Clean Energy Financing Advisory Council: Kick-Off Event

Clean Energy Financing Advisory Council:

Kick-off Event

Free Webinar and Live Event
4760 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., San Diego, CA 92117

Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Webinar: 8.30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. (PST)
Live Event: 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (PST)
Complimentary hot breakfast starting at 7:30 a.m.

Register Now
to Attend in Person

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to Attend Online

The Clean Energy Financing Advisory Council is an impartial forum focused on enhancing awareness, education and innovation of energy project financing throughout California to help stimulate the clean energy marketplace.

This first in a series of traveling events will explore current and future financing models that enable residential and commercial property decision-makers to successfully upgrade their buildings and infrastructure with energy improvement projects. Throughout 2016-2017, the council will explore a variety of topics and themes that connect financial institutions with industry and government stakeholders to explore how financing can remove many of the barriers holding back consumer participation in energy improvement projects in California.

These events are for local government officials, financial experts, energy improvement contractors, real estate professionals and others interested in collaborating across sectors.

• Megan Campbell, Project Director, Opinion Dynamics, will give an overview of the supply and demand for energy efficiency financing products including the lending volume to date, characteristics of each product, contractor’s support and perspective on financing, and the customer demand for energy-related upgrades and financing. She manages the statewide impact evaluation of California’s first ratepayer-funded energy efficiency financing programs and recently completed a baseline market characterization of the California residential energy efficiency financing market.
  
• David M. Cohen, Manager of Programs and Partnerships, Energy Upgrade California®, will cover the tools and resources recently launched on the Go Green Financing website, along with an introduction to the “State of Saving” campaign, which will launch in February. He is currently managing the implementation of statewide financial initiatives designed to increase the uptake of financing for energy efficiency and demand response projects in the single-family residential, multifamily, small business and medium-to-large nonresidential sectors.

Register Now
to Attend in Person

Register Now
to Attend Online

For more information, email ryan.carney@energycenter.org or call (858) 429-5136.

Copyright © 2016 Center for Sustainable Energy All rights reserved.

Statewide LG EE Best Practices: Weekly Update

Here are your wEEkly updates:

1. 179D Government Savings Extended
   The Section 179D deduction of the Internal Revenue Code encourages energy efficiency in building design and construction. Originally enacted as part of the 2005 Energy Policy Act, it was extended through 12/31/16. 179D provides a retroactive opportunity for savings from investments in energy efficiency in all new and existing government buildings.
   
2. Lawmakers Review Prop 39 Outcomes
   A Senate committee heard updates this week on Proposition 39, a ballot initiative that has generated more than $1.1 billion for California schools and community colleges to boost energy efficiency and create green jobs. The initiative was sold to voters in 2012 as a way to generate billions for green energy projects at California schools and create 11,000 jobs each year. However, it has not raised as much as expected. The Associated Press reported last August that less than $300 million had been distributed to schools and only 1,700 jobs created in three years.
   
3. EPA's RE-Powering Electronic Decision Tree
   This interactive tool helps interested parties screen for the suitability of solar photovoltaics or wind installations on landfills, potentially contaminated sites, and underutilized parcels or rooftops. It provides a step-by-step walk-through of key considerations for renewable energy development at the sight, suggested resources to help you answer screening questions, and reports summarizing your answers and initial findings about the site and next steps. This tool was developed under EPA's RE-Powering America's Lands initiative.
   
4. How Energy Efficiency Can Help Manage the Duck Curve
   Given the changing load shape, the role of energy efficiency can no longer be a focus on lowering overall kWh or therms. Instead, we'll all have to change the way we think about and deploy energy efficiency to be treated as actual energy capacity. It will need to become a form of "supply" that can be deployed in real time to help climb the steep neck of the duck curve.
   
5. Calendar of Energy-Related Events
   Please forward events to statewideenergycoordinator@lgc.org so that they can be added to the calendar.

Special Announcement: Enroll Today for LGC's Groundwater Sustainability Training!

LGC is offering workshops for local agency staff to gain a better understanding of groundwater management in their region, impacts of recent legislation, and tools for effective stakeholder engagement. These full-day training's will take place from 8:30am-5:00pm (cost: $50, lunch and refreshments included) in the following locations:

January 26th - Northern San Joaquin Valley - Robert Cabral Agricultural Center in Stockton, CA
January 28th - Sacramento Valley - Wheatland Community Center in Marysville, CA

This workshop is offered at a highly reduced rate, thanks to financial support from the California Employment Training Panel, and requires a 3-step registration process:

Have your employer complete the Enrollment Form
Complete the Registration Form
Sign up for the Training

Once you enroll, you and your co-workers can attend any of our Drought Response and Resilience Training's! Upcoming topics include: community water conservation and incentive programs, reducing onsite water and energy demand, water efficient landscape ordinance (WELO), and urban forestry and drought.

And that is all for this week!

Statewide LG EE Best Practices: Weekly Update

Here are your wEEkly updates:

1. Request for Resources: Achieving Energy Efficiency through Behavior Change
   CivicSpark fellows are looking for resources, case studies, activities, and ideas for achieving energy efficiency through behaviour change at municipalities, businesses, and by residents. If you have any resources, ideas, or examples, please send them to statewideenergycoordinator@lgc.org.
   
2. 1/22 Workshop: What's Next for the RENs?
   The purpose of this workshop will be to discuss and compare the two recent EM&V study reports completed on the Regional Energy Network (REN) pilots and to consider how the studies should inform appropriate next steps for the RENs. Senior staff from study consultant firms Itron and Opinion Dynamics with contributing firm Apex will comprise a panel of experts to inform the discussion and field Q&A. Energy Division's EM&V advisor Katherine Johnson will also be present on the panel. More information on the Energy Calendar.
   
3. The Funding Wizard on CoolCalifornia.org is back online!
   The Funding Wizard is a searchable database of grants, rebates and incentives to help you pay for sustainable projects, all in one place! The Funding Wizard combs the Internet for funding opportunities in categories such as energy, air quality and climate change, transportation, urban development, waste management, water, and more.
   
4. RFP: Santa Barbara County CCA Feasibility Study
   Santa Barbara County is inviting proposals for professional consulting services to develop a technical feasibility study on Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) for the central coast region, including participating in Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo Counties. The full Request for Proposals (RFP), including submittal instructions are posted online. Proposals must be submitted by 11:59pm on Monday, January 25, 2016.
   
5. NYC Carbon Challenge: Handbook for Universities and Hospitals
   This reference manual highlights some of the best practices for reducing building-based energy use and GHG emissions from the universities and hospitals participating in the NYC Carbon Challenge.
   
6. New "light recycling" incandescent bulbs could outperform energy-efficient LEDs
   MIT researchers are working to change the way in which incandescent bulbs work to give the industry an additional option for energy-efficient lighting. The research centers on the fact that about 95% of the energy used to heat the filament to the point that it emits visible light is wasted - the goal is to capture that energy and enable the bulb to in essence power itself.
   
7. Calendar of Energy-Related Events
   Please forward events to statewideenergycoordinator@lgc.org so that they can be added to the calendar.

And that is all for this week!

Statewide LG EE Best Practices: Weekly Update

Here are your wEEkly updates:

Currents Winter 2015 Issue
You don't want to miss the latest issue of Currents! Some notable articles and resources include: 

From Paris to California: Action on the Ground (featured article series)
Sustainable Funding for Sustainability: WRCOG Beyond Framework Fund (video)
SEEC Feasibility Analysis Workbook (PDF)
Revving Up California's EV Adoption (article)
The Future of Net Energy Metering (article)

Save the Date! 1/15 - Launch of EE Coordinating Committee

A new regulatory advisory body is forming and may be a major force in shaping future CPUC programs and proceedings. The first public meeting to discuss the next steps regarding launching a stakeholder engagement process to vet the forthcoming Program Administrator EE business plans will be held on January 15th, from 10am-4:30pm at PG&E's Pacific Energy Center in SF. This event on the Energy Calendar will be updated with the dial-in info once it has been made available. If you have any questions, please reach out to Lara Ettenson at NRDC (lettenson@nrdc.org).

CPUC Ruling re: High Opportunity EE Programs

In addition to determining what "high opportunity programs or projects" are, and how to authorize them, this ruling addresses several ancillary issues relating to such programs or projects: 1. Preliminary interpretation of the phrase "estimated energy savings and energy usage reductions, taking into consideration the overall reduction in normalized metered energy consumption as a measure of energy savings;" 2. How to determine the cost-effectiveness of such programs and projects; 3. Customer incentive levels and timing; 4. How to evaluate, measure, and verify savings from such programs and projects ex post; 5. How to set shareholder incentives for such programs and projects.

Recap of EE in 2015 and Prospects for 2016

2015 was a good year for energy efficiency - 2016 could be even better. Check out this article on the many successes for EE this past year and what's ahead this year on a national level.

Enterprise Internet of Things: What Is It and How Will It Improve Energy Management

Those charged with a facility's energy management are beginning to hear the phrase "Internet of Things" (IoT) increasingly more often within the industry, and many are asking how to use the concept of the Enterprise IoT to leverage data in their buildings and find opportunities for improvement.

RFP: emPower Central Coast Energy Coach

The emPower Central Coast program of the Energy and Sustainability Division of the County of Santa Barbara request proposals from qualified professionals to serve by contract as "Energy Coach" primarily for the San Luis Obispo County area. The "Energy Coach" is a program offering aimed at providing greater assistance to homeowners and contractors participating in the emPower Central Coast EE program. Proposals must be submitted by 5:00pm on Monday, January 18, 2016.

nergy Calendar

And that is all for this week!

Should the United States Military be Exempt?

The United States military is one of the most powerful forces in the world. Soldiers are well trained and well equipped, but do you know the other part of the piece it takes to sustain  that powerhouse? Well I can tell you... a lot of fossil fuel.  All of the military's bulky machinery runs on oil while also being exempt from emission reports required in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. But thanks to the newest COP21 climate agreement things may be changing; for the better.

Facts state that  U.S. forces continue to be THE leading institutional consumer of crude oil in the world. With that title comes some hefty numbers of consumption. On an annual basis our forces consume over 100 million barrels of oil. Those barrels equate to over 70 million metric tons of CO2 emissions. A side note; those staggering numbers omit hundreds of overseas bases as well as vehicles. To give you a clearer picture to hit the idea home lets talk about the number of carbon emissions from just the Iraq war alone. In the first four years of the war there were 141 million metric tons of carbon released. If you were to break that number out over four years each year carbon emissions would equate to be more than emissions from 139 countries.... I think that number brings the idea home.

It all goes back to the saying that we here at SJVCEO use, " you can't fix what you don't measure." How are we as a nation to crack down on carbon emissions when we are not measuring ALL of our output. With the new agreement our military is not required to report and or cut emissions, but are not automatically exempt anymore. With that ruling you would expect to have military leaders up in arms about the decision, but quite the contrary. Many top officials support lowering the military's dependence on fossil fuels. The support is mostly because of the high death toll associated with oil. If we can lower our dependence on oil then we can make our troops safer and save countless lives in our military. 

Cutting down on the use of fossil fuels can be a hard item to tackle since much of our military depends on them to power much of the machinery on the ground. Having machinery that is more efficient will help to better protect our troops and lower our dependence. Don't think that I am suggesting that our troops roll up in a Toyota Prius to handle combat, but there can be a happy medium. 

That happy medium comes from two of the biggest military contractors, Lockheed Martin and AM General. These two firms have taken on the challenge of making a safe and lighter vehicle for those troops on the ground. These two companies have come up with three different types of vehicles that are competing to replace the current staple, the Humvee. The Humvee has been around since the 1990's and has served its purpose, but with the military becoming liable for its emissions it may not continue to be so.

All three of the vehicles proposed can withstand blast impacts as well as bullets, but have a lighter body. With the lighter body style troops are able to get more MPG as well as more maneuverability on urban and off-road patrols. Some of the models are even being tweaked to become "greener" by going hybrid- diesel.  

Sure we know that a lot of emissions come from wars overseas and machinery, but we still need to think of the military actions that take place on a day-to-day basis. On a daily basis there are over 10,000 people that report to a military base each day. On top of that the military has continuous training activities taking place all over the U.S. and overseas each week. Many of the top commanders are starting realize all of those activities are adding up against our environment. To combat environmental damage the military bases are beginning to deploy electric vehicles for on-base transportation as well as installing electric vehicle chargers.

Maybe this year, 2016, we have a light bulb moment on carbon emissions and the U.S. military. The world is realizing that military actions are just as responsible for climate change as the normal citizen living their day-to-day lives. With the reporting of carbon emissions maybe we can fix what we are measuring moving forward.

See What SJVCEO Has Been Up To in December

From all of us here at SJVCEO we hope that you had a very happy holiday and a wonderful new year! Here at SJVCEO we are hoping to kick off the new year with a big bang as we continue to raise our energy saving goals for 2016. It may seem like a steep uphill battle but thanks to a close working relationship with our energy champions in our jurisdictions it will be a walk in the park. 

With December being SJVCEO's "dark month" we don't have a lot to report for the month. We hope to come back with a few great motivating stories for you  in the beginning of 2016... so keep an eye out!

Statewide LG EE Best Practices: Weekly Update

Here are your WEEkly Updates:

1. U.S. Leadership and the Historic Paris Agreement to Combat Climate Change
   The Paris Agreement commits the international community to capping global warming to "well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C." To achieve that, the agreement requires the world to "reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible" and "to undertake rapid reductions thereafter, in accordance with best available science."
   
2. How California Stepped Up its Energy Efficiency Efforts in 2015 and What's Ahead
   As 2015 draws to a close, it's a good time to take a look at the incredible progress California has made toward scaling up energy efficiency and what we should do in 2016 to build upon our momentum.
   
3. Local Energy Efficiency Self-Scoring Tool
   This new updated version of the Local Energy Efficiency Self-Scoring Tool lets you score any community's energy efficiency efforts using the metrics from ACEEE's 2015 City Scorecard. You can use this tool to evaluate community-wide initiatives, government operations, and buildings, utility, and transportation policies, as well as to compare your community's efforts against those of similarly-sized localities and learn about innovative energy practices successful in other places.
   
4. NYC Energy  and Water Benchmarking Performance Map
   In New York City, of the nearly 3,000 public buildings with any significant energy use, almost one-third already have retrofits in place or underway. Those buildings represent 50% of GHG from City buildings. The City continues to make it easier for private building owners to do the same, launching a new tool to track energy and water usage at large buildings.
   
5. Energy Calendar
   If you have any events you would like to see added to this calendar, please send details to statewideenergycoordinator@lgc.org.

And that is all for this week - and for the year! The Weekly Updates will resume on January 8, 2016.

Greening the Holidays

Where did 2015 go? Your guess is as good as mine, but the holidays are, in fact, upon us and there are a few things we can do to be more eco-friendly over the next few weeks.

Beautiful and sustainable table scape.

Decorating for the holidays is always a must and for those of you who love to put on a good light show, make sure you invest in LED lights. They’ll last much longer than traditional lights and they won’t cause your holiday electricity bills to be as sky high as usual. Because who doesn’t love to find savings this time of year? To maximize these savings, use a timer on the lights or simply put a reminder on your phone so you can unplug them before you go to bed each night.

When decorating inside the house, nix the streamers and balloons; items that can only be used once are highly wasteful. Opt for items like gourds, fruits, pinecones, soy or beeswax candles and glass or pottery votives and ornaments. They are lasting and, in my opinion, so much more beautiful and seasonal.

Now that your home looks holiday-ready, it’s time to find the perfect gifts for your loved ones. Many of you likely took advantage of those Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales and are done with the holiday shopping. Congratulations! You are not the terrible procrastinator that I am (sorry family and friends, I’ll get to it soon). If you are dilly-dallying like I am, follow these rules when you shop: bring your reusable bags and look for items that meet the criteria I laid out in my green shopping post back in July. Or, take a big family or friend trip instead of giving gifts – thank you to my sister-in-law-to-be for this great idea!

Once you’re ready to wrap the gifts, save your money and don’t buy wrapping paper. The wrapping paper will be used only once and it’ll immediately be thrown away. Yes, it’s pretty, but think about all the money- and waste-saving alternatives!

Look around your home for old newspapers, packing or kraft paper, and maps. Newspaper and maps make great already-decorated wrapping paper and you can always decorate plain kraft paper in whatever designs you like! Don’t be afraid to get creative! Fabric scraps is another great alternative; it may be a little more challenging to tack down (try fabric glue or a hot glue gun), but it’ll give your gifts an awesome texture and look!

You can always use junk mail as wrapping paper, too. More than likely, you currently have a lot of it because this is prime time junk mail season. We almost never look at it and, whether or not it’s used as wrapping paper, it ends up in the trash. If you’d rather use the previously mentioned items for wrapping your gifts, try to stop the junk mail deliveries immediately. As soon as you get mail from an unwanted store, find the 1-800 number on the back of the advertisement and request you be removed from the mailing list.

Last, but certainly not least, make sure your holiday eats are as sustainable as possible. We on the west coast are lucky and have access to farmers markets year round, but everyone can enjoy seasonal produce. This chart is a great resource for finding vegetables in season. Eating locally and seasonally is one of the best ways to cut down on emissions and be eco-friendly during the holidays. When it comes to storing your leftovers from the big feasts, use reusable storage containers like these or these; they’re great for freezing and are dishwasher safe! You can always have your guests bring their own reusable containers to take home any leftovers, too.

I hope you make this your greenest season yet. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Do you have any other holiday-greening ideas?

Clean Energy Cars Coming Your Way

With the new year upon us California, who is the State leading the way on clean air initiatives, is releasing new rebates and incentives for clean energy cars. These types of cars can range from hydrogen fuel cell's, hybrid's and plug-in electric cars. With the sticker price of a clean car on average being higher than a gas guzzler having some financial help can help you make a difference in your communities air quality as well as help your pocket book. 

Below we have included some helpful links to incentives and rebates that are currently available or that will become available in 2016. We hope to see more clean cars on the road in 2016! 

Clean Vehicle Rebate Project
The Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) promotes clean vehicle adoption by offering rebates of up to $5,000 for the purchase or lease of new, eligible zero-emission vehicles, including electric, plug-in hybrid electric and fuel cell vehicles. As long as funds are available, eligible California residents can follow a simple process to apply for a CVRP rebate after purchasing or leasing an eligible vehicle.

Drive Clean
DriveClean.ca.gov is a web site of the California Air Resources Board developed as a resource for car buyers to find clean and efficient vehicles. The web site is designed to educate Californians that pollution levels range greatly between vehicles, and there are a variety of clean vehicle options available today that offer the same style, performance and luxury features as traditional gasoline vehicles. DriveClean.ca.gov provides information and resources to learn about clean advanced vehicle technologies and fuels, and offers a variety of useful search and comparison tools to help car buyers find the cleanest vehicle that suits their lifestyle.

Statewide LG EE Best Practices: Weekly Update

Here are our WEEkly Updates:

1. SB 350 and AB 802: Impacts and Implications for Local Governments (video)
   In case you missed the webinar last week with CEC Commissioners Hochschild and McAllister, here is the webinar recording.
   
2. How Smart Meters are Changing Energy Efficiency in California
   New advanced metering infrastructure that can measure customer load with increased granularity has created opportunities for variable rate structures, effective demand response and increased customer control over their energy use. And now, with the ability to compare real-time usage to historical baselines, the industry can begin to more accurately value "efficiency as energy," and PG&E is working with NRDC and The Utility Reform Network to develop a pilot program that will do just that.
   
3. U.S. Energy Storage Summit: The Energy Storage Future (video)
   This GTM Research presentation will share results from the most recent U.S. Energy Storage Monitor report and provide the platform for the summit's discussions on the future of the U.S. energy storage market.
   
4. How Energy Efficiency Cuts Costs for a 2°C Future
   This report analyzes how energy efficiency policies and programs in Brazil, China, Europe, India, Mexico and the US can reduce the cost of economy-wide decarbonization y up to $250 billion per year for these regions, with no net cost to society through 2030. Related articles from this week: Why energy efficiency is the cheapest path to climate action and Energy efficiency is the largest contributor to reducing CO2 emissions.
   
5. 5 Trends that Will Disrupt Energy Management in 2016
   BluePillar's new eBook, Facility of the Future Series: 5 Trends that Will Disrupt Energy Management in 2016, discusses the 5 trends that will disrupt energy management in 2016 and how you can take control of your facility's energy future.
   
6. California and Germany, Opposites with a Common Energy Goal
   One is a European country known as "the powerhouse of Europe" that struggles against soggy winters and seemingly endless gray skies. The other is a digitally driven American state, known as "the Golden State," for its abundant sunshine and year-round growing season. One is determined to lead an energy transformation through carefully drafted laws and regulations; the other is driven by an inventive spirit of boundary-pushing and experimentation.
   
7. 12/14 - Leveraging Benchmarking to Build Your Business
   This full-day workshop is targeted for businesses to learn strategies for generating leads; how to price benchmarking-related offerings; how to cross-sell and up-sell your other offerings; how to demonstrate the value of efficiency in terms that clients understand and value; and how to motivate the various stakeholders to act on energy efficiency measures.
   
8. Energy Calendar
   If you have any events you would like to see added to this calendar, please send details to statewideenergycoordinator@lgc.org.

And that is all for this week!