Long Beach Opens its First Hydrogen Refueling Station
The California Energy Commission welcomed another new hydrogen refueling station to its network.
The Long Beach Station at 3401 Long Beach Boulevard is now open, giving Californians the fueling options they need to consider replacing their petroleum-fueled cars with hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles. Fuel-cell cars, like all-electric plug-in cars, don’t emit smog-forming pollution. They help California reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, which warm the earth and change its climate.
The Energy Commission has provided funding for 49 stations, and is working to ensure as many of them as possible are open by the end of 2016 with plans to fund up to 100 for the initial introduction of hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles in the California marketplace.
Hydrogen fuel-cell electric cars are much quieter to drive than gasoline-fueled cars. Fuel-cell cars have about the same range – 300 miles – on a full tank and they can be larger than electric vehicles that rely on heavy batteries. Filling up a fuel-cell vehicle takes about three to five minutes and is similar to traditional gas cars that receive liquid gas. California requires at least 33 percent of the hydrogen used by fuel-cell cars to be from renewable energy sources. Some stations will dispense 100 percent renewable hydrogen. Hydrogen refueling stations and vehicles are safe. They have been around for at least 20 years, supporting transit buses.
With transportation responsible for 40 percent of California’s greenhouse gases, zero-emission cars, such as hydrogen fuel-cell electric cars, can help California reach its climate change goals and reduce air pollution. That’s why the Energy Commission is funding hydrogen refueling stations and electric vehicle chargers.
See the status and locations of these stations here.
Joint Agency Workshop On Natural Gas Reliability In Los Angeles Basin
Four key energy agencies are holding a joint public workshop in Southern California to address the reliability of natural gas supply to the Los Angeles Basin.
The April 8 discussion is key in light of the now-sealed Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility and concern about whether there will be enough natural gas to produce the electricity needed during potential hot spells this summer.
The California Energy Commission is conducting the workshop in conjunction with the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Independent System Operator, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The workshop is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Warner Center Marriott Woodland Hills at 21850 Oxnard Street in Woodland Hills. There will be opportunity for public comment.
During the workshop, the staff from the four agencies will present a draft action plan that lays out the recommended measures needed to improve energy reliability for summer 2016, including a call for conservation by electricity customers and greater use of energy efficient appliances. The joint agency team is a result of an emergency proclamation from Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.
Aliso Canyon is an essential part of Southern California’s natural gas system, serving more than 11 million people in the Los Angeles Basin. The facility typically supplies the extra natural gas needed to produce electricity for high demand times such as hot, summer days when air conditioning use spikes.
Existing pipelines in the basin lack to capacity to make up the shortfall from Aliso Canyon. Other storage facilities in Southern California are too small or located too far away to provide the gas quickly enough when needed.
The April 8 workshop will focus on the near-term gas and electricity reliability risks to the Los Angeles Basin and not the future role of Aliso Canyon, ongoing investigations or other regulatory issues. The action plan will describe risks and recommend near-term mitigation measures.
More information about the April 8 event can be found here.
Innovative Technology Makes Aviation History
United Airlines made aviation history this month by bringing commercial-scale renewable jet fuel to Los Angeles through its partner AltAir, bolstered by a grant from the California Energy Commission.
The airline has been making flights between Los Angeles and San Francisco for the past two weeks on aircraft powered by a jet fuel that has a carbon intensity that is 60 percent less than that of petroleum jet fuel.
The advanced technology is helping California reach its clean air goals and reduce air pollution. That is why the Energy Commission provided a $5 million grant to AltAir through its Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program. The grant enabled AltAir to expand its production capacity by 10 million gallons per year. With that expansion, AltAir partnered with United to provide the renewable jet fuel for commercial operations for flights throughout the country.
AltAir has also provided the U.S. Navy with enough biofuel for its “Green Fleet” project, using military-specific renewable diesel to fuel four vessels in San Diego in January. The initiative was the first of its kind for the Navy. The AltAir project has supported more than 300 direct and indirect jobs ranging from production of non-edible vegetable oils, waste fats and greases to biorefinery operations. Its production facility is at a former oil refinery in Paramount, near Los Angeles, which has a 22 percent poverty rate and a 13 percent unemployment rate.
Wisely invested state funds are growing high tech startups, spurring employment opportunities where they are most needed and reducing pollution to make the air healthier to breathe. This is how California leads.
The airline has been making flights between Los Angeles and San Francisco for the past two weeks on aircraft powered by a jet fuel that has a carbon intensity that is 60 percent less than that of petroleum jet fuel.
The advanced technology is helping California reach its clean air goals and reduce air pollution. That is why the Energy Commission provided a $5 million grant to AltAir through its Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program. The grant enabled AltAir to expand its production capacity by 10 million gallons per year. With that expansion, AltAir partnered with United to provide the renewable jet fuel for commercial operations for flights throughout the country.
AltAir has also provided the U.S. Navy with enough biofuel for its “Green Fleet” project, using military-specific renewable diesel to fuel four vessels in San Diego in January. The initiative was the first of its kind for the Navy. The AltAir project has supported more than 300 direct and indirect jobs ranging from production of non-edible vegetable oils, waste fats and greases to biorefinery operations. Its production facility is at a former oil refinery in Paramount, near Los Angeles, which has a 22 percent poverty rate and a 13 percent unemployment rate.
Wisely invested state funds are growing high tech startups, spurring employment opportunities where they are most needed and reducing pollution to make the air healthier to breathe. This is how California leads.
School District Modernizes Lights to Increase Safety While Saving Energy
Maintaining a productive community and a high quality education is hard to do without efficient, modern technology. The West Contra Costa Unified School District has solved one technology gap by using funds from the Clean Energy Jobs Act, which is also known as Proposition 39, for energy efficiency projects.
Lighting costs are the largest portion of the district’s energy bills. Administrators submitted an on-line application to the California Energy Commission for more than $1.6 million in early 2015. Five of the district’s schools – Richmond High School and Collins, Grant, Lake, and Hanna Ranch elementary schools – used the money to upgrade more than 5,000 interior lighting fixtures to more efficient LEDs and modernize their lighting systems.
The lighting projects have reduced the district’s energy use by an average of 20 percent, saving an estimated $160,000 per year on their energy bill. In addition, the improved lighting increased the safety of employees who work at night or who come in early in the morning. It has also helped ensure lights are turned off at the end of every day.
“Proposition 39 has been an amazing program that has allowed us to bring in new technology to curb our energy bill which has been steadily rising year after year,” said Julio M. Arroyo, West Contra Costa Unified’s energy conservation program manager. “As a district, we are glad that we can reduce energy consumption while saving financial resources that can be used to directly support our students and their needs.”
Proposition 39 is a 2012 voter-approved initiative that closed a corporate tax loophole and reallocated the money toward energy efficiency projects in schools.
For the list of approved Energy Expenditure Plans, by district, visit the Energy Commission’s Proposition 39 (K-12) program webpage and click on Expenditure Plans Listing.
First Hydrogen Refueling Station in Saratoga is Now Open
The California Energy Commission welcomed another new hydrogen refueling station to its network.
The Saratoga Station at 12600 Saratoga Avenue opened last week, giving Californians the fueling options they need to consider replacing their petroleum-fueled cars with hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles. Fuel-cell cars, like all-electric plug-in cars, don’t emit smog-forming pollution. They help California reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, which warm the earth and change its climate.
The Energy Commission has provided funding for 49 stations. It is working to ensure as many of them as possible are open by the end of 2016 with plans to fund up to 100 for the initial introduction of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in the California marketplace.
Hydrogen fuel-cell electric cars are much quieter to drive than gasoline-fueled cars. Fuel-cell cars have about the same range – 300 miles – on a full tank and they can be larger than electric vehicles that rely on heavy batteries. Filling up a fuel-cell vehicle takes about three to five minutes and is similar to traditional gas cars that receive liquid gas.
California requires at least 33 percent of the hydrogen used by fuel cell cars to be from renewable energy sources. Some stations will dispense 100 percent renewable hydrogen. Hydrogen refueling stations and vehicles are safe. They have been around for at least 20 years, supporting transit buses.
With transportation responsible for 40 percent of California’s greenhouse gases, zero-emission cars, such as hydrogen fuel cell electric cars, can help California reach its climate change goals and reduce air pollution. That’s why the Energy Commission is funding hydrogen refueling stations and electric vehicle chargers.
See the status and locations of these stations here.
Energy Saving Technology Brings Home the Bacon for Tomato Grower
Houweling conservation manager Richard Vanderburg shows tomatoes to Energy Commission staff member Rizaldo Aldas. |
Working with Houweling’s Tomatoes, SoCalGas installed three 4.36-megawatt natural gas-fired engines at the Camarillo farm. The engines generate enough electricity to power the farm and about 8,000 average sized homes, so excess electricity is sold back to the grid during the day. Waste heat from the engines is captured in thermal storage tanks and used to heat the greenhouse at night and during the winter.
The engine’s exhaust contains carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas harmful to humans but great for plants because it assists with photosynthesis. The carbon dioxide is captured, purified and used as fertilizer diverting about 37,000 tons of CO2 yearly and greatly reducing the farm’s need to purchase liquid CO2 for fertilizer. The exhaust also produces water that when condensed, provides about 9,500 gallons daily for greenhouse operations.
Those benefits allow Houweling’s Tomatoes to farm 24 hours a day and to extend its growing season. With that kind of success, it’s only a matter of time before other commercial greenhouses in the state look to catch up with CHP technology.
Click here to view a short video of the greenhouse operations.
Energy Commission Expedites Construction of Hydrogen Refueling Stations
Building the nation’s first network of retail hydrogen refueling stations is exciting, groundbreaking and sometimes challenging.
It is exciting because California is transitioning to zero-emission cars to meet its greenhouse gas goals and federal clean air standards. It is groundbreaking because it requires new technology. It is challenging because it takes time to get the technology right and to educate the public about hydrogen fuel’s 20-year safety record.
The California Energy Commission is funding the stations, not building them. To speed up the process, it is offering incentives to the station developers on a sliding scale that provides them more operation and maintenance assistance the faster they get the stations open. The state also has hired a manager to work with station developers and local community planning departments to accelerate the permitting process and has created a step-by-step guidebook for the process.
These actions are working. According to a recent report to the California Legislature, permitting times are two months faster, and the time it takes to open a station is now 18 months compared with nearly five years for earlier funded stations. Next up is a device being created to test the accuracy of hydrogen dispensers and train more testers so dispensers can be certified more quickly for retail sale – a requirement for opening.
Another challenge is finding gas station owners who are able to finalize a lease for a hydrogen dispenser to be built. About 30 percent of projects have been relocated to new sites because of a variety of issues stemming from the suitability of the property.
It is also important to balance the number of stations with the number of fuel cars on the roads so station owners can afford to keep the hydrogen dispensers operating.
Building advanced fueling stations isn’t easy or quick, but the Energy Commission is working with developers to ensure as many of the 49 state-funded stations are open as possible by the end of 2016. The state is moving towards its goal of 100 initial stations to keep hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles rolling.
The Energy Commission supports this program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Zero-emission cars, such as hydrogen fuel cell electric cars, can help California reach its climate goals and reduce air pollution.
Digging out of the Petroleum Hole
We all know what it’s like to be stuck in a hole, unable to think our way out of a problem.
Caterpillar Inc., known worldwide as a manufacturer of machinery and engines, has found an alternative-fuel solution that benefits all of us with a little help from the California Energy Commission in partnership with CALSTART. Its 36-ton hydraulic hybrid excavator, 336-EH, moves dirt, rocks, and you name it with plenty of power. Because the excavator uses a hydraulic hybrid power source to recover wasted energy, it reduces reliance on fossil fuels, like diesel.
With a $2.5 million grant through the Energy Commission’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program and its own private match funding, Caterpillar has ramped up commercial manufacturing of this off-road vehicle, saving up to 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions compared with conventional diesel models. It has the potential to reduce 5,000 gallons of diesel and 67 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually for each hybrid excavator. That’s helping California reach its goal of slowing the pace of global warming that could threaten our existence.
Alternative fuels can help businesses get a better handle on their equipment fuel costs by offering more stable prices than the ups and downs of fossil fuels. Watch this video from Strack, Inc.
Caterpillar Inc., known worldwide as a manufacturer of machinery and engines, has found an alternative-fuel solution that benefits all of us with a little help from the California Energy Commission in partnership with CALSTART. Its 36-ton hydraulic hybrid excavator, 336-EH, moves dirt, rocks, and you name it with plenty of power. Because the excavator uses a hydraulic hybrid power source to recover wasted energy, it reduces reliance on fossil fuels, like diesel.
With a $2.5 million grant through the Energy Commission’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program and its own private match funding, Caterpillar has ramped up commercial manufacturing of this off-road vehicle, saving up to 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions compared with conventional diesel models. It has the potential to reduce 5,000 gallons of diesel and 67 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually for each hybrid excavator. That’s helping California reach its goal of slowing the pace of global warming that could threaten our existence.
Alternative fuels can help businesses get a better handle on their equipment fuel costs by offering more stable prices than the ups and downs of fossil fuels. Watch this video from Strack, Inc.
Adapting to Climate Change
By Secretary John Laird
From eroding sea cliffs to shrunken mountain snowpack, many effects of climate change in California are obvious. Other effects are not so obvious but potentially powerful. Warmer average temperatures will affect everything from whether butterflies appear to where wine grapes can grow.
Following Governor Edward G. Brown Jr.’s executive order last year establishing the most ambitious greenhouse gas reduction target in North America, the Natural Resources Agency today released a comprehensive report for how California will prepare for the extreme effects of climate change, including increasingly extreme weather and sea level rise.
The report, titled Safeguarding California: Implementation Actions Plans, is divided into ten sectors that include water, agriculture, and biodiversity. It describes the risks posed by climate change, as well as the adaptation measures currently underway across state government. Measures include shading the concrete hardscapes of our cities to retrofitting fish hatcheries to cope with warmer streams. The State is committed to regional adaptation approaches that foster local solutions, integrate sectors, build on actionable science, and involve vulnerable groups and the environmental justice community.
The report has been informed by subject experts, stakeholder input, and public comments gathered last fall, including at workshops held around the state. I invite you to examine the report and learn about the state’s plans to safeguard residents, property, communities and natural systems in California.
John Laird is secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency. Follow him on Twitter at @calnatresources.
From eroding sea cliffs to shrunken mountain snowpack, many effects of climate change in California are obvious. Other effects are not so obvious but potentially powerful. Warmer average temperatures will affect everything from whether butterflies appear to where wine grapes can grow.
Following Governor Edward G. Brown Jr.’s executive order last year establishing the most ambitious greenhouse gas reduction target in North America, the Natural Resources Agency today released a comprehensive report for how California will prepare for the extreme effects of climate change, including increasingly extreme weather and sea level rise.
The report, titled Safeguarding California: Implementation Actions Plans, is divided into ten sectors that include water, agriculture, and biodiversity. It describes the risks posed by climate change, as well as the adaptation measures currently underway across state government. Measures include shading the concrete hardscapes of our cities to retrofitting fish hatcheries to cope with warmer streams. The State is committed to regional adaptation approaches that foster local solutions, integrate sectors, build on actionable science, and involve vulnerable groups and the environmental justice community.
The report has been informed by subject experts, stakeholder input, and public comments gathered last fall, including at workshops held around the state. I invite you to examine the report and learn about the state’s plans to safeguard residents, property, communities and natural systems in California.
John Laird is secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency. Follow him on Twitter at @calnatresources.
Rooftop Solar and Energy Efficiency Expected to Slow Growth in Future Electricity Demand
Self-generation of electricity from rooftop solar and increased energy efficiency in homes and appliances are expected to steady electricity demand growth over the next decade. That’s the finding of the California Energy Commission’s California Energy Demand 2016-2026, Revised Electricity Forecast.
Resource planners use the forecast to make certain that future demand for electricity will be met by supply. The California Energy Demand Forecast is published every other year with an update of the forecast on the off year. It describes likely scenarios for electricity consumption, retail sales, and peak demand for the five major electricity planning areas in California and for the state.
The 136-page report includes estimates of three demand cases, low, mid and high. The mid demand forecast expects a less than 1 percent annual growth rate in electricity demand from 2016 through 2026.
Two significant reasons for this growth rate are the increasing presence of solar panels on California homes, and expected energy savings from future state building codes and appliance standards.
“California continues to set the trend by incorporating renewable energy and energy efficiency in our daily lives,” said Chris Kavalec, project manager of the forecast. “Without such effort, demand would climb dramatically. Instead, we see annual demand growing from a low of about 0.5 percent to a high of 1.25 percent.”
Find the forecast on the Energy Commission website.
Resource planners use the forecast to make certain that future demand for electricity will be met by supply. The California Energy Demand Forecast is published every other year with an update of the forecast on the off year. It describes likely scenarios for electricity consumption, retail sales, and peak demand for the five major electricity planning areas in California and for the state.
The 136-page report includes estimates of three demand cases, low, mid and high. The mid demand forecast expects a less than 1 percent annual growth rate in electricity demand from 2016 through 2026.
Two significant reasons for this growth rate are the increasing presence of solar panels on California homes, and expected energy savings from future state building codes and appliance standards.
“California continues to set the trend by incorporating renewable energy and energy efficiency in our daily lives,” said Chris Kavalec, project manager of the forecast. “Without such effort, demand would climb dramatically. Instead, we see annual demand growing from a low of about 0.5 percent to a high of 1.25 percent.”
Find the forecast on the Energy Commission website.