Helpful and Handy: Introducing the California Clean Energy Almanac
At the California Energy Commission, we’re nothing if not misers on energy use.
The energy efficiency standards we’ve adopted for buildings and appliances over the past 45 years have saved Californians billions of dollars. This nationally recognized leadership has helped keep the state’s per capita electricity use relatively flat during that time so that today California residents use 31% less energy than the average Americans.
Now, the CEC, which is the state’s primary energy policy and planning agency, can boast about another kind of energy savings. Our 2020 California Clean Energy Almanac makes it easy to find key facts and figures.
We’ve completely transformed a series of regular reports from detailed compendiums to a handy reference of easy-to-read graphics and factoids about California energy.
Here’s a sampling:
- • The state’s appliance and building energy efficiency standards have resulted in $100 billion in consumer savings over the past 40 years.
- • The electricity sector is leading the state’s greenhouse gas reductions — emissions from power generation have dropped 43 percent since 1990.
- • California arrived three years early in meeting its 2020 goal of having 33 percent of its electricity coming from solar, wind, and other renewable sources.
- • Twenty-two energy innovation startups that received CEC’s Electric Program Investment Charge Program grants tripled their total private investment.
- • About 65 percent of CEC-funded demonstration projects are in low-income or disadvantaged communities, more than double the required proportion.
CEC Chair David Hochschild said the makeover helps to tell the story of California’s commitment to energy efficiency and progress toward 100 percent clean energy.
“It shows statistics and examples of how far we’ve come — and need to go — on the road toward a more resilient, affordable, equitable, and environmentally sustainable energy system,” Hochschild said in the almanac’s introduction. “Transforming California’s energy requires accurate and timely information for decision-makers, consumers and businesses.”
The statistical milestones and examples cover nine areas:
- •Greenhouse gas emissions reductions
- • Energy equity
- • Innovation
- • Efficiency
- • Impacts of Covid-19
- • Clean transportation
- • Investments in clean energy
- • Energy storage
- • Renewable energy
The 2020 Almanac is designed for energy buffs and novices alike. But if you want to drill deeper, the CEC offers detailed analysis on energy markets, power plants, transportation energy, and electricity data — all on the Energy Almanac webpage.
The CEC is the data depository for all things energy-related. Thanks to the new 2020 Almanac, you can conserve time and energy because all the gems are easy to find and explore!
California Nabs Top Ranking From National Energy Efficiency Scorecard
California is the most energy efficient state in the nation, a ranking it last held in 2016 from the national 2020 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard.
The top ranking from the American Council for an Energy-Efficiency Economy (ACEEE), a nonprofit that advances energy efficiency, is a testament to California’s clean energy policies and consistent efforts to promote energy conservation and flexibility.
Despite COVID-19 and the economic recession, some states continued to successfully prioritize energy efficiency as an important resource to help reduce household and business energy bills, create jobs, and reduce emissions. California set the pace by enacting energy efficiency building codes and stringent vehicle emissions standards. It has led the charge on vehicle electrification and strengthened lighting and appliance standards amid federal rollback efforts, according to the ACEEE.
In January, California utility regulators approved $45 million in incentives for high-efficiency heat pump water heaters, a crucial technology for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In September, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order calling for new gasoline-powered vehicles to be phased out by 2035.
Energy efficiency has been critical to the state’s environmental efforts for the last four decades. The ACEEE honor recognizes California’s national leadership and the key role that energy efficiency continues to play in the fight against the climate crisis, Newsom said.
“Our legacy of success in the area—choosing to embrace a smarter way of using energy and keeping energy use steady as our economy and popular grow—gives us confidence to tackle the challenges before us today, and to enable the transition to 100 percent carbon-free electricity,” he said.
The scorecard, which is in its 14th year, tracks the progress of programs and policies by evaluating the 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. in the areas of utilities, transportation, building policies, state government initiatives, and appliance standards. California earned a score of 43 out of a possible 50 points, edging out Massachusetts.
Increasing energy efficiency is one of the California Energy Commission (CEC)’s core responsibilities and part of the reason why the agency was created in 1975.
“Efficiency is in our DNA,” said CEC Commissioner Andrew McAllister.
The CEC’s energy efficiency standards for buildings and appliances can lower utility bills, cut air pollution, and save water. As a result, Californians have saved up to $100 billion over the last 40 years, according to the CEC’s Clean Energy Almanac.
The ACEEE’s scorecard for California highlighted several efforts that the CEC has led. The 2019 Building Energy Efficiency Standards, which took effect in January 2020, are the first in the United States to require low-rise residential buildings to have solar photovoltaic systems.
The CEC runs the state’s benchmarking program that helps multifamily and commercial building owners measure and track annual building energy use as part of efforts to improve the efficiency of their buildings.
CEC Approves Plan to Invest Up to $115 Million for Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure
The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved a plan that will invest up to $115 million to significantly increase the number of fueling stations in the state that support hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).
The funding nearly doubles the state’s investments to date and will help California nearly achieve its goal to deploy 200 public hydrogen fueling stations.
The plan, which was approved at the December 9 business meeting, also supports Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order phasing out the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger vehicles by 2035 by providing essential infrastructure to meet the fueling needs of the increasing number of zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) anticipated on the road in the next decade. While battery electric vehicles (BEV) are the most common ZEV in the state, more than 8,000 FCEVs have also been leased or sold.
Under the plan, up to 111 new hydrogen fueling stations will be built in the state by 2027, including many designed for multi-use by passenger vehicles, trucks and buses. Total project funding is subject to annual approval of both the state budget and allocations from the CEC.
To date, the CEC has funded 45 open retail hydrogen stations with an additional 16 under construction. Altogether with the approved plan, there could be up to 179 stations in the state, including seven privately funded stations.
For more about the approved plan, click here.
