Energy Commission Building Energy Use Program Can Encourage Improvements
Envision yourself as a building owner who wants to make improvements to help attract prospective tenants. Investing in energy efficiency improvements and disclosing the savings could show tenants the possibility of lower energy bills and how the space is more inviting or comfortable.
But how would you quantify these changes to tenants? Energy benchmarking – the measurement of a building’s energy performance over time relative to similar buildings – can help. When publicly disclosed, this information can encourage energy management improvements that reduce energy use and increase savings.
Assembly Bill 802 requires utilities, beginning January 1, 2017, to provide building-level energy use data upon request. The bill also charged the California Energy Commission to create a statewide benchmarking and public disclosure program for large buildings.
These regulations, approved at the October 2017 business meeting, require owners of large commercial buildings to report building characteristic and energy use information to the Energy Commission by June 1, 2018, and annually afterwards.
Owners of large multifamily residential buildings must do the same by June 1, 2019.
“The Energy Commission developed the infrastructure for getting data to flow around to the right places at the right moments so that better decisions can be made,” said Commissioner Andrew McAllister, who is the Energy Commission’s lead on energy efficiency.
After one year of reporting, the Energy Commission will disclose certain building-level energy performance information on a public website.
“Once this information is public, people who are making decisions about which buildings to be in – which ones they want to rent or which investments they want to make if they own a building – will be better informed,” McAllister said. “That is good for the economy and good for reaching our state energy goals.”
Nonprofit Leader Discusses Hawaii’s Transition to Renewable Energy
For a small archipelago, Hawaii has big policy goals on energy and climate change.
In 2015, Hawaii became the first state to pass a law, House Bill 623, requiring 100 percent of the state’s electricity come from renewable resources by 2045.
Jeff Mikulina, executive director of Blue Planet Foundation, discussed the law and Hawaii’s other climate change policies during an Oct.19 talk at the California Energy Commission. The Honolulu-based nonprofit, which advocates for Hawaii’s transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy, helped lead the campaign to pass HB 623.
While Hawaii is at the forefront with its 100 percent renewable law, the state often takes inspiration from many of the Golden State’s climate change efforts, including Assembly Bill 32.
AB 32 established a target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in California to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. In order to meet that target, California has set a goal of getting 50 percent of its electricity supply from renewable resources by 2030.
“You are at the cutting edge in California, and we really appreciate you tackling the biggest challenge this planet faces, trying to get our energy system right,” Mikulina said.
In 2008, Hawaii partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy to launch the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, a public-private effort to increase the state’s energy efficiency and renewable energy portfolio. In 2016, 26 percent of Hawaii’s electricity came from renewable resources, just behind California’s 29 percent.
The initiative is also working to reduce petroleum use in the state’s transportation sector, which accounts for more than half of Hawaii’s energy consumption. Hawaii is second in the country in the number of electric vehicles per capita, behind California, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Hawaii is taking climate change seriously because it has a lot at stake. The small group of islands faces increasing and more severe hurricanes and a projected sea-level rise that would submerge significant portions of the state, Mikulina said.
“It reinforces our need to lead on solutions,” he said.
High energy costs are also driving the state’s move to renewables. Hawaii residents pay significantly more for electricity than other Americans, largely because more than 90 percent of the state’s energy is imported by ship, much of it petroleum. It also has the challenge of operating an electrical grid on an archipelago, he said.
“We see Hawaii as sort of a special laboratory,” Mikulina said. “Islands are unique in many ways. The borders create these unique, selective pressures. In Hawaii, we have seven unconnected island grids. We have to figure out how to balance our energy mix, in very small, almost microgrids. In doing so, we think that islands can not only demonstrate, but really help lead what solutions look like.”
Mikulina said he and his colleagues in Hawaii welcome continuing collaborations with the Energy Commission and others in California to help achieve both states’ climate change goals.
“We can go farther together,” he added.
Germany and California Meet Over Shared Clean Energy Goals
If Germany is to meet its clean energy goals, it will likely demand electrification of its transportation sector along with other greenhouse gas emission efforts.
That was a fact gleaned from the California-Germany Bilateral Energy Conference held in Sacramento where the shared energy goals by the two became apparent.
The conference was organized by the California Energy Commission with the German Ministry of Energy and Economic Affairs. Attendees included energy officials from Germany and China, and representatives from California utilities and companies such as Tesla.
The two governments are working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase renewables, and reduce load through energy efficiency measures, all while still building a strong economy.
Germany’s renewable energy goals include reducing carbon emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. In California, the goal is reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.
The Oct. 19 to 20 conference plumbed issues like long-term planning for the energy sector and how to integrate renewable power into the transportation sector.
The role that transportation plays in greenhouse gas emissions in California was part of a panel discussion at the conference.
“Transportation accounts for about 40 percent of emissions in California and if you include indirect emissions, when converting petroleum into gas, it may be as much as 50 percent,” said Energy Commission Chair Robert B. Weisenmiller. One solution to the problem is electrifying the transportation sector.
Southern California Edison President Ronald Nichols said the drive towards electrification in the transportation sector will be essential to California. He couched it as a social justice issue.
“In Southern California we have the port of Los Angeles and Long Beach… and coming out of those ports is all the trucking serving the Los Angeles and a portion of country,” he said. “ Those vehicles line up on freeways and move at a slow pace, and (they) move past significantly disadvantaged communities.”
Electric vehicle charging was also a topic discussed during the conference. This included the idea that electric cars can operate under a “mobile metering” plan, where the metering data on charging and power flow to the grid stays with the electric vehicle and not at the charging station.
The California-Germany Bilateral Energy Conference was live streamed from the Energy Commission's Facebook page and can be re-watched here.
A Clean Technology Investor’s Perspective on the Energy Future
Flying cars that run on electricity are being developed and could be market ready within five years, according to Andrew Beebe, managing director at Obvious Ventures. He also sees changes on the horizon toward modern and spacious prefab homes and a move to plant-based protein.
This may all sound like parts of a science fiction movie set in the future, but the technologies are being developed and researched now.
At an Oct. 2 talk at the California Energy Commission, Beebe said flying electric cars will transform the state’s infrastructure. He discussed a landscape where parking structures could have multiple uses such as takeoff and landing points, as well as locations for charging vehicles.
As infrastructure changes to support new modes of transportation, there will be implications on how electricity is moved around, he said.
“With every single company Obvious Ventures invests in we ask ourselves if the company is world positive – are they building something in the direction that humanity wants to go,” Beebe said.
Obvious Ventures is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that is rethinking how investments with positive social and environmental benefits can change the world.
With these changes, Beebe believes the world will replace fossil fuels with renewable sources and move toward electrification.
He looks to the research and development investments made by entities, like the Energy Commission, as markers to reaching, and ultimately surpassing, state environmental goals.
The Energy Commission invests about $120 million a year through the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) program to support innovations and strategies to advance clean energy technologies that help California meet its energy and climate goals.
EPIC is designed to drive commercial adoption of new technologies through early engagement of customers. Some of these emerging technologies are already in use by early adopters and are being tested in homes and businesses.
Summer Construction Brings Energy Efficiency Upgrades to Eastern San Diego County Schools
Grossmont Union High School District students returning to 12 of the district’s high schools saw their campuses transformed over the summer by solar panels, new facilities, and energy efficiency upgrades. The renovations are expected to enhance classrooms as well as entryways and improve accessibility and safety.
The largest part of the upgrade, funded through local ballot measures, installed solar panels at eight campuses, which will save about $61.2 million in utility costs over the course of the 25-year power purchase agreements. To supplement the systems, the district installed battery storage at nine school sites.
The summer construction also included upgrades to lighting at 10 campuses. Funds from the Clean Energy Jobs Act (Proposition 39), which the California Energy Commission administers, were used for the upgrades.
The Proposition 39 K-12 Program 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.
“Investing in energy efficiency and clean energy upgrades makes school buildings more comfortable and creates a better learning environment,” said Commissioner Andrew McAllister, the Energy Commission’s lead on energy efficiency. “In the long run, Proposition 39 grants used in a comprehensive way will save the district money that can be invested in student programs while helping the state reach its ambitious environmental and energy goals.”
At the Grossmont Union High campuses, light-emitting diode (LED) retrofits were completed to improve lighting efficiency and quality in classrooms, exterior walkways, and gymnasiums. Additionally, more than 4,000 ballasts – which regulate the current to lighting fixtures – and 8,000 new light bulbs were installed.
"The use of alternative energy resources helps contribute to a cleaner environment for our schools and community while also helping us to reduce utility costs," said Robert Shield, president of the Grossmont Union High’s governing board. "Our energy conservation projects are in place for all the right reasons. It's not just about saving money, it's also about being good stewards of our natural resources."
The district requested $3.5 million from the Proposition 39 K-12 Program, with $345,000 of it used for the summer’s lighting upgrades. The remaining funds will be used for additional lighting retrofits in gymnasiums, school theaters, and external areas; upgrades to heating ventilation and air conditioning systems and controls; and installation of smart thermostats. These energy upgrades are expected to save additional $8.6 million in electricity costs over the 20-year period.
The Proposition 39 projects are part of the district’s efforts to increase utility costs savings.
Photo courtesy of Grossmont Union High School District.
Energy Commission Celebrates National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day
National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day was October 8 – 10.08, to reflect hydrogen’s atomic weight of 1.008. The day is a celebration to raise awareness of a clean, cutting edge technology that is already powering more than 2,400 cars on the road in California, with the help of investments by the California Energy Commission.
Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles have no tailpipe emissions except for water vapor. These cars are critical to the state’s goal of getting 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on California roads by 2025. They are also a vital part of the state’s work to achieve its climate change goals, improve air quality, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
The Energy Commission is supporting all these efforts, and adoption of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, through investments from the Alternative and Renewable Fuels and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP). The program supports innovations in transportation and fuel technologies.
“The Energy Commission is pleased to support the adoption of zero-emission fuel cell electric cars by expanding California’s network of hydrogen refueling stations,” said Energy Commissioner Janea A. Scott. “Every new hydrogen station enables fuel cell drivers to travel more freely, and encourages more Californians to consider getting behind the wheel of these cutting edge and fun-to-drive vehicles.”
Fuel cell vehicles 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 - three to five minutes - to fill up the fuel tank.
Since June, California’s growing hydrogen refueling network has added new stations in Fremont and San Ramon in the Bay Area, and Lawndale and Torrance in Southern California. Ribbon cuttings are being held this week for the Torrance and San Ramon stations. So far, the Energy Commission has funded 60 stations, with 31 now open.
Photos courtesy of the California Fuel Cell Partnership.
Pivot to Renewables Brings South Korean TV to Energy Commission
California’s success with renewable energy is drawing interest from South Korea, which is pivoting from fossil fuels to clean energy.
As a result, the South Korean Broadcasting Service recently interviewed California Energy Commissioner David Hochschild.
The Koreans asked whether California would meet the state’s goal of providing 50 percent of its electric energy retail sales from renewable energy by 2030.
Hochschild said that California is on pace to meet that goal.
“In 2016, California received 29 percent of electricity retail sales from renewable energy,” said Hochschild.
South Korea ranks 68th in installed renewable energy capacity globally. It wants to increase its renewable energy use from 5 percent currently to 20 percent by 2030.
To do so, South Korean President Moon Jae-in recently introduced a proposal to discourage coal and nuclear energy while promoting the development of renewables like wind and solar.
Hochschild said the adoption of solar and offshore wind will be elemental in helping South Korea’s clean energy goals.
Seventy percent of South Korea’s electricity comes from thermal coal and nuclear energy, which are given tax incentives. The country plans to wean itself off coal by retiring some of its aging coal-fired power plants.
Moon has pledged to permanently close all coal plants that are 30 years or older during his presidential term, which is 2017 to 2022.
Another issue raised during the interview was concern about increased energy prices. Hochschild said prices for solar and wind energy in the United States have never been lower, with their costs lower than for coal and other fossil fuels.
The U.S. Department of Energy and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory recently reported that the median installed price for utility-scale photovoltaic systems in the U.S. has dropped by almost 60 percent since 2007. It is now around $2.7 per watt.
Energy Commission Funds Innovative Water Treatment Project in Rialto
The City of Rialto recently broke ground on a new wastewater treatment demonstration project that could provide substantial energy and water savings.
The project was funded by a $1.5 million grant from the California Energy Commission’s Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) program, which supports innovations and strategies to advance clean energy technologies that help California meet its energy and climate goals.
BDP EnviroTech will build the system, which will use the company’s unique treatment process that reduces energy use by 50 percent, water use by 50 percent, operation and maintenance costs by 50 percent, and capital costs by 30 percent compared with traditional wastewater treatment technologies, according to BDP EnivoTech CEO Eric Li.
The project will be operated in partnership with Veolia North America, which manages Rialto’s water treatment plant and its water systems. The demonstration will happen as the plant is undergoing a major upgrade.
California has the most stringent and comprehensive water treatment requirements in the United States. It also has some of the most aggressive energy and greenhouse gas emission goals in the country.
“The Energy Commission is committed to increasing Energy Commission program benefits in California’s disadvantaged communities, and it is vitally important that we explore new ways to improve efficiency, save water and reduce energy consumption,” said Energy Commission Chair Robert B. Weisenmiller. “Demonstration projects like this one could have positive long-term impacts not only for Rialto, but for all of California.”
The system is expected to be operational by December with the project evaluation to last a year.
Photo courtesy of Veolia North America.