Statewide LG EE Best Practices: Weekly Update

1. Job Opportunity: Energy Planner - III, County of San Luis Obispo Energy Watch
   This exciting new position opened up for recruitment recently. Please check out and share the job opportunity and contact Jon Griesser at jgriesser@co.slo.ca.us if you have any questions.
   
2. Request for Info: Chilled Water TES System
   A County of San Diego facility is looking to replace their chillers soon and is looking for some more information on installers to contact and steps to be taken to conduct a formal feasibility study. If you have any information to share, please contact Kaveen Patel at Kaveen.Patel@sdcounty.ca.gov.
   
3. California's Latest Legislation is a Paradigm Shift for Energy Efficiency
   SB 350 fundamentally changes how energy efficiency is measured, taking a more holistic look at electricity and gas-use reductions, and AB 802 moves the state towards meter-based energy efficiency. Learn more here.
   
4. $102M to Tackle Solar Challenges and Expand Access to Clean Energy
   The U.S. Energy Department announced programs that will lead to spending of more than $102 million. $52 million will be used in 22 projects to make solar more accessible and affordable, and $50 million will be used to reduce the cost of solar and promote advancement of photo voltaic technology.
   
5. Verifying Energy Efficiency Job Creation: Current Practices and Recommendations
   The report identifies some of the issues that contribute to a lack of consistency in attempts to verify efficiency-related job creation, then proposes an analytically rigorous and tractable framework for program evaluators to use in future assessments.
   
6. Energy Calendar
   The calendar of energy-related events is currently being developed and will be updated on a weekly basis. If you have any events you would like added to the calendar, please send details to statewideenergycoordinator@lgc.org.

And that is all for this week!

Mr. Eco releases all original song/commuting video

Our friend Mr. Eco is making waves.

This time with his latest video, titled "When We Commute." The song is the first original Mr. Eco work by Brett Edwards, who hails from Fresno and attends California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. He says the video seeks to inspire people to rethink their commute and give alternative transportation a chance.

He teamed up with the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District, Central Coast Clean Cities Coalition and SLO Car Free to produce the latest effort. The video also features the Air District mascots Percy the Penguin and Professor Ozone.

"When We Commute" won first place at the "Green Shorts Film Festival" in the San Luis Obispo region and will compete in the Santa Barbara region on April 6.

Here's another chance to see Mr. Eco on TV.



Here are other Mr. Eco posts of interest:


Environmental rap superhero spreads clean energy message
Mr. Eco seeks to launch spring school tour

Hopeful Signs On The Green Jobs Front!

Two recent news items - one an announcement by a manufacturing plant in Fresno and the other a story in the San Luis Obispo newspaper - underline the impact of the emerging solar energy industry in Central California and the western United States. They also help fulfill the promise of green jobs.

First was this: PPG Industries said it will make components for the solar power industry at its Fresno plant. The company said it is the only maker of Solarphire PV glass on the West Coast, which will enhance its ability to serve an industry that is expected to surge in the Southwest and Asia - two regions that have strong potential for new solar projects.

Then there was this: About 400 workers are employed at two solar-power construction sites just west of the San Joaquin Valley. The construction is expected to take about three years.

Read more here and here.

While PPG officials say the current expansion of capacity won't add any jobs to the Fresno plant, who is to say that won't change if solar gains in popularity? PPG is smart to carve out a niche.

Meanwhile, the solar construction jobs in the Carrizo Plain of San Luis Obispo County could be the first of many more in the area. Dozens of other proposals - some of them pretty substantial (check this out) have been approved or are awaiting approval - in Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern counties, in addition to those under way in San Luis Obispo County.

Those proposals combined with projects earmarked for the Southern California desert (think industrial revolution!) could provide construction jobs for the next several years. They also help California meet or exceed its ambitious 33 percent renewables mandate.

Of course, it is unlikely that all of the proposed projects will be approved. Financing issues, conflicts with farming groups and habitat/environmental concerns will probably knock some out, but I wonder if green energy could become a new industry in the Valley and beyond.