US DOE

Statewide LG EE Best Practices: Weekly Update

Here are your last wEEkly updates for 2016 - and the last one from me specifically as we will be bringing on a new Best Practices Coordinator in 2017! We hope you enjoy your holiday break!


Currents: Winter 2016
In this issue of Currents, we feature a broad range of articles that highlight local projects, celebrate success, and discuss emergent trends:

News and Opportunities

Bill Gates and Investors Worth $170B Launching a Fund for Energy Innovation
Bill Gates is leading a more than $1 billion fund focused on fighting climate change by investing in clean energy innovation. He was among 28 wealthy individuals and families signed on to the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, a group broadly committed to investing in this area.

CA Agency Recommends Low-Income Energy and Water Legislation and Task Force
On December 14th, the CEC approved the SB 350 Barriers Study mandated by SB 350 to address barriers for low-income households and disadvantaged communities to participate in energy efficiency and renewables opportunities. The California Housing Partnership will work with partners on legislative and regulatory efforts to use this study's findings to advance transformative equity goals and metrics, energy and water program alignment, the availability of one-stop technical services, and effective financing pilots designed for low-income rental housing in California.


Job Opportunities: Redwood Coast Energy Authority
Redwood Coast Energy Authority is recruiting for multiple positions including Director of Finance & HR, Director of Power Resources, and Demand Side Management Programs Project Manager.

Job Opportunity: Chief Executive Officer, The Valley Clean Energy Alliance
Yolo County is conducting a recruitment on behalf of The Valley Clean Energy Alliance for the Chief Executive Officer position. Applications due January 20, 2017.

Calendar
Click the Calendar link to view all upcoming events.

1/25-1/26 (Sacramento) California Climate Change Symposium 2017
This forum aims to share cutting-edge research addressing the impacts of climate change on the state to inform the state's strategies and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to develop programs to safeguard California from a changing climate.

2/2/17 (St. Louis, MO) New Partners for Smart Growth Conference
Early-bird registration has been extended to December 16th  for the 2017 New Partners for Smart Growth Conference. This conference is the nation's largest smart growth and sustainability event and has been named one of 12 conferences not to miss by Planetizen.

3/16-3/19 (Yosemite National Park) Yosemite Policymakers Conference
Join mayors, city council members, county supervisors, city managers, and high-level department heads for the 26th Annual Yosemite Policymakers Conference. This popular conference always features a timely and inspirational program designed to provide the tools and support policymakers need to implement innovative solutions to address society's most pressing challenges. This year's conference will be no different with its focus on sustaining our progress and protecting the American dream.

​Resources and Reports

DOE Better Buildings Financing Navigator
The Navigator is an online tool that helps public and private sector organizations find financing solutions for energy efficiency projects.

A Greater LA: A Framework for Climate Action
This project led by the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability was recently released and provides a set of curated, synthesized, and regionally specific recommendations across five climate impact areas: Energy, Transportation & Land Use, Water, Public Health, and Ocean & Coastal Resources.

The Case for Healthy Places: Improving Health Outcomes Through Placemaking
This report uses the idea of placemaking as a framework for describing how transforming public spaces can improve health outcomes. Even beyond the tangible benefits that placemaking projects can yield, the very process of bringing community members and stakeholders together to shape a place can have powerful social benefits that in turn connect to positive health outcomes.

Statewide LG EE Best Practices: Weekly Update

Here are your wEEkly updates:

News and Opportunities

City of Carlsbad Climate Action Plan Update
The City of Carlsbad's newly appointed Climate Action Plan administrator gave an update at a City Council meeting about the city's current and planned efforts.

Sonoma County to Offer Incentives to Drivers to Switch to Electric Cars
Backed by the County Board of Supervisors, several programs are underway that county officials hope will boost the number of electric vehicles on the road, and develop the public and private charging network to support them.

Low-Income Weatherization Program Guidelines
The Department of Community Services and Development (CSD) is seeking comments on the Draft Low-Income Weatherization Program Guidelines for the FY 2015-16 Appropriation Procurements for the Single-Family Energy Efficiency and Solar PV Program. CSD is hosting a public hearing on Friday, October 7th 2016 at 9:00 AM in Sacramento. A copy of the draft will be made available online prior to the hearing. Written comments are due Thursday, October 20th.

DOE First Step Towards Developing Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency on Tribal Lands
The Department of Energy is making $3 million in funding available to support tribal energy development in six topic areas: 1) conduct energy options analyses, 2) establish baseline energy use and energy efficiency options, 3) develop energy organizations, 4) conduct climate resiliency planning, 5) establish policy, regulations, and codes to reduce energy use and promote energy development, and 6) obtain skills and training related to energy use and development.

Calendar

9/27-9/29 (webinars) Series of Energy Star Webinars
Several webinars are being hosted next ween on Energy Star, including: An Energy Star Success Story: Boston Properties and EnerNOC; Portfolio Manager 101, 201, and 301; and Ask The Expert.

9/29 (webinar) Distributed Energy Resources: Seizing Opportunities While Managing Distribution Grid Impacts
Distributed energy resources (DERs) are reshaping the operation of the electric power system. Join this webinar to learn about how we can coordinate DERs with centralized generation, in economically sustainable ways, to drive savings and enhance efficiency - to the mutual benefit of all entities involved.

12/1 (Sacramento) 2016 EPIC Symposium
Save the date! The California Energy Commission, in partnership with PG&E, Edison and SDG&E, is hosting a symposium to feature innovative research projects helping California achieve its clean energy future.

Resources and Reports

Green Region Initiative V2.0 - Sustainability Indicators Map
The Green Region Initiative map serves as a resource for jurisdictions to identify current and potential progress areas, replicate best practices, and collaborate to increase sustainability in the SCAG region. The map presents policy and program data for all cities and counties in the region across 25 sustainability topics including climate action planning, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, green infrastructure, waste reduction, water conservation, and active transportation. Please direct any questions to scaggreenregion@scag.ca.gov.

Energy Efficiency Finance: A Market Reassessment
With the growth and maturation of the energy efficiency finance markets, there are new opportunities and trends that are likely to remain relevant for some time. Among them are the rise of green bonds and interest from new types of investors, a focus on the customer experience, new methods for financing programs, and better integration of efficiency into capital planning.

2016 Energy and Sustainability Predictions: Findings from Facilities Professionals
This report, derived from Ecova's 2016 survey, offers specific insight into how facilities managers are "prioritizing energy, water, and waste efficiency initiatives in light of the forces at work in today's market".

The Emerging Clean Energy Economy: Customer-Driven. Modernized. Reliable. (Southern California Edison)
New white paper released from Southern California Edison indicates that with a modern grid in place, SCE will be capable of delivering a full spectrum of distributed energy resources to customers within a decade.

2016 CALGreen Residential Measures: Changes and Opportunities
If you missed BayREN's latest regional forum, fear not as all resources and recordings are available online. Resources from their other regional forums are also available on this webpage and many topics will likely spark your interest.

Future Electric Utility Regulation Series
A new series of reports from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory taps leading thinkers to grapple with complex regulatory issues for electricity. 


That's all for this week!





Statewide LG EE Best Practices: Weekly Update

Here are your wEEkly updates:

1. SB 350 Barriers Study: A California Energy Commission workshop on low-income barriers to accessing the energy efficiency and renewable energy goals of SB 350 is going on this morning!

2. San Joaquin Valley Clean Transportation Summit 10/19: Save the Date! The San Joaquin Valley Clean Transportation Summit, featuring a full day of speakers and breakout sessions on electric vehicles, natural gas alternatives, and more, will be held October 19th.

3. Joint Agency Workshop 8/23 on 2030 Target Scoping Plan: California Energy Commission (CEC), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and California Air Resources Board (ARB) are jointly hosting a public workshop on the process to update the 2030 Target Scoping Plan.

4. Workshop 8/29, Electricity Reliability in SoCal: The California Energy Commission will conduct a workshop to review efforts to ensure electricity reliability in Southern California resulting from the closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (San Onofre) and impending retirement of several fossil generating units using once-through cooling (OTC) technologies.
5. Vehicle Technology Program Review 8/22: CEC Commissioner Janea Scott, Lead Commissioner on Transportation of the California Energy Commission, will conduct a workshop to discuss the use of metrics within the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP).

6. New EPA Portfolio Manager Feature Helps Buildings Save: The EPA has launched a waste and materials tracking feature in its Energy Star Portfolio Manager, which is a free benchmarking and tracking tool for commercial building owners and managers. (New to Portfolio Manager? Check out resources here.)

7. Sustainability, Prosperity, and Security: A new book from United States military leadership, “The New Grand Strategy: Restoring America’s Prosperity, Security and Sustainability in the 21st Century,” tells the story of a grand strategy, born within the Pentagon, to recapture America’s greatness at home and abroad by elevating sustainability as a strategic imperative.

8. USDOE Awards $ for Local Data-Driven Energy Planning: In support of cities’ efforts to reduce energy waste and greenhouse gas emissions and increase the use of energy efficiency technologies, the Energy Department selected three projects this week to help cities integrate energy analysis and data into their strategic decision making across all clean energy sectors. Learn more about the projects and the findings through its “Cities Leading through Energy Analysis and Planning (Cities-LEAP)” program.

9. New Green Leasing and Commercial Real Estate EE Resources: Looking to engage and support the commercial real estate sector in your jurisdiction as they explore the value of energy efficiency in real estate? The Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) are arming the commercial real estate industry with a new set of tools that enable tenants to more effectively seek out and secure high-performance spaces that are in line with the tenant’s organizational goals, objectives, and budgets. (Get more resources on green leasing uncovered through recent local government asks.)

10. New York Joins California’s 50% by ‘30 Goal: Last week saw an order by the New York Public Service Commission requiring that 50 percent of the state’s electricity must from clean, renewable sources like solar and wind power by 2030 – this makes nearly one-fifth of the country’s population in pursuit of a 50% renewable goal.

11. Cities Consider Increasing Renewables: While on renewables: the cities of Solana Beach and La Mesa were in the news this week as they weigh using a community choice aggregation (CCA) model to increase their jurisdictions’ use of renewable energy and lower their carbon footprints. (More on CCAs here.)

12. CEC Blueprint Newsletter: Did you know that the California Energy Commission documents the most common questions to their Energy Code Hotline, and answers them in their Blueprint newsletter? The Blueprint newsletter for July/August is out, and provides guidance on a number of key issues – including new lighting compliance options, pipe insulation, solar ready requirements for single family homes, air-to-water heat pump systems, and more. Share with your building departments and other building efficiency stakeholders in your community!

13. Energy Efficient Codes Make Financial Sense: “Average homeowners are the biggest beneficiaries of more energy efficient building codes, says Daniel Bressett of the Alliance to Save Energy. Homeowners consistently state their preference for energy efficiency features, a point made again in the housing survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders.” Get more coverage and resources for explaining the financial value of energy efficiency in this newsletter piece from Zero Energy Project.

14. Cutting Poverty through EE and More: Addressing income inequality and affordability is a central and growing issue for many local governments. A new policy paper, the “Urban Opportunity Agenda,” from the Center for Neighborhood Technology proposes that poverty can be cut through simply cutting core household expenses – including energy.

15. Model Released to Pursue EE, ZNE: A tool to model the time dependent value (TDV) of energy for use in planning for the 2019 energy code’s steps toward zero net energy is now available on the CEC’s website.

16. Airport Achieves Carbon Neutrality: The Dalllas Fort Worth Airport is the first in the United States to achieve carbon neutrality! Learn how they did it and more here.

17. Microgrid Conference: The Microgrids Convergence Conference will be held October 25th-26th in San Mateo and will consist of two, unique, content-rich days. Learn about conference content, speakers, and more.

18. Microgrid Financing: Microgrids Conference event sponsors are offering a free recording of the webinar "Financing Microgrid Distributed Energy Efficiency Solutions."

19. CEC Workshop on Title 20 Appliance Efficiency: For sharing with your jurisdiction’s retailers and businesses; The California Energy Commission will host a webinar on August 17th, 2016 presenting focused on the needs of retailers, wholesalers, importers, and internet vendors.

20. Vehicle/Grid Demonstration Funding: The Pre–Application Workshop Presentation and WebEx Recording for GFO–16–303, Advanced Vehicle–Grid Integration Research and Demonstration, is now available on the California Energy Commission (CEC)’s website.

21. Job announcement: San Luis Obispo has extended the deadline to apply for its open Senior Energy Planner position! Learn more here.

As always, you can keep track of relevant events by connecting to the EE Events Calendar, and find more resources being added daily on the EECoordinator website – including past WEEkly Updates. 


That is all for this week!