Local Government Action on the EE Strategic Plan
Below are the California Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan’s 5 overarching goals for local governments. Scroll below to see examples of local government activities that support these goals, and additional resources and best practices.
Goal #1: Going Beyond Code. Local governments lead adoption and implementation of “reach” codes stronger than Title 24, on both mandatory basis and voluntary bases.
Local government examples:
- Berkeley’s 2015 Building Energy Savings Ordinance (BESO)
- Palo Alto’s reach code and green building ordinance
- Watsonville’s innovative Carbon Fund Ordinance
- Santa Barbara County’s County ZNE Facilities Resolution
- Hayward’s Municipal Building Zero Net Energy Policy
- Los Angeles’s cool roofs ordinance
- Los Angeles’s DRAFT existing building energy and water efficiency policy (in process, not yet implemented)
- Goleta’s green neighborhood development floating zone
- Chula Vista’s Sustainable Communities Program
- Simi Valley’s Voluntary Green Building Policy
Learn more about best practices and resources:
Goal #2: Code Compliance & Enforcement. Strong support from local governments for energy code compliance enforcement.
Local government examples:
- Palo Alto’s on-demand green building compliance training
- BayREN’s compliance findings in the 2015 PROP report
- Encinitas’s Green Building Incentive Program
- Permitting expediting through Chula Vista’s Sustainable Communities Program
- The City of San Diego’s Sustainable Building Expedite Program
- Santa Barbara County’s Smart Build Santa Barbara (SB2) Program
Learn more about best practices and resources:
Goal #3: Leading by Example: Municipal Savings. Local governments lead by example with their own facilities and energy usage practices.
Local government examples:
Municipal Benchmarking Policies and Projects:
- San Francisco’s 2014 municipal benchmarking report
- Sunnyvale’s 2013 municipal benchmarking report
- Blythe’s municipal building Energy Benchmarking Policies and Procedures
- Cathedral City’s municipal building Energy Benchmarking Policies and Procedures
- Desert Hot Springs’s municipal building Energy Benchmarking Policies and Procedures
- Indian Wells’s municipal building Energy Benchmarking Policies and Procedures
- Palm Springs’s municipal building Energy Benchmarking Policies and Procedures
- Rancho Mirage’s municipal building Energy Benchmarking Policies and Procedures
- Benchmarking in Kings and Tulare Counties through the VIEW partnership
Municipal Building/Facility EE Retrofits:
- Hayward’s efficiency and renewables at its Wastewater Pollution Control Plant
- Madera County’s energy efficiency and solar installs saving $15M
- Sanger’s lighting and HVAC retrofits and roof replacements
- Berkeley’s zero net energy West Branch Library and Mental Health Clinic
- Oceanside’s streetlighting retrofit and controls
- Grass Valley’s energy efficient municipal roof (and more)
- Moreno Valley’s lighting upgrades and revolving fund
- Sacramento’s LED streetlighting
- SMUD’s zero net energy East Campus Operations Center
- San Diego’s building improvements, streetlighting upgrades and demand response participation
- San Diego County’s zero net energy library
- Amador County’s Gravity-Driven Water Supply Line
- Alameda’s green certification of public buildings
Municipal Building Retro-commissioning (RCx) Policies and Projects:
- Indian Wells’s retro-commissioning policy
- Simi Valley’s retro-commissioning policy
- Los Angeles County’s retro-commissioning program
- Inyo County’s retro-commissioning policy
- Blythe’s retro-commissioning policy
- Cathedral City’s retro-commissioning policy
- Desert Hot Springs’s retro-commissioning policy
- Rancho Mirage’s retro-commissioning policy
- Palm Springs’s retro-commissioning policy
- South Gate’s retro-commissioning policy
Revolving Fund Development to Support EE Projects:
- Inyo County’s Revolving Energy Efficiency Fund
- Western Riverside Council of Governments’ BEYOND Program
- Moreno Valley’s lighting upgrades and revolving fund
- Riverside County’s Energy Conservation Fund
- El Cerrito’s revolving fund for water and energy efficiency
- Alameda County’s revolving fund for energy efficiency
- Visalia’s Conservation Fund
- Long Beach’s Innovation & Efficiency Initiatives Fund
- Watsonville’s ordinance for its innovative Carbon Fund Program
- Temecula’s Energy Efficiency & Asset Management Fund
Learn more about best practices and resources:
- EE municipal programs
- energy performance contracting
- benchmarking
- retro-commissioning
- climate action plans
Goal #4: Supporting Community Savings. Local governments lead their communities with innovative programs for energy efficiency, sustainability and climate change.
Local government examples:
Residential EE Assistance Programs
- Fresno’s Central Valley Home Energy Tune Up Program
- San Gabriel Valley EASY Program
- San Diego County’s WaterSmart Program
- Benicia’s Home Energy Program
EE in Public/Low-Income Housing
- Woodland’s energy efficient agricultural worker housing
Commercial EE Assistance Programs
- San Diego County’s WaterSmart Program
- Gonzalez’s Gonzalez Goes Green Initiative
- Sierra businesses lighting retrofit video
Green Business Programs
- Santa Barbara County’s Green Business Program
- Gonzalez’s Gonzalez Goes Green Initiative
- Ventura’s participation in the California Green Business Program
- Santa Clarita’s Green Business Incentive Program
Community Resources Development
- Roseville’s community Green Guide
Community Competitions and Other Behavioral Programs and Projects
- San Francisco and San Jose’s Step Up, Power Down program
- Claremont, Martinez, and other cities’ promotion of the CoolCalifornia challenge
- South Bay Cities Council of Governments’ Green Building Challenge
- Sunnyvale’s EE Fitness app
- El Monte’s “Transforming Energy Savings into College Savings” Program
Learn more about best practices and resources:
Goal #5: Building Government Energy Expertise. Local government energy efficiency expertise becomes widespread and typical.
Learn more about best practices and resources:
More resources: