State Releases Final Plan to Transform Freight System
In response to an Executive Order issued last year by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., state agency leaders released the California Sustainable Freight Action Plan, a comprehensive document that serves as a blueprint for transforming the state’s multi-billion dollar freight transport system into one that is environmentally cleaner, more efficient, and more economically competitive than it is today.
The revised document, which was released July 29, is similar to the draft version issued in May 2016. It reflects new input provided by industry, labor, regional and local government, and community and environmental group stakeholders, who submitted more than 85 comments on the draft plan.
Developed in response to Governor Brown’s Executive Order B-32-15, which calls for a single integrated action plan for California, the Action Plan was prepared by the California State Transportation Agency, California Environmental Protection Agency, California Natural Resources Agency, California Air Resources Board, California Department of Transportation, California Energy Commission and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, with broad stakeholder input.
“The Energy Commission appreciates the collaboration amongst our sister agencies and engaged stakeholders across the state to develop an action plan to address Governor Brown's call to action on sustainable freight,” said Energy Commissioner Janea A. Scott. “We look forward to working with our partners to refine and prioritize the strategies and actions identified in the Action Plan and to carrying out actions that will help California to meet its clean air standards and climate goals.”
The Executive Order directs the state agencies to pursue a shared vision to “improve freight efficiency, transition to zero-emission technologies and increase the competitiveness of California’s freight system.” Benefits include meeting the state’s freight infrastructure, public health, air quality and climate goals.
Currently, California is the nation’s largest gateway for international trade and domestic commerce, with an interconnected system of ports, railroads, highways and roads that allow freight from around the world to move throughout the state and nation. This system is responsible for one-third of the state’s economic product and jobs, with freight dependent industries accounting for over $740 billion in gross domestic product and over five million jobs in 2014.
The action plan includes a long term-2050 vision and guiding principles for California’s future freight transport system along with these targets for 2030:
- Improve freight system efficiency 25 percent by 2030.
- Deploy over 100,000 zero-emission vehicles/equipment and maximize near-zero by 2020.
- Foster future economic growth within the freight and goods movement industry.
Among the new additions to the final plan are placing more focus on key partnerships and a discussion of toxic hot spots. Changes have also been made throughout the document to clarify and emphasize the collaboration between the responsible agencies and other regional planning efforts, including funding.
Next steps for state agencies will include continued work with federal, state, industry, labor, regional, local and environmental and community-based partners to refine and prioritize the strategies and actions outlined in the Action Plan. The state agencies will also create collaborative stakeholder working groups on competitiveness, system efficiency, workforce developments, and regulatory and permitting process improvements.
Regular California Freight Advisory Committee meetings will continue. The state agencies will establish work plans for chosen pilot projects by July 2017.
California's Electric Power Grid: Poised for Change
The California Independent System Operator (California ISO), one of 10 independent system operators in the United States, maintains a grid that is absorbing more and more renewable energy.
That means the California ISO and the state's aging electric grid is poised for change.
The California Energy Commission, along with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California ISO, is considering a change that would turn the existing grid into a regional grid operation for the West.
A regional ISO opens opportunities to help California reach its energy goals, including increasing the electricity derived from renewable sources to 50 percent and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Monitoring the power from the grid now happens at the California ISO’s state-of-the-art facility in Folsom in a control room where a bank of screens arcs across a large wall. It’s the nerve center for the California ISO, which is a nonprofit that manages electricity flow for 80 percent of California’s power grid and a portion of Nevada’s.
It’s a 24/7 operation where engineers sit at semi-circular banks of computer stations monitoring weather, market and grid transmission data screens that Google designed. The information is analyzed in real time.
To facilitate electric transmission coordination and planning, the Energy Commission, CPUC, and the California ISO initiated the Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative 2.0, also known as RETI 2.0.
The initiative is designed as an open, transparent and science-based process exploring key issues related to transmission coordination. Issues include the renewable generation resources offered in the West, critical land use issues, environmental constraints and potential transmission opportunities.
The Energy Commission will host its next RETI meeting on July 29. Details about the meeting can be found here.
The insights, scenarios and recommendations developed at the meeting will frame and inform future transmission planning proceedings.
Testing Energy Use of Appliances Adds up to Big Savings
The California Energy Commission now has the authority to combat unnecessary energy use by checking the efficiency of products and penalizing those manufacturers who produce appliances that fail to meet efficiency standards.
To achieve these goals, the Energy Commission is contracting with the California State University, Sacramento—College of Engineering Energy Efficiency Laboratory. The lab tests products to ensure they meet efficiency standards. Professor Timothy Marbach, Ph.D., who specializes in thermodynamics and combustion, is leading this project.
“An appliance’s energy use may have a very small effect for one consumer, but looking at the whole state, where there are millions of people, making these small changes in products can have a large effect,” said Marbach. “In the end, money and energy is wasted without efficiency standards.”
There are more than 12 million households in California, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Each house has about 24 electronic products according to the Consumer Electronics Association. Complying with the standards saves energy, saves consumers money and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The testing that Marbach and his engineering students conduct helps to ensure that products meet the Energy Commission’s efficiency standards.
More about the Energy Commission’s appliance efficiency standards can be found here.
Energy Commission Hosts African Delegation
About two dozen delegates from sub-Saharan African nations visited the California Energy Commission to learn how it helps implement the state’s energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals.
The delegates are from a program called the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. It is the flagship program of President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative that empowers young people through academic coursework, leadership training and networking. The University of California, Davis hosted the delegation in the six-week Specialized Institute on Energy: Pathways to Zero-Net Energy, the first and only energy institute offered for the fellowship program.
The delegates met with Energy Commission Chair Robert Weisenmiller and Energy Commissioner Janea Scott on July 21 to learn about the programs that the Energy Commission manages and administers and how they could be applied to African communities, especially for villages that are not connected to a central grid or do not have a consistent electrical supply. The group also toured other parts of the state and visited agencies such as the California Independent System Operator and the California Public Utilities Commission.
Weisenmiller explained that in some ways, those issues can actually benefit communities by allowing them to leapfrog past fossil fuels and go straight to renewables, such as photovoltaics, because the cost of solar has dropped dramatically.
Scott discussed California’s push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and its long-term transportation strategy such as the plan to have 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2025.
She also spoke about the Energy Commission’s investments in alternative and renewable fuels and vehicles and its efforts to put in place the infrastructure needed to support these new transportation choices.
Because of California’s role as a leader in climate and renewable energy, it regularly hosts visitors from around the globe interested in learning more about its policies and programs. Last year, it received delegations from more than 40 countries.
The delegates are from a program called the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. It is the flagship program of President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative that empowers young people through academic coursework, leadership training and networking. The University of California, Davis hosted the delegation in the six-week Specialized Institute on Energy: Pathways to Zero-Net Energy, the first and only energy institute offered for the fellowship program.
The delegates met with Energy Commission Chair Robert Weisenmiller and Energy Commissioner Janea Scott on July 21 to learn about the programs that the Energy Commission manages and administers and how they could be applied to African communities, especially for villages that are not connected to a central grid or do not have a consistent electrical supply. The group also toured other parts of the state and visited agencies such as the California Independent System Operator and the California Public Utilities Commission.
Weisenmiller explained that in some ways, those issues can actually benefit communities by allowing them to leapfrog past fossil fuels and go straight to renewables, such as photovoltaics, because the cost of solar has dropped dramatically.
Scott discussed California’s push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and its long-term transportation strategy such as the plan to have 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2025.
She also spoke about the Energy Commission’s investments in alternative and renewable fuels and vehicles and its efforts to put in place the infrastructure needed to support these new transportation choices.
Because of California’s role as a leader in climate and renewable energy, it regularly hosts visitors from around the globe interested in learning more about its policies and programs. Last year, it received delegations from more than 40 countries.
Hydrogen Refueling Network Welcomes San Jose Station
The California Energy Commission welcomed another new hydrogen refueling station to its network.
The San Jose station, now open at 2101 North First Street, provides Californians with 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, do not emit smog-forming pollution. They help California reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, which warm the earth and change its climate.
The Energy Commission has funded 49 hydrogen 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 the battery 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 37 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 Commission Announces Off-Road Natural Gas Vehicle Funding Opportunity
The California Energy Commission released a $4 million grant funding solicitation for the research and development of natural gas engines for medium- and heavy-duty off-road vehicles (ORVs) that support the agricultural, construction, industrial, port and cargo sectors.
The solicitation, released July 11, aims to reduce transportation emissions in California’s most severely polluted regions – the San Joaquin Valley and the South Coast Air Basin – and encourages demonstrations in those areas. It covers ORVs used for heavy hauling such as waste transport, mining and semi-tractor trailer applications. Also included are items such as yard tractors and cranes found at ports and cargo handling areas.
The Energy Commission has supported the research and development of advanced natural gas engine technologies, especially for on-road, heavy-duty vehicles, which are the largest source of nitrogen oxide emissions in the San Joaquin Valley and the South Coast Air Basin. The solicitation targets ORVs, which are the second largest source of these emissions.
Pre-application workshops will held Tuesday, July 26 in Diamond Bar and Friday, July 29 in Modesto. The workshops will provide an overview of the funding opportunity and allow attendees to ask questions and network with other interested applicants. Workshop details are on the Energy Commission’s website.
The Energy Commission is committed to increasing diversity in the energy sector and encourages women, minority, disabled veteran and LGBT businesses to engage in and benefit from its many programs.
Asia Turning to California as Role Model on Renewable Energy
Asia is looking to California and Germany as the trend setters and policy leaders in renewable energy.
This was the assessment of Ric O’Connell, international director for renewable energy at Black & Veatch Energy, which works on renewable energy projects in Asia.
O’Connell gave that assessment during a recent talk on Renewable Energy in Asia at the California Energy Commission. The importance of the topic is underscored by the growing interest in Asia where renewable energy consumption is growing and some countries have set renewable energy goals.
Indonesia wants to install 35 gigawatts of new generation by 2019 – with 8 of that from renewable energy. China plans to be 40 to 50 percent carbon free by 2030 (including hydropower), while the Philippines’ goal is 20 percent renewable energy by 2030, he said.
Working to reach those goals has necessitated looking towards existing models. Germany has served as a model for Asian countries, particularly its feed-in tariff structures. California’s Renewables Portfolio Standard, interconnection standards, reverse auctions and recent push on energy storage are also models, O’Connell said.
California has set a goal of 50 percent renewable energy by 2030.
O’Connell’s talk at the Energy Commission’s office in Sacramento was no accident. In 2015, the Energy Commission hosted delegations from 42 countries with the strongest interest from Asia, namely China, Japan and South Korea.
O’Connell said Indonesia is one country influenced by California’s approach to renewable energy.
“The U.S. Agency for International Development basically took the Rule 21 model and applied it to Indonesia,” he said.
Rule 21, established by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), establishes best practices for safely and efficiently interconnecting renewables to the grid, especially solar. Rule 21 practices allow for better grid stability and removes barriers to the growth of the state's renewable energy market.
The Energy Commission is working with the CPUC as part of the Smart Inverter Working Group, a component of Rule 21. The group is developing recommendations for the advanced functionality of inverters that allow conversion of energy from solar, wind and other renewable energy technology so that it can be accessed by end users.
Solar Power Production Sets New Record in California
Photo courtesy of California Independent System Operator (Cal ISO) |
That amount is nearly double the amount produced in mid-2014 and roughly 2,000 megawatts higher than solar power produced in May 2015, according to the California Independent System Operator (California ISO).
The California ISO manages the flow of electricity across high-voltage power lines that make up 80 percent of California’s power grid and a small portion of Nevada’s power grid.
The robust presence of renewables in the state’s energy mix is evidenced by solar and wind, and other resources that are part of the state’s Renewables Portfolio Standard, providing nearly 29 percent of the state’s electricity needs on July 12, the California ISO said.
The highest penetration percentages of renewables to the state’s power needs this year happened on May 14 and 15 - when renewables accounted for 54 percent and 56 percent of the state’s power demand.
The California Energy Commission conducts strategic transmission planning and corridor designation with the California ISO in coordination with the California Public Utilities Commission and federal agencies.
More about the solar production record can be found here.
New Report Finds California Home to Clean-Energy Advances
California is leading the nation when it comes to developing a clean-energy economy and promoting green technology, according to a new report, the California Green Innovations Index.
Carbon emissions per capita have steadily declined since the early 2000s, while the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita continues to make strides.
“The California Green Innovations Index again shows the Golden State is leading by example,” said California Energy Commission Chair Robert B. Weisenmiller. “Our goal is to significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and demonstrate to the world how it can be done on a global scale.”
The report, from Next 10, is the latest edition of the Green Innovation Index. It found that Fresno is the number one region for generating the most industrial-scale solar energy. San Bernardino/Ontario is top in residential and commercial solar power. On a per-capita basis, Hanford-Corcoran boasts the most commercial and industrial solar energy. Yuba City and Chico rank one and two for residential solar energy.
Next 10 is an independent, nonpartisan organization focused on innovations regarding the environment, economy and quality of life issues.
Online Searchable Database for Proposition 39 Projects is Available
Schools have been reducing energy use and saving money through the California Energy Commission’s Proposition 39 K-12 program and the California Community College Proposition 39 program for two years.
Thanks to a new online searchable database, anyone with internet access can easily identify K-12 school and community college district project information.
The tool, which launched in June, allows the public to see the benefits from Proposition 39 grants for projects in K-12 schools and community college districts. Results are shown by site, rather than by school district. The results show items such as project approval and completion dates, estimated costs, and average annual electric and natural gas savings.
The database is searchable by school or site name, city, and Assembly and Senate district. Data are updated daily for the K-12 schools and quarterly for the community college districts.
Since 2014, California's K-12 schools and community colleges have been able to apply for millions of dollars for energy efficiency upgrades and clean energy generation projects through Proposition 39, a 2012 voter-approved initiative to close a corporate tax loophole.
Hundreds of K-12 school districts and community college districts have applied to finance thousands of projects. The most popular projects include lighting, heating and air conditioning upgrades. Districts have also used the funds to install solar energy systems.
The database can be found at the Energy Commission's Proposition 39 K-12 program web page or at the database link.
Lake Forest Station Joins Hydrogen Refueling Network
The California Energy Commission welcomed another new hydrogen refueling station to its network.
The Lake Forest station, now open at 20731 Lake Forest Drive, provides Californians with 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, do not emit smog-forming pollution. They help California reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, which warm the earth and change its climate.
The Energy Commission has funded 49 hydrogen 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 the battery 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 37 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.
Geothermal Power at The Geysers Proves Resilient and Key To Renewable Energy Goals
The Geysers, the world’s largest geothermal resource for electric power, is nestled 75 miles north of San Francisco among the sun-dappled Mayacamas Mountains of Lake and Sonoma counties.
To the naked eye the only sign of geothermal activity are the 17 geothermal plants that dot the rugged landscape and the steady hum of cooling towers.
The most developed geothermal area in the state, which has 25 known geothermal areas, is The Geysers. The Geysers is a unique resource that allows power plants to use steam to run turbines and generate electricity.
“Geothermal has been around for some time now, but unlike wind and solar, it is a 24/7 resource,” said California Energy Commissioner David Hochschild.
Tapping the energy at The Geysers means wells are drilled – some as deep as two miles - to bring steam to the surface and transport it to the power plants. Water is injected to replenish the steam. The steam is later piped from wells to power plants.
Calpine Corporation operates 14 of the 17 plants at The Geysers. The California Energy Commission, which certifies thermal power plants that are 50 megawatts (MW) and larger, has jurisdiction over six of them.
The plants can produce roughly 725 MW of electricity – enough to power a city the size of San Francisco.
Four of the six Calpine facilities under the jurisdiction of the Energy Commission were among the hardest hit by last year’s Valley Fire. The fire, which killed four people and burned a total of 76,000 acres, tested the resiliency of the operations at The Geysers.
Commissioner Hochschild and other Energy Commission staff toured The Geysers recently for a firsthand look at the status of operations in the wake of the fire.
The fire caused $100 million in damages. Cooling towers were destroyed and power transmission wires, pump stations and piping were damaged.
The Geysers is almost back to full capacity. Fire-resistant cooling towers made of fiberglass replaced the burnt ones. The Geysers’ power output on June 28 was 653 MW, just shy of the 685 MW produced on September 12, 2015 - the day the fire started.
Calpine officials say The Geysers is expected to be at full capacity by the end of the year.
Solar Program Reaches Goal a Year Early
A key state solar initiative has been so successful that it has met its intended target for solar installations one year early.
The California Solar Initiative (CSI)’s General Market Program, administered by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), is part of an effort to install ratepayer-funded new solar energy systems over the next decade while transforming the market for solar energy by reducing the cost of generation equipment.
The CSI’s recently released annual report showed that as of December 31, 2015 the program had spurred the installation of 1,753 megawatts (MW) of customer-sited solar with another 139 MW pending. That amount surpasses the program’s goal to install 1,750 megawatts by 2017.
Customer solar installations continued to increase in 2015, and did so largely without rebate incentives, according to the report. That finding demonstrates that the program has substantially achieved its objective to stimulate the widespread adoption of solar energy and suggests the creation of a self-sustaining market.
Between the last quarter of 2008 and the last quarter of 2014, the average cost of installed residential systems decreased 53 percent from $10.87 per watt to $5.14 per watt. The average cost of installed non-residential solar systems declined 62 percent from $10.30 per watt to $3.93 per watt, according to the report.
The California Energy Commission participates in the CSI through the New Solar Homes Partnership, an award-winning rebate program to install solar in new homes. That program has seen 57,150 solar systems installed in new homes as of May, with 169 MW of power generated, according to a recent Energy Commission report.
More about the CSI General Market Program reaching its goal early can be found here.
Energy Commission Sees Offshore Wind as Promising Renewable Energy Resource
Offshore wind has yet to play the significant role in the California’s renewable energy goals, but it may be a tool the state uses to meet its long-term energy and carbon reduction goals.
"As California moves forward to meet 50 percent of the state's energy needs with clean, renewable energy by 2030, wind power will play an important role,” said David Hochschild, commissioner with the California Energy Commission.
In 2015, onshore wind generated 11,856 gigawatt-hours, or 6.06 percent of the in-state total power generation in California. Offshore wind is new to California.
Last May, Governor Edmund Brown Jr. asked the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to create an Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force to examine opportunities for offshore wind renewable energy development along the California coast.
That task force is a non-regulatory entity that will facilitate coordination and communication between BOEM and state, local, federal and tribal agencies on potential offshore leases for research activity or commercial development.
The leases would be located on federal submerged lands on the outer continental shelf.
The first offshore wind projects being considered in California would be located in federal waters northeast of Morro Bay and the operator would be the Seattle-based Trident Winds.
The proposed project would entail the use of 100 floating foundations each supporting a wind turbine that can produce up to 8 megawatts (MW). The project is expected to generate up to 800 MW.
California Offshore Wind Map courtesy of National Renewable Energy Laboratory |
"This offshore wind project proposal, the first of its kind, marks another important milestone," said Hochschild.
The potential impact for offshore wind was recently established in an analysis by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL). That analysis found that areas off the west coast and Hawaii have the potential of generating over 1.5 terawatts of offshore wind energy. NREL also found that offshore wind hourly characteristics may be complimentary to solar in California.
Offshore wind offers advantages such more as the more consistent wind speeds that are present over the ocean. These allow higher utilization rates compared with similarly sized onshore wind turbines.
The current hurdle for offshore wind projects is that they are significantly more costly to build and maintain than onshore wind.
Marines Enlist Microgrid to Provide Cover During Power Outages
To meet any contingency, threat or challenge that might arise, the United States military conducts a variety of live exercises to ensure it is well prepared to respond to "real world" situations. Some involve battlefields, some move troops and materials halfway around the world and some focus on disaster relief operations.
A recent exercise at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar demonstrated that clean energy technology in the form of a microgrid can help installations maintain mission readiness should the larger electrical grid go down.
During the six-hour test, the installation’s Public Works building was disconnected from San Diego Gas and Electric's transmission system. Operations continued as power from Miramar’s 230-kilowatt solar array and a series of refrigerator-sized battery modules housed in stackable shipping containers took over.
The successful employment of the 180-kilowatt energy and storage system helped show that alternative energy resources can provide what the military calls energy assurance – on-demand independent and sustained power to maintain critical and support operations at fixed locations, forward operating bases and remote locations.
The system was installed at Miramar last year by Raytheon Corporation and Primus Power of Hayward, whose battery design was funded in part through a grant from the California Energy Commission's energy research program. The overall project was funded by the Office of Secretary of Defense, through the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program, as well as the Office of Naval Research. The Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory played a key role in the development, testing and evaluation of the system.
Lodi Unified School District’s CNG Station Helps Improve Air Quality in San Joaquin Valley
Owners and operators of natural gas-fueled vehicles in the San Joaquin Valley have a convenient place to fuel up thanks to a compressed natural gas (CNG) station that the California Energy Commission helped fund.
The Lodi Unified School District installed the station at its transportation department using funds from the Energy Commission’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP) and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.
The CNG fueling station, which has been in service since fall 2015, serves Lodi Unified’s existing fleet of 54 CNG school buses and its light-duty support vehicles. The district has 90 school buses. The remaining ones are diesel buses equipped with diesel particulate filters.
The ARFVTP provides up to $100 million annually for technology to reduce the state’s reliance on fossil fuels, curtail greenhouse gases and meet clean air standards.
Under the ARFVTP 2016-17 Investment Plan Update, $2.5 million will be invested in natural gas fueling infrastructure. These projects reduce the state’s reliance on petroleum and helps California with its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
Lodi Unified has reduced diesel fuel use since the station’s completion. Replacing 27 diesel-powered buses with CNG ones displaced approximately 64,800 gallons of diesel fuel annually.
The school district’s station serves as a backup CNG fueling station for neighboring school districts, businesses and other local fleets. The station also allows the district to provide fueling capacity for planned fleet growth over the next five years, helping to reduce emissions and improve air quality in the San Joaquin Valley.
“The CNG project has helped reduce fuel costs,” said Carlos Garcia, director of transportation for Lodi Unified. “Alternative-fueled vehicles help keep the air clean in the San Joaquin Valley, reducing the exposure of diesel fumes that can be harmful to students and the public.”
The new equipment, which is efficient and easier to maintain, helps meet the district’s clean energy needs. The district intends to continue using CNG as its main fuel source for its fleet and hopes other fleets will consider replacing diesel with natural gas vehicles, Garcia said.
Energy Commission’s Bioenergy Grant Opportunity Addresses Tree Mortality
To help protect forests and support the state’s climate goals, in June, the California Energy Commission released a grant funding opportunity focused heavily on research and development projects that convert waste timber to energy.
California is experiencing an unprecedented tree die-off caused by years of drought and exacerbated by a bark beetle infestation. The U.S. Forest Service estimates that 66 million trees have died so far, significantly increasing the potential risk and volatility of wildfires.
In December, the Governor declared a state of emergency because of the die off and directed the Energy Commission to prioritize grant funding from the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) program for woody biomass-to-energy technology development.
The EPIC grant funding opportunity provides:
- $5 million for research projects that use woody biomass to generate renewable electricity
- $10 million to demonstrate innovative technologies, techniques and strategies that generate electricity using forest biomass from high hazard zones described in the Governor’s state of emergency message
The Energy Commission, supported by Assembly Bill 865 (Alejo, Chapter 583, Statutes of 2015), is committed to increasing diversity in the energy sector and continues to encourage women, minority, disabled veteran and LGBT businesses to engage in and benefit from its many grant funding programs.
Photo courtesy of the United States Geological Survey