California Energy Efficiency Standards Excel
California continues to lead the nation and the world in energy efficiency standards as the state gets more bang for the buck when managing energy usage in buildings.
The review, conducted by the California Energy Commission, compared California’s 2016 Building Energy Efficiency Standards to international standards set in 2015. The comparison is required by the federal government.
The comparison found a 29 percent annual energy savings from California standards over international standards. The state standards saved enough electricity to power 300,000 additional homes annually, according to the report, which was presented at the June 14 business meeting.
“While significant improvements have been made to the energy stringency levels of the national reference energy codes, California’s residential energy standards contain building measures and performance operation impacts that are more rigorous, resulting in higher efficiency levels,” the report’s authors wrote.
The building standards, which were adopted in 1978, are developed through a public process to gather input and reach consensus on efficiency measures.
Every three years, the Energy Commission establishes minimum energy efficiency standards for new building construction that is technically and economically feasible. The Energy Commission is working on the 2019 standards.
Standards are designed to save consumers money and reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, while creating clean energy jobs in California.
Can Solar Contribute to Grid Reliability? Yes, Says California ISO Official
The reliability of the grid is a hot topic given the contention of U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry and others who say renewable energy will destabilize rather than strengthen the grid.
Clyde Loutan, who is the California Independent System Operator’s (California ISO) senior advisor for renewable energy integration, believes otherwise. He contends that solar photovoltaic systems can make the grid more reliable.
“If you have renewables in the right place, it can help you integrate more renewables into the system,” said Loutan.
Loutan said so during a June 22 talk on advanced grid reliability and solar energy at the California Energy Commission.
What Loutan had to say is significant given that the California ISO manages the flow of electricity across power lines that make up 80 percent of California’s grid, as well as a small part of Nevada’s.
When lights turn on it is largely because of how the California ISO keeps power flowing from power lines and substations to homes, businesses and communities.
A crucial task at the California ISO is forecasting electricity demand and meeting that demand at lowest cost for sale to utilities.
The goal is to have renewable resources, like solar and wind, provide essential reliability services that have traditionally been provided by conventional resources such as nuclear power plants and gas-fired power plants.
There are challenges that come with solar power in a reliability role. One is how high levels of solar generation during midday hours contribute to an oversupply of energy when demand for power is low. This leads to the curtailment of power and thousands of photovoltaic systems going offline at the same time.
Seeking an answer is important given that forecasts predict there will be 12,000 megawatts (MW) of rooftop photovoltaic solar installed in California by 2020. The solution is adopting smart solar inverters and voltage regulators on photovoltaic systems, Loutan said.
Solar inverters convert the direct current output from photovoltaic systems to alternating current that can be used by the grid. Most solar systems currently use dumb inverters, which are passive and cannot adjust power output during oversupply events.
Smart inverters can adjust and prevent shutdowns during oversupply events, helping to avoid the massive simultaneous shutdowns that negatively impact the grid. This makes solar energy more stable and a better power source.
That contention was underscored by a study by the California ISO, First Solar and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory on a 300-MW First Solar utility-scale solar plant in the California desert.
The study, which was released in January, found that the adoption of smart solar inverters and other controls on solar photovoltaic systems can provide grid-friendly power and reliability to the grid and prevent mass solar system shutdowns.
Commissioner McAllister Recognized as an Energy Efficiency Leader
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) honored California Energy Commissioner Andrew McAllister for his work in energy efficiency.
Under McAllister’s leadership, the Energy Commission last year adopted first-in-the nation regulations for LEDs, small-diameter directional lams, computers and monitors.
"Our approach in California is really to do common sense things through regulatory processes — minimum appliance efficiency standards, building standards that we can show are absolutely cost effective and in everyone's best interest," said McAllister.
At a June 21 ceremony at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, USGBC awarded McAllister and State Senator Scott Wiener the Green Hard Hat, which symbolizes a commitment to the betterment of communities and the environment for all Californians.
“California has led the charge at the state level when it comes to green building initiatives, and we’ll continue working with these leaders to deliver sustainable, healthy communities for all Californians,” said Brenden McEneaney, Pacific regional director at USGBC, which is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings.
McAllister was recognized for his work in implementing Assembly Bill 802 and Senate Bill 350. Both bills were major accomplishments in shaping state policy.
AB 802 requires the Energy Commission to establish a statewide energy benchmarking and disclosure program, which will provide commercial building owners the information they need to evaluate energy usage and identify high-value efficiency projects.
SB 350 calls for the doubling of the statewide energy efficiency savings and generating half of the state’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
As the lead commissioner for energy efficiency, McAllister oversees appliance and building standards and financing programs for schools, cities, counties, special districts, public institutions, and hospitals.
McAllister was appointed to the Energy Commission by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in May 2012, and reappointed in January 2017. He has been working on clean energy deployment and policy for his entire 25-year career.
McAllister has worked across the world to develop renewable energy generation, energy efficiency investments, and energy management systems, with counterparts ranging from tiny remote communities to the largest of utilities.
California’s Hydrogen Refueling Network Welcomes South Pasadena Station
California welcomed another station to its growing hydrogen refueling network, further bolstering the state’s global leadership in the adoption of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) as part of its broader strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality.
The new station, now open at 1200 Fair Oaks Avenue, South Pasadena, provides Californians with the fueling options they need to consider replacing their petroleum-fueled cars with hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles.
With transportation responsible for nearly 40 percent of California’s greenhouse gas emissions, the state is working to get 1.5 million ZEVs, such as hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, on California roads by 2025.
State initiatives to support adoption of these vehicles include the California Energy Commission investing in an initial network of 100 public hydrogen stations across California, which will help make hydrogen fuel cell vehicles a practical option for consumers.
“The Energy Commission is committed to investing in a network of conveniently-located refueling stations to support the fuel cell electric cars that are on the road now and to encourage more consumers to consider zero-emission options,” said Energy Commissioner Janea A. Scott.
The Energy Commission has funded 54 hydrogen stations, with 27 now open. Another seven stations are proposed for funding, pending Energy Commission approval. The public-private effort to build a network on this scale is the first of its kind in the world.
Fuel cell cars run upwards of 300 miles on a full tank, about the same distance as gasoline-fueled cars. It also takes roughly the same amount of time to fill the tank for both types of vehicles - three to five minutes.
See the status and locations of these stations here.
Renewable Energy No Threat to Electric Grid, as Trump Aides Claim
By David Hochschild and David Olsen.
In 1986, President Ronald Reagan famously removed solar panels from the White House roof, capping a misguided energy policy that severely slashed investment in renewable energy. Thirty-one years later, President Trump has committed a more consequential mistake by rejecting the Paris climate accord. But the story of how solar energy survived and thrived after Reagan holds an encouraging lesson for us.
After Reagan, states such as California stepped up and invested heavily in solar research, development and market incentives. Despite being slowed by a reduction in federal support, the progress over time was dramatic. Since Reagan’s election, the price of solar panels has fallen by 99 percent. Last year, solar energy was the single largest source of new electricity generation added to our nation’s electric grid, contributing about 40 percent of the total. Solar energy provides jobs for 260,000 people in America, compared to just 65,000 by the coal mining industry. Wind energy, which followed a similar trajectory, now employs more than 100,000 U.S. workers.
Bold leadership to combat climate change in the United States will not come from Washington, D.C., but from a combination of state and local efforts. But for these efforts to succeed, one falsehood must be debunked immediately.
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry recently signaled that the Trump administration may soon seek to undo all state and local renewable energy policies across the country on grounds that clean technologies such as wind and solar power pose a threat to grid reliability and, therefore, jeopardize national security.
While a convenient myth for the fossil-fuel industry, this is nonsense. To begin with, in the interest of national security, the military itself has become a national leader in adopting renewable energy. The U.S. Navy, for example, is quickly moving toward its goal of using 50 percent renewable energy by 2020.
In California, which has installed more clean energy than any other state, there have been no threats to the reliability of the electric grid caused by renewables. Instead, the three biggest threats to our grid over the last 20 years came from market manipulation (Enron et al, during the 2001 energy crisis), a nuclear plant failure (San Onofre, 2012) and the largest natural gas leak in history (Aliso Canyon gas storage facility, 2015). Rather than create these emergencies, renewable energy was part of the solution and continued to operate reliably and prevented these events from becoming worse.
Almost two-thirds of the new electric generation capacity added to the grid in the United States over the last two years has come from wind and solar. From a reliability perspective, this is a positive development. In August 2011, when a heat wave in Texas shut down 20 natural gas plants, it was wind power that kept the electric grid operator from having to black out areas of the state. In Iowa, wind power now provides 37 percent of the state’s electricity with no reduction in reliability.
What happens when the wind doesn’t blow, or the sun doesn’t shine? To answer that question, one needs to examine the many countries that have more renewable energy than we do. Wind and solar contribute a share 2.5 times larger in Germany’s electricity mix (18.2 percent in 2016) than they do in the United States (6.9 percent). Germany produced 82 percent of its electricity from renewables for a period of several days in May. Denmark gets 100 percent of its electricity from renewables on many days of the year. Yet both nations have electric grids that are 10 times more reliable than America’s. Germany and Denmark average 23 and 24 minutes of customer outages per year respectively, while the United States averages 240 minutes per year.
These electric grids share several features that create stability. They have a diverse mix of renewables — onshore wind, offshore wind, photovoltaic and solar thermal power, geothermal power, hydropower and energy storage, mainly in the form of water pumped behind a dam. The European grid is a regional grid, and the sun is almost always shining, or the wind blowing, or water flowing, somewhere in Europe. Countries like Germany and Denmark also pay a lot of attention to weather forecasting, so that they can accurately predict and plan for how much solar and wind power they will generate. And they have electrified more of their economy than we have, including much of the rail network.
These are the defining qualities of the clean electric grid of the future. Clean energy is good both for the grid and the bottom line. That’s why the private sector here at home is now helping make it happen. Google, Walmart, General Motors, Facebook and Apple have all committed to using 100 percent renewable energy.
If the Trump administration does indeed seek to roll back state and local renewable energy policies on grounds that it jeopardizes the electric grid, then it would constitute yet another historic mistake. Rather than representing a threat to our electric grid, renewable energy is its future.
David Hochschild is a commissioner with the California Energy Commission, the state’s primary energy policy and planning agency. David Olsen is a member of the California Independent System Operator Board of Governors, which runs the state’s electric grid.
This commentary was originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle on June 16, 2017.
Long-Term Energy Strategies Provide Payoff for Clovis Unified School District
Time invested in long-term energy efficiency planning is paying off for one Central Valley school district.
Clovis Unified School District, located northeast of Fresno, created an energy conservation and efficiency program in 2008. The program’s goals were to maintain comfort and safety at school facilities, eliminate energy waste, and save on utility costs.
With such goals in mind, the district applied in 2014 to receive Clean Energy Jobs Act Program (Proposition 39) funds to help eliminate energy waste and increase energy efficiency. The district used its $3.3 million grant at 14 of the district’s 42 K-12 schools. Projects included replacing interior and exterior lighting, replacing heating and air conditioning units, and installing energy efficient pool pumps.
The Proposition 39 K-12 Program, which the California Energy Commission administers, helps schools improve energy efficiency and expand clean energy generation at schools. It is a voter-approved initiative that adjusted the corporate income tax code and allocated revenues to school districts for energy improvements to facilities.
Stuart Ogren, who is the energy management coordinator for Clovis Unified, believes energy management helps the district keep energy costs stable even while the district has added new schools. The measures installed with Proposition 39 funds are estimated to save the district nearly $300,000 a year in utility costs.
“What it allows us to do is put the money back to the students and programs for the students. And, that is where it’s most important,” said Ogren.
Clovis Unified is working to make its campuses more environmentally friendly and save money by using efficiency dollars provided by local utilities and the state. The district, which is eligible for another $5.5 million in Proposition 39 funds, intends to submit plans for those dollars before the program’s August 2017 deadline.
To search K-12 school district and community college district projects, visit the Energy Commission’s searchable database. Information on the Energy Commission’s Proposition 39 K-12 Program is at http://www.energy.ca.gov/efficiency/proposition39/
EPIC Symposium Helps Create Agricultural Water and Energy Saving Partnership
A connection made at a California Energy Commission research and development forum led to a grant recipient being selected by a state agency to monitor energy and water savings on California farms.
Their paths crossed during the Energy Commission’s inaugural Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) Symposium in 2015. The event gave the public, industry and other stakeholders an opportunity to learn about innovative clean energy research projects funded through the EPIC program.
Among the many attendees were members of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), and among the presenters was San Mateo-based PowWow Energy. PowWow, in collaboration with the University of California, Davis and UC Santa Barbara, received a $2.2 million grant that year to develop a high-tech water monitoring and management system.
During his symposium presentation, PowWow CEO Olivier Jerphagnon explained how its easily deployable system collects water pump information from existing smart meters and how sensors detect plant health, soil moisture and leaks to help farmers optimize irrigation schedules without diminishing yields.
“It takes a great deal of electricity to pump water for irrigation,” said Jerphagnon. “Inefficient use of water equals a loss in food production and a waste of electricity.”
About a year after the symposium, the CDFA – through a competitive selection process – chose PowWow to monitor water and energy savings for a number of farm operations receiving State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) funds. SWEEP is a CDFA program that provides financial incentives to farmers to implement irrigation practices that save water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
During the two-year contract, PowWow will monitor changes in energy and water usage at those farms and validate greenhouse gas, energy and water reductions.
“These public-private partnerships are important, and we see such partnerships being successful in other sectors in California and throughout the world,” said Carolyn Cook, a CDFA senior environmental scientist.
The EPIC program, which was established in 2011, invests more than $120 million annually for technologies and concepts that help California meet its energy and climate goals.
Wind Energy Official Extols Virtues of Wind Energy
Can wind power be a complement to the variability of solar power for a state like California that seeks a cleaner energy future and grid reliability?
Tom Kiernan, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association, thinks so.
In a May 31 talk at the California Energy Commission, Kiernan gave his assessment about how wind power can benefit the state’s renewable energy goals, one of which is to generate half of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
"You cannot do much with solar without exacerbating the duck curve," said Kiernan.
In referencing the duck curve, Kiernan was referring to a well-known graphic in the energy industry whose curved shape resembles a duck and whose path reveals the effect that solar and wind energy have on daily demand on utility electricity and the grid.
As more solar energy comes online it is expected to create an oversupply of solar during daytime hours, when electricity demand is low.
Demand begins to rise after people get home for work and turn on air conditioners, lights and appliances. This coincides with a decline in solar. The increased demand and plunge in solar creates a problem for the grid as it relies on a consistent supply of energy to avoid blackouts and energy cascades.
Bringing wind into the mix can mollify the daily and seasonal variability of solar energy, Kiernan said.
In Colorado, the sun shines the least during winter and spring but it is also the windiest time of year.
Wind also can be a variable energy source since it does not blow consistently. But it is rare for a wind farm to totally shut down because there is usually wind blowing in at least one portion of the site.
Kiernan said the evolution of wind technology will make wind become more attractive as an energy source. Wind turbines are getting larger and taller, and are producing more power per turbine.
In 2000, the average rotor width of a turbine was 49 meters. In 2015, that size had increased to 102 meters. The turbine height also increased from 58 meters in 2000 to 82 meters in 2015. Taller turbines allow wind energy to be accessed in areas previously not considered as conducive to wind energy, especially in Midwest states, Kiernan said.
California ranks fourth in the United States in installed wind power capacity after Oklahoma recently surpassed it for the third spot. Texas leads the nation with 21,044 megawatts (MW) installed with Iowa second, according to the American Wind Energy Association.
California has 5,656 MW of wind capacity installed. In 2015, wind provided about 6 percent of in-state electricity generation, double the in-state amount produced in 2000.
Listen in to Tom Kiernan's talk below.
Southern California Program Brings Together Clean Energy Entrepreneurs and Industry Leaders
On the strength of a California Energy Commission grant, the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) launched a new initiative in May that will strengthen the region’s clean energy economy by helping entrepreneurs access the business and technical services necessary to bring new technologies to market.
Energize California will serve as the coordinating organization for the region’s clean energy sector and will bring together industry leaders to support entrepreneurs and new technologies in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange counties.
“You never know where the next great clean energy idea will come from,” said Energy Commission Chair Robert Weisenmiller, “but having a centralized program like this where innovators can easily network with academia, industry, business and professional development resources, greatly enhances the chances of that happening there.”
The initiative will connect clean energy entrepreneurs with mentors, industry thought-leaders, testing and prototyping facilities, funding sources and strategic partners.
“Energy entrepreneurs have struggled to locate and connect with the resources and networks needed to commercialize their products,” said Amanda Sabicer, LACI vice president of Energize California.
Energize California and its partnering organizations will also identify energy needs and help funnel early-stage energy technology solutions into the local region and especially into disadvantaged communities.
LACI received a $5 million grant last year through the Energy Commission’s Electric Program Investment Charge program, which supports innovations and strategies that advance clean energy technologies.
City of Gardena Celebrates Launch of New Zero-Emission Electric Buses
Last month, five electric buses hit the streets in economically disadvantaged communities throughout the city of Gardena as part of a project that will improve local air quality, provide workforce development and help grow the state’s green economy.
The buses are quiet, so quiet that recorded messages now indicate their movements for the visually impaired. But they have oomph, so much so that drivers must be reminded to accelerate with care and tell passengers to hold on tight during departures.
In 2016, Gardena’s public transit agency, GTrans, took the five buses from its fleet of aging hybrid gasoline-electric buses, stripped them down to the frame and rebuilt them with clean zero-emissions, battery-electric propulsion systems. The new buses also include energy efficiency upgrades such as LED lighting and ultraviolet reflective windows for heat reduction.
Conversion of the buses was made possible by a $2.7 million grant to GTrans from the California Energy Commission’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP), which to date has invested more than $748 million to support advancements in alternative, renewable fuels and the vehicles powered by them. Other project partners include Complete Coach Works, CALSTART and the Southern California Regional Transit Training Consortium.
“The California Energy Commission is pleased to support GTrans’ work to provide the diverse and disadvantaged communities it serves with increased public access to advanced, clean transportation,” said Energy Commissioner Janea A. Scott.
“GTrans’ partnership with Complete Coach Works to retrofit buses with zero-emissions technology helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality and provides a pathway to clean-transportation jobs throughout the region.”
The current pilot project has provided local workforce development for a diverse crew of employees who built the buses. It also provides employment for workers needed to drive the buses and maintain them.
Complete Coach Works’ diverse and highly trained workforce retrofitted the buses at its facility in Riverside. Adding the service of remanufacturing transit buses with Zero Emission Propulsion System technology has enabled Complete Coach Works to add more than 50 employees. The facility takes pride in employing people from various ethnicities and backgrounds.
GTrans aims to reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions by 99 percent in the next six years by converting 20 percent of its fleet to all-electric propulsion, and the rest to run on compressed natural gas. This test run will help determine if it is feasible for GTrans to convert additional buses to electric from its existing fleet, rather than buy new vehicles.
It will also lay the groundwork for other transit agencies across the country looking for green transportation options.