 for a 54,000 ft2 office.

The City of Santa Barbara is managing their energy sector and building their climate efforts. So far they have been making sure to record all energy data, they have developed a robust energy plan and a CCA to manage the procurement process for the city of Santa Barbara. They are aiming to coordinate their efforts with the Councils’ carbon neutrality goal and adaptation efforts. SInce they are at the end of the Edison transmission grid, installing energy sources around the City is one of their priorities to build energy resilience.

This September, the City completed retrofitting over 16,700 street lights resulting in over 4 million kWh in annual energy savings.

Project and Agency Details:
– 19% in energy savings since enrollment
– Over 4,100,000 kWh in annual energy savings – equivalent to 620 cars off the road!
– Over $1.5 million in annual cost savings and $100,000 in annual maintenance savings
– Over 16,700 street lights upgraded to LEDs with an effective useful life of 12 years
– At project completion, the City received over $1.9 million in incentives
– Southern California Edison (SCE) rebates – over $1.6 million
– SCE Local Government Partnership kicker – over $369,000

City of Watsonville adopted a Carbon Fund Ordinance in 2015 that charges a fee to all development projects including new construction, additions, and alterations, with the exception of single-family alterations. The additional carbon impact fee is between 30 and 50 percent of the building permit fee. Projects may be refunded the fee if they install on-site renewable generation to offset the average annual electricity load.

The City of West Hollywood is embarking on an ambitious initiative to holistically weave technology into the fabric of the city and turn bold, progressive ideas into lasting innovations. The West Hollywood Smart City Strategic Plan provides the City a multi-phased roadmap to efficiently incorporate smart technologies into our urban infrastructure and leverage that technology to improve our citizens’ quality of life, health, safety, and economic prosperity, by focusing on projects that promote Sustainability, Mobility, Accessibility, Resiliency, and Transparency.

An online tool designed to find the tools, case studies and templates to help local government navigate the climate crisis, inspire action and network with other local government staff.

As part of Berkeley Existing Building Electrification Strategy, the Ecology Center conducted outreach to get feedback from the community on electrification. The Ecology Center was intentional about who they reached out to as The City has a redlining past. Community feedback was gathered from general audiences and then also from targeted communities traditionally excluded from the planning process. The top concerns from those two audiences were different and represented climate change and housing affordability respectively. The City and consultants used feedback to create a minimum set of implementation requirements that need to be met called “Equity Guardrails”.

This pilot program will integrate various climate and health interventions to improve outcomes for low-income high-risk asthma patients across county. The County with its partners will implement and monitor improvements in homes of select asthma patients to improve indoor air quality, remove underlying triggers and reduce GHG emissions.

Free web-based software for CA local government energy policy makers designed to help accelerate reach code adoption and support data-driven decision making. The Cost Effectiveness Explorer Tool launched in late 2020 and aggregates findings from 4 state-wide cost effectiveness studies. The software estimates residential building stock for each of 500+ CA cities and counties and helps users evaluate and develop cost-effective policy options. You can select measures that you want to explore for your code.

The County of San Luis Obispo is launching a revolving loan fund for energy efficiency projects with seed funding from a $2.2 million California Energy Commission (CEC) loan.

County of San Mateo requires new county-owned construction projects over 10,000 square feet to be LEED certified, with at least 50% of available LEED Energy and Atmosphere points. In addition, these projects are required to be Zero Net Energy if feasible.

The County of Santa Clara has adopted a new Sustainability Master Plan to build a livable and equitable Santa Clara county. They have prioritized action across 4 areas which are: Climate Protection and Defense, Natural Resources and the Environment, Community Health and Well-being, and a Prosperous and Just Economy. This plan aims to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG), build resilience in face of natural disasters, improve health inequities within communities, and cultivate a prosperous economy, while incorporating sustainability as a core function of all operations.

In 2014, DC Water issued the first certified green bond to finance the administrative and implementation costs of the city’s Clean River’s project. Projects funded by municipal green bonds provide numerous environmental and social benefits including improved water quality, climate resiliency through flood mitigation, and increased biodiversity.

This tool from EPA provides an initial “screen,” or preliminary assessment, of the economic feasibility of implementing a CHP system at a specific facility.

Developed by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, the Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM) is a powerful and comprehensive decision-support tool that primarily serves to identify optimal distributed energy resource (DER) investments in the context of either buildings or multi-energy microgrids.

Steps to success: Benchmark/audit, Prioritize, Track Progress

Program using solar PV + battery energy storage for residential & commercial customers with the added emphasis on low-income and medical baseline. The program provides resource adequacy for CCA’s and resiliency for customers.

EBCE assessed all the critical facilities in their territory to see what potential was there for solar storage. This initiative was funded by a Air Resources Board (ARB) grant and allowed them to look at over 300 facilities, which were shared by the cities they cater to. Consultant Independent Engineers (IE) completed a preliminary review of the facility portfolio to confirm the most technically viable solar + BES sites and eliminated sites that had complex roof configurations/attributes or significant shading. EBCE then developed a standard PPA, signed by them and not the local jurisdiction to be intermediary between City and developer. A centralized convener like a CCA can really help fill gaps in bandwidth for member cities that don’t have time and allows CCAs to fund projects that previously cities weren’t able to.

Empower Procurement is excited to launch their new E-building Procurement Initiative. This program aims to tackle six initiatives: energy efficient products, expert energy services contractors, fuel switching resources: planning and installation, targeted specifications for low-energy building systems, new approaches to procurement operations, and training on organizations benchmarking and procurement metrics. The goal of this initiative is to build a collaborative network with local governments that provides opportunities for streamlined and cooperative procurement, while identifying challenges for electrification – particularly in existing government buildings. The product of this initiative will be represented in developed resources and best practices that are useful to the network.

The E-Fleet Accelerator offers school districts, higher education, governments, and select fleet operators support for the transition to electrified fleets. Transforming asset classes represents unique procurement barriers for institutional buyers. Fleet electrification is a prime example of this, and this PI will focus on addressing common gaps to improve the adoption of electric fleets for various purposes across diverse sectors. Our team provides customized insights to identify new opportunities to adopt electric fleets, and ensure successful fulfillment of electrification plans.

This Initiative provides free assessment to troubleshoot procurement processes. You will find tailored resources to help with procurement barriers. It has streamlined access to DERs product information as well as guidance on technology solutions to help make informed DERs purchasing decisions. The Products Procurement Initiative is designed to provide an opportunity for buyers to learn more about energy-efficient products and possible opportunities for cost savings.

3C-REN’s Energy Code Connect program makes it easier for building professionals to use, comply with, and enforce California’s complex and ever-changing energy code. Energy Code Connect offers various services for public and private-sector building professionals, including: Energy Code Coach, Trainings, and Regional Forums. The Energy Code Coach is available to provide mentorship and support directly from local experts to building professionals. The program also offers free training on various topics including compliance, ADU requirements, and PV requirements. Lastly, Energy Code Connect offers 3-4 forums annually to provide a space for building professionals to network and explore how critical policy issues affect energy code.

The Tri-County Regional Energy Network is dedicated to a continued understanding of the energy efficiency workforce on the Central Coast to grow, diversify, and upskill the region’s workers. To this end, 3C-REN in partnership with In Balance Green Consulting established the Higher Performance Building on the Central Coast series. This series began by looking at strategies to address how to design and build for safety, health, and cost savings on the Central Coast while moving to electric construction.

Reach codes that exceed state standards, either voluntary or mandatory.

EVFleet Tools is a collection of resources designed to help municipal staff identify and implement opportunities for robust decarbonization of their organization’s fleet and facilities. On this website you will find tools developed based on analyses done for the City of Fremont Fleet Electrification Study and informed by a Regional Working Group of public and industry stakeholders in the Bay Area. Materials from the Regional Working Group’s meetings and further resources to help you make an informed transition to an electrified municipal fleet are also available.

Working at the household level can combat extreme heat in vulnerable communities.

Stand alone solar projects and battery projects are eligible for this incentive. It currently provides a tax credit of 26% of the project costs (as of 2021). Third party project owners can claim this benefit and share this value with schools through reduced agreement payments. However, the value will step down annually starting 2023 to 22% and decrease to 10% by 2024.

After the last major economic downturn, the federal government adopted the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which provided stimulus funding for priorities including energy efficiency retrofits through the DOE’s Better Buildings Initiative. In California, three regions received millions of dollars to support new building efficiency incentive and assistance programs that targeted privately owned buildings and spurred economic opportunities for the hard-hit building trades. Twelve years later, those regions are now operating as Regional Energy Networks, with stable ratepayer funding authorized by the CPUC to continue offering services like BayREN’s Business programs. Recognizing that incentives and other financial mechanisms are critical for making the investment in energy efficient infrastructure more affordable and accessible to businesses, the BayREN Business program offers rebates, financing, and one-stop-shop technical assistance to ensure small and medium businesses can leverage all available energy saving programs and minimize out-of-pocket expenses. While this is an old example, it may help local governments consider how to take advantage of major State and federal stimulus efforts to create long-lasting support for building retrofits that also strengthen economic recovery. They may also consider how to design new or increased upgrade incentives for small or distressed businesses.

The California Hub for Energy Efficiency Financing (CHEEF) is now offering three financing programs to help your constituents updraig their properties. The GoGreen Financing includes a Home, Business and Affordable Multifamily program. This kind of financing alleviates upfront cost barriers for retrofits and can be used in combination with rebates and incentives or on its own! They hope local governments promote the financing program with their constituents who are waiting to take their next step on their energy efficiency plans!

The Fremont Green Challenge is an online platform with all the information Fremont residents need to find out how to lower their impact on climate change, save energy and water, and save money. The platform offers various “actions” you can take in your daily life, and includes all the rebates, financing and community programs available for each action. Actions that range from “easy” to “challenging”, with information on the impact for each action as well as the annual savings and upfront costs.

Fremont has defined its own smart city agenda based on a series of conversations and cross-functional, collaborative workshops. The city started by looking at its existing efforts currently underway — smart traffic signals, EV charging stations, the Pulse Point smart app, and roadway video surveillance.

The Fresno County Employees’ Retirement Association allocated millions of dollars from the pension fund, which is being leveraged to invest in community projects with social benefits, such as affordable rental construction, disaster recovery, and green infrastructure. The City continued this effort in the wake of COVID-19 after anticipating greater need for local capital during recovery.

City of San Diego is the process of identifying, prioritizing & executing energy projects across 500+ facilities owned & operated by other “Asset Managing Departments”, guided by their CAP.

The GLPCM provides a unique opportunity to bring a disaster-prone region indefinite renewables-driven backup power — providing the area an unparalleled trifecta of economic, environmental, and resilience benefits. Significant efforts are being made to align appropriate stakeholders, including property owners, policymakers, community leaders, solutions providers, and the monopoly electric utility, Southern California Edison (SCE), toward this goal. This deployment of clean local energy will showcase the grid of the future.

The Environmental Insights Explorer (EIE) uses exclusive data sources and modeling capabilities in a freely available platform to help cities measure emission sources, run analyses, and identify strategies to reduce emissions — creating a foundation for effective action.

GRIP is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic coalition of congregations from varied faiths working together as a diverse and inclusive coalition dedicated to helping those of our community in need to transition to self-sufficiency. Our mission statement: “Responding to the Call to Service, GRIP transforms the lives of homeless, hungry and disenfranchised people.” Over the years, GRIP, in keeping with its mission, has evolved from a small community food pantry to a multiservice agency, which serves 15,000 homeless, and low-income consumers annually. GRIP is governed by a 15-member Board of Directors drawn from member congregations, the business community and public-sector agencies.

The Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) is dedicated to breaking the link between unhealthy housing and unhealthy families. Formerly the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, GHHI replaces stand-alone housing intervention programs with an integrated, whole-house approach that produces sustainable, green, healthy and safe homes. Through this model, Marin County is improving health, economic and social outcomes for low income eligible families across the country.

The Green Business Network is accessible to all Port of San Diego tenants and subtenants, the Green Business Network is a voluntary sustainability program that provides free education and resources to waterfront businesses committed to reducing our collective carbon footprint. GBN collaborates with its members on training opportunities and supply resources to help them improve operational efficiency and implement sustainable business practices that keep our bay blue.

Program using battery, EVSE, thermostats and water heaters for residential, commercial & municipal customers. Provides wholesale market revenue & procurement cost savings to CCA, cost savings & resiliency benefits to customers

The City of Hayward’s Green Hayward PAYS® program allows multifamily property owners to get immediate savings on their water and energy utility bills by installing efficiency improvements with no up-front cost.

The Bay Area Regional Energy Network (BayREN) has partnered with the Rising Sun Center for Opportunity to help determine residents’ personalized energy and water efficiency needs through the Green House Call Service. Residents can sign up for a Green House Call by completing a 10-minute survey. After completing the survey, a free energy and water efficiency kit with installation instructions will be delivered directly to their door.

Each kit includes:

Up to 16 LED light bulbs, standard and floodlight,

A smart power strip ($70 value),

High-efficiency bathroom and kitchen sink faucet aerator(s),

High-efficiency showerhead(s),

Toilet leak detection tablets, and

Information on other energy-saving and green programs.

This webpage provides an overview of how to lower building energy demand needs and provides additional resources for further explanation.

BayREN’s Green Labeling program helps homeowners better understand the energy efficiency of their homes through a simple assessment that results in a Home Energy Score from 1 to 10 and a customized report and recommendations for energy efficiency upgrades. Homeowner’s scores can also provide good information to future buyers of the home by offering a simple and consistent evaluation tool.

The Green Region Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Indicators Map serves as a tool for jurisdictions within the SCAG region to measure and track sustainability progress in the region across 12 categories and 29 sustainability indicators. The map aims to foster collaboration through the sharing of best practices across the 191 cities and six counties in the SCAG region. GRI Version 4.0 is the most recent iteration of the tool, providing an improved user experience through updated map designs, links, and resources. GRI Version 4.0 includes 3 updated maps, one new indicator and one new topic: Electric Vehicle Permitting Streamlining and Urban Greening.

The Guide to California Climate Zones is a reference for designers interested in designing bioclimatic buildings. The files listed at right include climate descriptions, design strategies, and climate data (temperature, relative humidity, degree-day, design-day, extra-terrestrial radiation, wind speed and direction) for the California climate zones as defined by Title 24. Suggestions and guidelines for appropriate passive designs are shown on a bioclimatic chart.

It is important for local governments to raise awareness about the current programs available to conduct energy updates. BayREN has identified that interagency collaboration is the key to navigate the complex landscape of programs offered by many organizations. We recommend LG’s should aspire to have successful guidelines that include knowledge sharing, a seamless user experience, and scaling for constituents. BayREN identified that useful tools to share knowledge include meeting people where they are at, partnering with complimentary programs, identifying your target audience and determining the best method of outreach based on their needs. This, followed by partnerships to present various EE programs from varying agencies will make for a seamless user experience. Finally, BayREN recommends combining rebates and financing to achieve savings greater than monthly payments so constituents can implement energy savings and reach renewable goals.

Hayward Unified School District issued $20M in bonds for renewable energy and sustainability projects.

Imperial Irrigation District issued $65M in bonds for renewable energy projects.

The cities of Fremont, Mountain View, and South San Francisco have each engaged with the ESCO Syserco to implement ESPCs for their municipal building stock. To learn more about their respective projects, visit their case study pages.

ILG’s Beacon Program provides recognition and support for California local agencies that are working to build more vibrant and sustainable communities. Beacon honors voluntary efforts by cities, counties and special districts that are reducing greenhouse gas emissions, saving energy and adopting policies that promote sustainability.

SOMAH in increasing access to solar jobs. 50% of participants in their training programs are either local hires (living in the community that the project is in) or a targeted hire (affordable housing residents, women, BIPOC, justice-impacted, single parents, facing barriers to employment). SOMAH provides a wage floor of 1.4x the local minimum wage and provides career development resources and workshops for trainees.

This library hosts a variety of tools and resources for local governments. Here you will find four different toolkits catered to local governments, small businesses, households and individuals, and schools. These toolkits include resources such as guidelines on how to calculate and inventory current GHG emissions, cost-saving strategies to reduce GHG emissions, an easy-to-use carbon footprint calculator, and case studies to learn what other local governments, businesses, and schools have been able to accomplish.

LGSEC is a statewide membership network representing local government interests to state agencies such as CPUC, CEC, and CARB. Together, LGSEC members advance sustainable energy and climate solutions to meet California’s climate and energy goals through knowledge exchange, targeted learning opportunities, and statewide collaboration. Sustainability staff can maximize staff capacity by becoming a member of the LGSEC to engage and represent their jurisdictions in statewide regulatory energy policy.

During technology development, Local Governments can serve as excellent partners for pilot or demonstration projects. It is a good best practice for local governments to partner with technology providers when they are applying for EPIC grants through the CEC. There will soon be a call for places section of the Empower Innovation website to help create connections for project partners.

LACI Innovators is the premiere network access program for early-stage startups in Southern California working together to create an inclusive green economy. Learn more about the timing, benefits, and eligibility criteria of the Innovators Program Cohort 6.

The Los Angeles County Internal Services Department made a one-time decision to add a small percentage surcharge on departments’ energy bills to pay for staff and consultants tasked with lowering the County’s energy costs. As Howard Choy explains in a recent interview, this financial mechanism helped his sustainability team weather previous economic downturns and does not require annual budget appropriation.

LA’s LED Street Lighting Retrofit Project converted over 140,000 public lights to LEDs. Even after accounting for the cost of repaying the project loan, the project had saved LA more than $7 million annually while also reducing energy usage by 63%. The project also created 11 new positions at the LA Bureau of Street Lighting and about 300 jobs for manufacturers.

EPIC funded microgrid project on tribal lands with unique project design

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has awarded $3.5 million to MCE to conduct a two-year, Low-Income Family and Tenants (LIFT) pilot program to better serve income-qualified multifamily communities in MCE’s service area. As residents of income-qualified multifamily housing, renters face multiple barriers to participating in energy efficiency programs, including fear of property owner retaliation, lack of control over any significant upgrades made to their units, concerns about sharing personal information, immigration enforcement actions, and financial constraints. To help alleviate these challenges, outreach efforts for the LIFT program will be aimed towards property owners and managers.

Marin County has adopted a Low Carbon Concrete Code that requires the use of low carbon concrete in all building projects in order to address embodied carbon.

On March 18, 2021, MCE’s Board of Directors approved up to $10 million as part of MCE’s 2021-2022 fiscal year budget to be used for cost-relief to MCE’s vulnerable residential and small business customers. This program launched in April, 2021 and offered bill credits to eligible customers, supporting up to 65,000 residential and 20,000 small business customers. With the continued COVID economy and other rising energy costs, there is an increased need to support our most vulnerable customers and contribute to local economic stability.

Dispatchable, fossil-free customer-sited storage for back-up power and shifting/shaping load away from peaks

For income-qualified customers, MCE is offering an electric vehicle (EV) rebate as well as free customer support to help you take advantage of all the rebates and incentives available and lower the price of newly purchased and leased EVs. Depending on your eligibility, you could receive up to $14,500 in rebates for an EV – even more if you trade in an older vehicle – and up to $2,000 in rebates for EV charging.

Three City of Fremont Fire Stations are benefitting from a microgrid energy demonstration project that pairs solar photovoltaic (PV) carports with large battery systems to allow the facilities to generate and store their own energy, acting like mini power plants. The project is a public-private partnership between the City of Fremont, the Fremont-based clean technology firm Gridscape Solutions (Gridscape), and the California Energy Commission (CEC). The goal of the demonstration project is to show how such microgrid energy systems can provide added resiliency to critical public facilities by “islanding” (or operating separately) from the grid in the case of an emergency; the added benefits are that the City will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions while saving significantly on utilities through solar generation and battery storage instead of drawing power from the electric grid during peak usage times. In addition, the project supports local cleantech entrepreneurship and has served as an important economic development tool.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company, San Diego Gas & Electric Company, and Southern California Edison Company will hold a series of stakeholder workshops during Summer 2021 to help shape the development of a Microgrid Incentive Program (MIP) approved earlier this year by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The program is intended to fund clean energy microgrids to support the critical needs of vulnerable populations impacted by grid outages.

A 2015 multi-sector partnership between the City of Sunnyvale, Apple, Cal-Water, California Department of Water Resources, and Santa Clara Valley Water District culminated in a $17.5 million capital project that financed improvements at the water treatment station for recycled and reclaimed water. This 10-year project ensures that the water supply for Cupertino and surrounding areas will continue to meet the freshwater needs of the community.

National Community Renaissance (National CORE), the Santa Ana United Methodist Church, Mercy House, the County of Orange, and the City of Santa Ana celebrate the much-anticipated groundbreaking of Legacy Square, a transit-oriented affordable housing development in the heart of Santa Ana.

The community is 100 percent affordable and 33 of the apartment homes will be set aside for permanent supportive housing for vulnerable populations, including individuals experiencing homelessness and veterans. Mercy Housing will provide comprehensive supportive services for residents, focusing on economic mobility and overall well-being.

SGC Strategic Growth Council awarded National CORE a $25.4 million Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) grant for the development, with $15 million directed toward the affordable housing community and the remainder allocated toward transportation and public improvements, including additional street trees and a small park.

A New York start-up LO3 Energy leveraged group purchasing to fund the Brooklyn Microgrid network, which allows individuals to buy and sell renewable energy in a peer-to-peer network. This both increased community resilience to frequent power outages and supports local economic development while reducing the community’s carbon footprint.

TerraVerde recently celebrated the completion of a solar and battery project that they developed on behalf of a Northern California County that is projected to yield $2.3 million in savings over the 25-year term of the Power Purchase Agreement. Battery Energy Storage Systems are a powerful resource for generating financial benefits through cost savings by reducing demand and shifting load to less expensive hours, which generate revenue via participating. A 25 year term will deliver 2.3 million in value to the County. Additionally, these systems were deployed on site with no capital cost to county through the use of third-party financing. The project is expected to generate 4.5 millions in terms of bill savings in the next 25 years.TerraVerde Energy

Humboldt County has been featured in local, national, and international news since 2018 as a potentially ideal location for offshore wind energy generation. RCEA, tasked with developing local renewable resources and energy-related economic advancement, has taken the lead in coordinating the extensive planning and research process required for what could be California’s first floating offshore wind project. On May 25 the Biden-Harris Administration announced an agreement to advance areas for offshore wind off the northern (Humboldt County) and central coasts of California.

The One Mile, One Charger Program aims to improve air quality and facilitate public infrastructure to support residents, employees, and visitors to never be more than one (1) mile away from a publicly accessible EV Charger. The City of Torrance used GIS to map where EV charging stations should be located to ensure the project goals were met after implementation. Additionally, they consulted the public by doing outreach to understand EV charger locations needs. During Phase I of implementation the City successfully pursued grant funding from Mobile Source Reduction Committee (MSRC) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) to install a total of 14 Level II and 6 DC Fast Stations. And most recently through Phase II, the City secured grant funding from Mobile Source Reduction Committee (MSRC) to expand electric vehicle infrastructure to fleet applications.

People, Places, Prosperity is a community-driven movement to achieve measurable and sustainable neighborhood transformation through innovative implementation of GHG reduction projects. Project types include: Affordable Housing & Sustainable Communities Program, Low Carbon Transit Operations, Urban Community Forestry, Low-Income Weatherization Program, Green/Food Waste Diversion Program, Active Transportation Program, High Quality Job Creation & Workforce Program, and Health & Wellbeing Program.

In 2014, Los Angeles received a $50,000 Partners for Places grant (along with match funding from the California Community Foundation and The California Endowment) to support equitable transit-oriented projects. The funds went toward the city’s Great Street’s Initiative, which focuses on coordinating city resources, building relationships with communities, and leveraging additional resources to revitalize local communities.

The Pecan Street Project (PSP) in Austin utilized smart metering for energy and water systems in 1,000 residences and 75 businesses. A 2015 review confirmed that PSP provided significant energy and water savings, and increased grid resiliency.

Plaza Point is a three-story, mixed-use development that provides an attractive and dignified living opportunity for seniors. It is designed to create a welcoming and vibrant community where neighborhood charm, urban connections, and sustainability are celebrated. As well, there are market-rate commercial spaces on the first floor. The project will achieve multiple green building certifications, including LEED for Homes.

The Portland Clean Energy Fund was created and led by communities on the frontlines of climate change building over the course of many years. Nonprofits, alone or in partnership with for-profit companies, schools and/or government agencies, can apply for grants from the $44 to $61 million revenue to weatherize homes, install solar and other renewable energy projects, provide job and contractor training, expand local food production, and build green infrastructure in Portland. The revenue is raised by a 1% business license surcharge on the Portland revenue generated by retail corporations with over $1 billion in annual revenue and at least $500,000 in Portland revenue.

Redwood Coast Energy Authority is partnering with the Schatz Energy Research Center (SERC) at Humboldt State University, PG&E, and the County of Humboldt to build a 7-acre, 2.25 MW solar array and battery energy storage system at the California Redwood Coast – Humboldt County Airport (ACV). The County will house the airport microgrid, RCEA will own and operate the solar and battery systems, PG&E will operate the microgrid circuit, and SERC will be the prime contractor responsible for the project design and technology integration.

The Redwood Energy Youtube channel hosts dozens of videos showcasing a variety of case studies. These case studies cover the topics of building decarbonization and electrification, equitable advancement of energy efficiency, financing, and much more.

Reducing natural gas usage by analyzing various building types and establishing reach codes across the region. Awareness, availability, assuredness, and affordability.

The San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust is a joint powers authority created in February 2020 to fund and finance the planning and construction of homeless housing, and extremely low, very low, and low-income housing projects. They work to reduce displacement and reduce energy use by creating affordable housing. The trust finances new development to green standards and rehab existing buildings and bring them up to energy efficiency standards.

Regional partnerships provide energy engineering, regional climate action, and climate program support. It takes a village to move the needle and evolve work to support the region. Collaboratives provide an umbrella for everyone to come together to progress forward and explore activities, funding, and innovative techniques that LGs aren’t in the position to do alone. Facilitating and sustaining relationships can go a long way.

NREL’s REopt Lite web tool helps commercial building managers evaluate the economic viability of grid-connected photovoltaics (PV), wind, and battery storage at a site.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) and the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC) has established a residential Electric Vehicle (EV) charging incentive program to offset Level 2 (240v) EV charger hardware costs. This program will be available to residents within the South Coast AQMD’s four-county jurisdiction. The program will provide an incentive to buy-down the cost of residential chargers, which typically range from $400-$800. The program is administered on a first-come, first-served basis and provides up to a $250 rebate or the cost paid for the charger, whichever is lower.

Resilience Hubs, Spaces and Blocks are community-driven gathering places which are demonstrations for climate solutions, and serve to coordinate & exchange communication, distribute resources, and support community programming during emergencies and year-round. The Northern California Resilience Network, the cities of San Leandro and Oakland and the Disability Justice Culture Club based in Oakland are all working to help build more resilient neighborhoods and robust resilience hubs. Part of this effort was a Resilience Hubs Leadership training held between February and September 2021.

Sacramento Municipal Utility District issued $75M in bonds for green building projects.

Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s (SMUD) commercial electrification incentives help non-residential properties and commercial new construction to “Go Electric” and improve energy efficiency. Incentives help pay for lighting and HVAC upgrade, retrocommissioning, conversions from gas fired equipment to electric, including heat pump water heating, heat pump space heating, and heat recovery chillers.

San Diego County has developed a Zero Net Energy Portfolio Plan which includes requiring ZNE for all new facilities and major renovations, as well as reducing energy use and installing on-site renewable energy at existing sites.

The Zero Emission Building Taskforce was convened at the direction of Mayor Breed. The purpose of the Taskforce is to Eliminate fossil fuel use in both electricity generation and in buildings l to achieve San Francisco’s emissions-reduction goals; electrification is the transition of services that rely on fossil fuels to efficient use of renewable electricity. Zero Emission Building Taskforce activities included a mixture of workshops to surface ideas and solicit input broadly and working meetings where taskforce participants contributed ideas, posed questions, and formulated recommendations. The resulting recommendations informed the Climate Action Plan that will be completed in 2021.

The CPUC explored the economic feasibility of various options to bring affordable energy options to residents of disadvantaged communities in the San Joaquin Valley, many of whom lacked access to natural gas and were reliant on propane and wood for cooking and heating, CPUC initiated proceeding R.15-03-010 to identify eligible communities and affordable energy options. They Identified 170+ communities (many historically disinvested farmworker communities) that meet statutory definition.

In August 2020, San Luis Obispo City Council adopted the Climate Action Plan for Community Recovery. One of the core pillars of the Climate Action Plan is Lead by Example, which highlights how the City can lead in climate action. The goal of the Lead by Example pillar is carbon neutral City operations by 2030. To achieve this goal, the City kicked off its Lead by Example initiative.

Lead by Example: A Plan for Carbon Neutral Municipal Operations is a goal-oriented plan that will help the city take action and reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions between now and 2030. This plan will be presented to City Council in July 2021.

The City of Santa Barbara is retrofitting one of the main parking garages in downtown Santa Barbara. They are installing a 500kW Solar that is funded by a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), a battery system funded by a Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP), and 40+ EV charging stations that are both incentive and grant funded.

The Clean Coalition and Sage Energy designed and executed a state-of-the-art RFP process for a 28-year fixed-rate PPA for solar at 14 District sites, with full Solar Microgrids at 6 of those sites — including game-changing innovations that guarantee resilience benefits to the District.

The Santa Rosa Junior College solar microgrid and battery storage system is a $5 million electrical infrastructure project that addresses climate change and fundamentally transforms the way energy is distributed and used on campus. The new solar arrays can operate independently from the utility and provide essential services to community members in the case of a Power Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event or wildfire.

This program offers rebates for installing energy storage technology at both residential and non-residential facilities. Funding prioritization will be given to communities living in high fire-threat areas, communities that have experienced two or more utility Public Safety Power Shit-off (PSPS) events, as well as low income and medically vulnerable customers. Eligibility for this program will be determined by SGIP program administrators.

This map can be used to find out which areas in the Sacramento Region need your help the most. This mapping tool helps analyze current data to indicate the local areas most likely to be underserved or in distress by lack of community development, income, housing, employment opportunities, transportation and more. This information is used to align the Sacramento Region’s investments toward the goal of creating and supporting healthy, vibrant and economically sustainable neighborhoods.

In February of 2020, Culver City completed a lighting retrofit project to provide LED upgrades to their Cardiff Parking Structure. The project met the eligibility requirements to participate in SoCalREN’s Metered Savings program, including savings of more than 10% kWh at the meter, which opened access to SoCalREN’s full suite of project delivery services (see below). By participating in the Metered Savings Program, the City will also receive post-implementation support from SoCalREN including energy usage tracking after installation to ensure persistent energy savings.

The City of Claremont enrolled in the SoCalREN Public Agency Program in late 2014, acknowledging a commitment to work with strategic partners to achieve energy reduction targets outlined in their City Sustainability Plan. Having already established a vision for community leadership, the City was ready to take action to identify and implement energy efficiency projects. The SoCalREN provided the City with the tools and expertise needed to get the job done.

As one of the first agencies to enroll in the SoCalREN Public Agency Program in 2013, the City of Culver City has shown consistent leadership and a commitment to energy efficiency by implementing a variety of lighting and mechanical projects.

The City of Santa Barbara enrolled in the SoCalREN Public Agency Program in June of 2014. Since this time, the City has been able to steadily increase both the number and the complexity of energy efficiency projects. After implementing a series of smaller lighting projects as a proof of concept, the City enthusiastically moved forward with several complex parking garage and street lighting projects that have resulted in tremendous energy and cost savings. Building upon this success, the City has agreed to expedite existing efficiency plans and engage new departments in an effort to advance toward aggressive energy saving goals recently set by the City Council.

After enrolling in late 2013, the Conejo Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) worked alongside the SoCalREN Public Agency Program to identify and implement several energy efficiency projects.CVUSD is benefiting from the positive impacts these energy efficiency projects have had on their facilities, as well as the people who inhabit them including the nearly 19,000 students currently enrolled. By implementing efficiency upgrades, the District models smart energy behaviors while creating a learning environment where students and teachers can thrive.

In November 2020, Los Angeles County completed several energy efficiency upgrades to their Centro Maravilla and San Gabriel Valley Service Centers. The projects were pursued in an effort to meet the County’s ambitious goals related to sustainability and their Facility Reinvestment Program, which prioritizes improvements to buildings that provide valuable public services to the community. The County collaborated with SoCalREN Public Agency Programs to leverage no-cost services from SoCalREN’s Project Delivery and Metered Savings Programs.

Cucamonga Valley Water District (CVWD) has been able to achieve significant levels of energy savings since enrolling with the SoCalREN Public Agency Program in October of 2014. CVWD is a retail water provider serving City of Rancho Cucamonga, portions of the cities of Upland, Ontario and Fontana, and some unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County.

Talk to any facility manager about what they wish they had more of and they will probably say time and money. Installing an energy management system (EMS) to control mechanical systems can address both, and Culver City completed an EMS system installation project at five of its key facilities, freeing up staff time and budget resources through energy savings. The city received no-cost technical assistance, project management support, utility incentive and On-Bill Financing application support from The SoCalREN Public Agency Program, and successfully completed the multi-site EMS project on budget.

Since enrolling in the SoCalREN Public Agency Program in 2014, the City of Long Beach has taken great strides to move toward energy-efficient solutions that are more resilient and ultimately better for the health of the economy and its residents. The City recognizes that clean energy and energy efficiency not only mean reducing energy consumption, but also protecting the environment, fostering a safe community, saving money, and improving public health.

The City of Palmdale has made significant progress in its quest to become more energy efficient since joining SoCalREN four years ago. The positive impact of its energy efficiency work with the Public Agency Program cannot be understated, and has benefited the City and community in multiple aspects including annual energy cost savings, improved outdoor environment and health, and increased safety.

Santa Monica has long championed innovative sustainable leadership, adopting aggressive goals for reducing energy and water resource consumption and increasing efficiency, as well as increasing citywide use of renewable energy and alternative fuels. Since the City’s enrollment in the SoCalREN in 2013, the Program has worked with the City to support their aggressive energy reduction goals through multiple energy efficiency projects.

In March of 2020, Ventura Unified School District (VUSD) completed an interior lighting upgrade project at 14 of their elementary and middle schools. VUSD secured funding through Proposition 39 and wanted to ensure their funds were used as effectively as possible. The District utilized SoCalREN’s expertise to provide financial analysis, navigate utility energy efficiency programs, and ensure the project met all Proposition 39 requirements. To take advantage of the maximum amount of incentives, VUSD participated in SCE’s Public Sector Performance-Based Retrofit Program, which measures energy savings based on actual metered energy consumption.

The SoCalREN Multifamily Program provides technical assistance and incentives to help property owners upgrade. This program reduces utility costs for both property owners and residents. In addition, through grants, SoCalRen is working to provide a more comprehensive model through solar panels on rooftops and providing EV charging.

Pathway to Zero helps public agencies within low-income, rural, and disadvantaged communities on a path towards zero net energy. This will be offered alongside energy efficiency programs to maximize energy efficiency opportunities and drive the integration of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs).

Pathway to Zero supports public agencies on a path towards zero net energy (ZNE), which means producing all the energy needed on-site. It maximizes energy efficiency opportunities for low-income, rural, and disadvantaged communities while driving the integration of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs).

85% of SoCalREN’s 2020 enrollments were secured through regional partnerships. More than 23 presentations were delivered to agency audiences in regional partner territory and 23 agency staff participated in a virtual EE training series.

SoCalREN offers a revolving loan fund that provides loans for short-term construction costs meant to cover the remaining gap between construction costs and OBF loans. Repayments of loans by participating public agencies replenish the fund to support additional local energy efficiency upgrades.

The goals for SOMAHs tenant education program are to ensure participating tenants receive SOMAH-approved information in energy efficiency, time of use rate (if relevant), tiered-rate, bill interpretation, solar training opportunities and resources for additional support and information. Host customers are required to meet the two tenants’ education requirements 60 days or fewer, prior to the start of construction.

Community-based organizations provide the following through their partnership with SOMAH. Support with marketing, education and outreach efforts to community members at large, property owners and host customers, tenants, job trainees and governmental agencies. They inform SOMAH regulatory decisions and provide community voices.

Southern California Regional Energy network (SoCalREN)’s Green Path Careers offers a unique opportunity for young adults who are transitioning from the state foster care system to independent living to access training, education, industry certifications, and work experience in the energy efficiency industry.

The City of Irvine developed a Strategic Energy Plan to outline actions the City can take to reduce energy consumption in municipal operations, and identify effective measures the Irvine community can implement to become energy efficient and responsibly manage energy resources. The objectives of the Energy Plan included analyzing the City’s baseline energy use to project future energy needs, evaluating priorities to meet those needs, and identifying funding opportunities to implement the strategies in the Energy Plan.
Stakeholder feedback was incorporated into the Energy Plan via public workshops and quarterly updates to the Green Ribbon Environmental Committee, and helped form the vision and strategies included in the Energy Plan. Green Committee meeting details are available on our website.
The project began in November 2018 and the Energy Plan was approved by City Council on November 10, 2020. The City Council directed staff to pursue strategies related to building electrification, renewable energy, and electric vehicle charging at City facilities. The City Council also expressed support for continued efforts to work with residents, businesses, and the development community on improving energy efficiency in buildings.

The City of Santa Monica recently streamlined the permitting process for qualifying electric vehicle charger permit applications for Level 1 or Level 2 outlets or chargers for single-family and multi-family properties, as well as solar PV permit applications for projects < 15kW on single family homes and multi-family residential properties. The review process can be conducted by-appointment Over the Counter (OTC) at City Hall or virtually.

In 2017, Marin Clean Energy (MCE) developed the Sustainable Workforce and Diversity Policy to ensure Diversity, Equity and Inclusion were embedded in everything they do. This policy requires local projects to include prevailing wages and hire 50% of employees from the local community. The policy further emphasizes supplier diversity efforts to support engagement with minority, women, disabled-veteran, and LGBTQ businesses. This policy also encourages purchasing and contracting with businesses located in MCE’s service area.

The Technical Resilience Navigator (TRN) provides a systematic approach to identifying energy and water resiliency gaps and developing and prioritizing solutions that reduce disruptions in energy and water services.

TerraVerde is supporting several of our clients in evaluating their opportunity to refinance their solar PPAs. One such client is a school in PG&E territory, with a 400kW Solar Project with a 15-year PPA. After refinancing the PPA and adding batteries, the utility bill savings increased from $235k to $3.5 million and a net financial outcome of $650k.

TerraVerde’s defensible accounting methodology for quantifying the financial benefits of having solar + battery backup power resources. The Economic Value of Resilience equals the avoided costs of an otherwise applicable solution (i.e. equipment & installation, operation & maintenance, fuel costs, permits) plus the avoided cost of power interruption (i.e. business interruption costs, electrical equipment damages, IT system damages, productivity losses, and spoilage).

Are you a building owner who needs to comply with a mandatory benchmarking requirement? Do you have little or no experience using EPA’s Portfolio Manager tool? This is a three-part webinar series on the basics of Portfolio Manager. Learn the ins and outs of the Portfolio Manager tool and all the essential “how-to” information you need to start benchmarking and reporting your building data to your local or state government.

Joining the C40 Knowledge Hub provides registrants access to a wealth of climate-related information and other climate experts. Registered users will be able to: track topics of interest and save content to a personal library for future reference, receive personalized recommendations based on your interests and content that others with similar interests have found useful, gain access to peer-to-peer tools including the community directory and direct messaging, and much more.

On August 11, the Cloverdale City Council voted to join the Bay Area Regional Network’s (BayREN) Water Upgrades $ave program, becoming the second utility to enroll in the regional program. Water Upgrades $ave is a water efficiency program for Bay area residents in eligible water districts.

The City of San Diego is in the process of developing Climate Resilient SD, a plan to ensure residents a more equitable, sustainable and healthy future where communities are prepared for and resilient to the impacts of climate change.
Adaptation is a core component of a comprehensive response to climate change. Strategy 5 of the Climate Action Plan (CAP) calls for a standalone climate adaptation plan to identify vulnerabilities, take early action, integrate adaptation into CAP efforts, capitalize on co-benefits, and increase local resilience. Climate Resilient SD also implements the CAP’s social equity goals by prioritizing our City’s Communities of Concerns to ensure that investments and resources are prioritized for those with the greatest needs and vulnerabilities.

The Clean Coalition has created a standardized VOR that will allow all stakeholders to effectively consider VOR when analyzing microgrid economics — making microgrid economics far more favorable. The increased valuation, in turn, will accelerate the proliferation of microgrids throughout the country and well beyond.

The City of Gonzales’s microgrid could potentially provide a new model for California cities looking for clean energy options. This 35-Megawatt microgrid will be the largest multi-customer microgrid in California.

Through this program, CDFA funds energy efficient refrigeration units in corner stores and small businesses in low-income or low-access areas throughout the state to stock California-grown fresh produce, nuts and minimally processed foods. The purpose of the program is to improve access to healthy food choices in the small retail environment for underserved communities, while promoting CA-grown agriculture. The Healthy Stores Refrigeration Grant Program is established in California Food and Agricultural Code section 49015 and funding was made available in the Budget Act of 2018.

The Inland Empire Utilities Agency received $30 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) to support improvement projects related to recycled water, groundwater recharge, energy efficiency, and green infrastructure. I-Bank issues bonds for the CWSRF and operates the California Lending for Energy and Environmental Needs (CLEEN) Center and the Infrastructure State Revolving Fund (ISRF) Program.

The Regional Renewable Energy Procurement Project (R-REP) is a collaborative effort by local governments within the San Francisco Bay Area to purchase solar photovoltaic (PV) systems for on-site generation at public facilities. Procuring these systems collaboratively addresses some of the resource limitations and lack of expertise that pose significant barriers to renewable energy adoption by local governments. Led by the County of Alameda, R-REP includes 186 sites owned by 19 public agencies. These projects have the potential to generate approximately 31 megawatts of renewable power (that’s the equivalent of the annual energy use of 6,188 average sized homes in the Bay Area) at sites such as community centers, libraries, fire stations, medical facilities, city halls and educational facilities.

The City of Ontario received $35 million from through the California Strategic Growth Council’s Transformative Climate Communities grant to support its plans to uplift the downtown area in a way that has a profound impact on environmental, economic and health outcomes for local residents.

The City of Fresno has unveiled 39 new publicly accessible, level II, and fast electric vehicle chargers at 5 different Fresno Housing Authority affordable housing sites.

SGC’s Transformative Climate Communities Program (TCC) has invested approximately $7.7 million to support a low carbon transit system of 24 electric vehicles and 200 electric bicycle shares that provide low- or no-cost services throughout the project area, which will help residents reach key destinations and provide mobility and health benefits to the neighborhood. The investment is part of the Transform Fresno TCC grant.

The Clean Coalition is leading the Valencia Gardens Energy Storage (VGES) Project. This groundbreaking project, located in a low-income and senior housing community in the heart of San Francisco, will showcase how front-of-meter (FOM) energy storage can be effectively deployed in dense, developed urban environments.

On 2019, the Clean Buildings bill (HB 1257, 2019) was signed into law with the objective to lower costs and pollution from fossil fuel consumption in the state’s existing buildings, especially large commercial buildings. The law requires the Washington State Department of Commerce to develop and implement an energy performance standard for these buildings and provide incentives to encourage efficiency improvements.

The Early Adoption Incentive program began July 1, 2021 and applies to non-residential, hotel, motel, and dormitory buildings greater than 50,000 SF. The program offers available incentives, customer support and funding from the state to administer the program. Equity played a big role in the development of the incentive program. The state focused on community engagement, and spoke to CBO’s and building owners on what to do to ensure access was broadened and participation increased. As a result, half of the incentive funds in the program are distributed to the reservation system, for multifamily buildings, and other rural buildings, etc. A thing to note is that not all multifamily buildings fall under mandatory standards, but can participate in incentive programs.

The Town of Windsor’s Windsor Energy PAYS® program allows residents and businesses to finance water and energy saving upgrades with no up-front cost and immediate savings on utility bills. Average customer savings amount to $30 per utility bill, 10% reduction in energy use, and 20% reduction in indoor water use, generating estimated annual savings of 9.2 million gallons of water, 88,000 kWh, and 25,000 therms.

Marin Clean Energy’s Workforce Education & Training (WE&T) Program provides a mentor/worker matching service and online resources and training for contractors. MCE’s WE&T Program aims to match people seeking a career in a long term and growing industry with local contractors, with benefits that incentivize both parties. Job seekers get paid on the job experience while contractors get to have a trial period before hiring a permanent employee. Further, contractors have access to on the job training on tips and tricks on electrification and home performance.