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August 26, 2010
Utility programs are natural conduits for the delivery of comprehensive sustainability programs that include energy efficiency and renewable energy in combination with climate action, water efficiency, smart growth, waste reduction and recycling. The California Sustainability Alliance conducted its first Utility Sustainability Roundtable in November 2007 in order to identify opportunities for utilities to leverage their energy efficiency programs through the broader umbrella of sustainability. The Alliance was delighted to learn that some utilities were already looking beyond traditional programs for new ways to save energy, and that sustainability was one of the key strategies being explored.
At the Alliance’s second Utility Sustainability Roundtable, held in spring 2010, the issue was revisited within the context of current markets, policies, rules and regulations. While roundtable participants generally agreed that climate action and other sustainability initiatives do provide additional channels for achieving more cost-effective clean energy, a wide variety of hurdles that substantially impede innovation were identified.
Notably, most utility energy programs in energy efficiency, demand response and renewable energy are purposely kept separate from one another, ostensibly to assure that ratepayer investments fund only those programs for which the funds were intended. Unfortunately, creating walls around programs that are inherently complementary can thwart a utilities’ ability to access the multiple resources and value streams from cross-cutting programs that could otherwise benefit the very ratepayers.
One thing is clear: in order to overcome these types of barriers, California needs representatives from all key stakeholder groups – policymakers, regulators, state and local agencies, utilities, and ratepayers – to come together to help identify these types of unintended consequences so that we can work together to overcome them.
Download the 2010 Utility Sustainability Roundtable Report.
August 23, 2010
The state’s commercial sector presently consumes a whopping 38% of the state’s total electricity and 25% of its natural gas resources—with 10% of the state’s total electricity requirements and 6% of its natural gas resources used by office buildings alone.
In its California Long Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) identified a number of strategies for putting the commercial sector on a path to Zero Net Energy (ZNE) by 2030. ZNE buildings are energy self-sufficient on an annual basis by being energy efficient as possible, and by producing enough renewable energy on-site to meet all remaining energy needs. Strategies outlined by the CPUC include upgrading and enforcing building codes and improving the effectiveness of utility incentives and other programs.
California already has some of the most aggressive green building policies in the nation and is making substantial progress: as of April 2009, 35% of Class A commercial buildings were certified some level of “green” – whether LEED® or ENERGY STAR® – in CoStar Group’s real estate market database. One year later, this number jumped to 43.3% – nearly 188 million square feet of the total 433 million square feet of rentable building area (RBA) in Class A commercial buildings in California are now certified “green”. Progress was substantial in Class B and C properties as well; but clearly, there is much more to be done in those sectors, as less than 5% of the state’s 916 million square feet of RBA in Class B and C properties was certified green as of April 2010.
Anecdotally, some energy industry practitioners reported that Assembly Bill 1103, which requires disclosure of a building’s energy performance upon certain triggering events, precipitated some of this increase in activity. While CoStar’s database cannot tell us what motivated building owners to certify their properties green over the past year, we can take a pulse on the state’s progress towards greening its commercial office buildings through the California Sustainability Alliance’s Green Building Barometer.
Check back here for periodic updates on the Green Building Barometer, along with information about which markets are making the most progress and the types of policies and programs that appear to be driving the various regions in the state. Timely marketing insights will be provided by members of the Alliance’s Advisory Committees and other key real estate market participants.
August 20, 2010
The library includes more than a dozen videos offering insights from our advisors and community leaders on key sustainability issues. Two of the newest videos in our library are part of a series of interviews with Alliance Advisors and team members who were in attendance at this year’s annual Sustainability Showcase Awards Luncheon.
Water-Energy Nexus
When it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, most people immediately think of saving energy in the electricity and transportation sectors. Often overlooked is the significant amount of energy used to deliver and treat water.
Increasing the use of local water sources, including recycled water, can significantly reduce both the energy use and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with water consumption. In fact, a recent study by the Alliance estimates that accelerated development of available recyclable water could meet up to 16% of California’s energy efficiency goals.
In an interview with the Alliance, Cynthia Truelove, Senior Water Policy Analyst for the California Public Utilities Commission, discusses six measures identified through her work with the Governor’s Climate Action Team that would achieve greenhouse gas reductions in addition to those covered under California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32). These voluntary measures include: water recycling, renewable energy generation in the water cycle, water use efficiency, water systems efficiency, public goods financing, and storm water management.
To learn more, read the Alliance’s recycled water study, or take a look at our other videos!
First Cost Barriers
California’s aggressive energy and climate change goals may be all for naught if we can’t afford to meet them. Fortunately, most sustainability measures – including smart growth, energy efficiency, conservation, and green building – will save money in the long run. Overcoming the initial cost of these programs is key to achieving the long-term monetary (and environmental) savings they will provide.
In an interview with the Alliance, Frank Spasaro, Manager of Energy Efficiency Partnerships for Sempra Energy Utilities, discusses state and national financing programs designed to help local governments and private organizations overcome the first cost barriers to sustainability initiatives.
Visit our video page to watch this interview and others from the Alliance!
August 9, 2010
Changing business as usual can be hard, but finding information on how to do it shouldn’t be. That’s why we recently updated our library with over two-dozen California Sustainability Alliance publications and videos on best practices and programs in California. The library also contains a number of helpful external resources to help you ensure your community is a sustainable one.
Our publications page features guides on green property management, results from our survey of local government sustainability practices, a study on the importance of recycled water to energy and water savings, and more. These resources provide practical information to help local governments and private organizations tackle pressing issues related to energy, water, and climate change.
In addition, our video gallery contains clips featuring insights from Alliance Advisory Committee members on topics such as green building, the water energy nexus, and overcoming the first cost barriers to implementing sustainability programs. Also featured are guest speakers and award recipients from the 2008 and 2009 Sustainability Showcase Awards giving their perspectives on critical sustainability issues.
Finally, browse and search through hundreds of resources on sustainability through our external resources page.
We hope this library will help local governments, private organizations, and other key stakeholders access the information they need to advance sustainability goals within their communities. Let us know which resources you find most helpful!
July 15, 2010
The California Sustainability Alliance is pleased to share with you an exciting opportunity for cleantech startups, IBM’s SmartCamp Silicon Valley.
The event, to be held on September 8th and 9th, will bring together entrepreneurs, investors, and experienced mentors who want to build a Smarter Planet. Focused on helping society become more instrumented, interconnected and intelligent, SmartCamp will provide five selected startups with world-class mentorship and a direct route to seed and venture capital. The winner will receive a three month mentorship with IBM and an invitation to the international SmartCamp finals in Ireland on November 15th. Applications are due before August 8th, at http://ibm.com/ie/smarterplanet/smartcamp.
The Alliance will be participating in the event, and we can’t wait to hear all of your great ideas! In the meantime, tell us – what kind of technologies would you like to see to make our planet smarter? What cleantech startups are you most excited about?
July 14, 2010
 San Francisco City Hall The California Sustainability Alliance continually develops resources to aid local governments in planning and implementing sustainability initiatives. Just last week, we released our new Local Government Resources Toolkit, posted the workbook and best practices developed as part of the California Local Energy Efficiency Program (CALeep), and added a new section to our Emerald California toolkit featuring the city of Riverside’s innovative sustainability programs.
The Local Government Resources Toolkit helps cities and counties identify and locate tools to help their communities meet sustainability goals. These tools consist of informational reports and guides, calculators, and funding opportunities available from the state and federal government, utilities, and other organizations. The tools cover topics such as community development, housing, transportation, greenhouse gases, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and water efficiency and sustainability.
The Toolkit is designed for use by local government staff who are looking for a simple portal that identifies select useful sustainability resources. The toolkit is meant to serve as a first stop for such resources when local governments are looking for assistance in achieving their sustainability goals. Please check it out and let us know what you think!
The Alliance also released new information about the Emerald California Pilot Program. Through the Emerald California program, the California Sustainability Alliance has worked collaboratively with the city of Riverside and the California Department of Conservation to identify opportunities to “stretch” the City’s existing sustainability goals in eight high priority policy areas. Our latest addition to the Emerald California toolkit documents the City of Riverside’s efforts to reach these stretch goals and serves as an example of best practices for other communities in California.
Take a look at Riverside’s cutting edge sustainability initiatives, which include:
- A sustainable action plan, which provides a framework for implementing Riverside’s policy vision.
- Innovative sustainability programs that target energy and water efficiency, waste reduction, and green economic development.
- Innovative technologies such as a “grease to gas” program to generate electricity and a planned recycled water facility to reduce dependency on groundwater and imported water.
- Unique and sophisticated marketing and communications strategy including websites dedicated to energy and water sustainability as well as a weekly “Green Power” radio show.
Our final release from these past few weeks documents the California Local Energy Efficiency Program (CALeep), which was designed to help local governments plan and implement highly effective energy efficiency initiatives within their communities. Six pilot projects were conducted throughout the Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison service areas, assisting local governments in selecting and implementing energy efficiency programs and policies. These pilot projects are incorporated into the CALeep Workbook, a tool that can be used by local officials and community activists to initiate, plan, organize, implement, and assess energy efficiency activities at the local and regional level, to support greenhouse gas reduction, job creation, water conservation, and green building.
We hope these tools will help those of you in local government to advance sustainability within your jurisdictions as you work to lead by example, positively influence your communities, and leverage local authority. Use this space to tell us how your community is doing, and what types of resources and programs are working best for you.
April 29, 2010
In sunny Southern California, no discussion of sustainability would be complete without mention of solar power. At the recent Los Angeles Business Council 2010 Sustainability Summit, which the Alliance attended as a Cooperating Organization, a full panel was devoted to renewable energy, both solar and wind.
The panel opened with a talk on feed-in tariffs (FiTs), which are guaranteed rates for excess on-site renewable power generation to be sold back to the grid (equivalent to allowing a utility customer’s electric meter to run negative and produce income for the customer). The presentation was given by J. R. DeShazo, Professor of Public Policy and Director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation. As an author of Designing an Effective Feed-in Tariff for Greater Los Angeles, a study recently conducted in partnership with the LA Business Council, DeShazo was able to give an in-depth review of the FiT value proposition and of important variables impacting program success.
Los Angeles has aggressive renewable generation goals, aiming for 20% renewable power this year and 40% by 2020. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has also set a goal of eliminating coal from the generation mix by 2020. However, achieving these goals will be a challenge. Today, only 14% of the city’s generation mix is from renewable sources, falling significantly short of the 20% renewable portfolio standard (RPS) target. To help close the gap, DeShazo’s study recommends implementing a carefully designed FiT, focusing on large multifamily, commercial, and institutional buildings with plenty of roof space available for solar. The study found that such a program would contribute approximately 3% to the city’s RPS. Beyond this contribution, a well-designed feed-in tariff has several significant benefits :
- Create local jobs
- Equipment manufacturing and assembly
- Professional services
- Installation
- Monitoring and maintenance over the solar panels’ 20+ year lifetime
- Reduces transmission needs and costs (development of new transmission lines takes years and is very costly and litigious)
- Signals a commitment to attract cleantech businesses
- Saves ratepayer money
At the same time, it is essential to get the details right. Here are the variables DeShazo noted as being of particular importance:
- Tariff structure – DeShazo recommended using a cost recovery plus reasonable rate of return structure
- Program targets – Commercial targets tend to be best due to larger roof space available, which improves cost effectiveness
- Program size – The program needs to be large enough to exceed fixed costs, and should be large enough to attract manufacturers to the region; DeShazo recommended a 500 MW program cap
- Phase-in period – DeShazo recommended a long phase-in period, such as dividing a 500 MW total cap into equal parts over a 10 year period
- Application & implementation – The process should be timely, transparent, simple, and fair to customers
To start with, the study recommends the following tariff structure and annual targets:
- Commercial sector – 40 MW installed each year, with a $0.22-$0.16/kWh FiT
- Residential sector – 5 MW installed each year, with a $0.34-$0.18/kWh FiT
- Non-profit/Government – 5 MW installed each year, with $0.28-$0.18/kWh FiT
While these tariffs are lower than elsewhere, there is more sun in Los Angeles than in some other areas, such as Germany, that have successfully implemented FiTs; as a result, a lower FiT rate can still produce a similar rate of return. DeShazo also emphasized the importance of reevaluating the FiT every one or two years, to enable the program to be tweaked in light of changing market conditions.
In the panel that followed, ARB Chairman Mary Nichols agreed with DeShazo about the importance of maintaining flexibility in implementation, even as governments and corporations adopt and remain committed to ambitious goals. She also noted that in her experience there is often confusion about policy goals, which makes implementation design difficult – is the goal of renewable policy to develop and support a local cleantech industry? To improve air quality? To mitigate climate change? Different implementation approaches flow from each of these related yet distinct goals.
What do you think? Are FiTs a good idea, or is the long term commitment too big of a liability for utilities (and ultimately their ratepayers)? And which policy goals are most important to you? Do you think FiTs are the best way to achieve those goals? Might other types of incentives be better?
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April 22, 2010
 Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa The California Sustainability Alliance recently attended the Los Angeles Business Council 2010 Sustainability Summit as a cooperating organization – here’s part three in our series on what we learned there. The event was brimming with impressive speakers and panelists, including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who expressed pride in his perfect attendance record at this 3rd annual event.
The mayor began by expressing his perspective on the sustainability value proposition, which he believes contributes not just to the environment but also to jobs and the overall economy. He then took a quick dive into the financial crisis currently facing the city of Los Angeles, which has tried to raise electricity rates in order to maintain solvency. He explained that he believes rates need to go up not just to keep the city solvent, but also to enable action on important policy goals. In particular, the city is heavily reliant on coal for its power generation. While this choice helps to keep rates down, Villaraigosa expressed his conviction that the city must change its generation mix to incorporate more low-carbon sources such as natural gas and renewables.
Villaraigosa spent the remainder of his keynote addressing one of his passions – improving public transit in Los Angeles. He focused on Measure R, which was approved by LA County voters in 2008 with an overwhelming two-thirds majority. The measure provides $40 billion in funding over the next 30 years for numerous transportation projects, including several related to sustainability, such as:
- Doubling the size of the rail system in Los Angeles County
- Building a “subway to the sea”
- Establishing bikeways and pedestrian improvements
- Maintaining low fares for public transit while expanding service
- Carpool lanes
Measure R is an unprecedented investment in public transit; and to make it even more impressive, Villaraigosa has championed accelerating the timeline from thirty years to ten. While completing the numerous projects in Measure R will be a challenge – it requires cooperation amongst all 88 cities in Los Angeles County – the initiative will be a true game-changer, vastly improving both environmental sustainability and quality of life for Los Angelenos. Measure R is also expected to create 166,000 jobs and save 10 million gallons of gasoline annually, contributing to economic growth and energy independence. Emphasizing the diverse benefits of this project, Villaraigosa called on business, academia, and health professionals to work together in support the initiative, concluding, “The time to act is now.”
As a former Angeleno, I can’t wait to see my hometown finally build a more sustainable transit system. For those of you currently living in Los Angeles County, tell us – how is implementation of Measure R affecting your daily life? What do you think the County’s transit priorities ought to be?
April 20, 2010
 Getty Center Gardens features efficient irrigation techniques and drought tolerant plants For part two of our series on the recent Los Angeles Business Council 2010 Sustainability Summit, we’ll be covering the first of the two morning keynotes. These speeches were given by California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. We’ll be reviewing Michael Peevey’s keynote here – but stay tuned for a discussion of Mayor Villaraigosa’s keynote later this week.
Both keynotes (and many of the panelists as well) centered around the idea that it’s time to move from talk about sustainability to action on sustainability. Peevey illustrated the magnitude of the challenge ahead by outlining the requirements of AB 32. Today, he explained, California emits 13 tons of carbon per person per day. To meet AB 32 goals, these emissions will have to drop to 10.5 tons per person per day by 2020, and to 1.5 tons by 2050. For comparison, 1.5 tons of carbon per person per day is roughly equal to India’s carbon intensity today.
To meet such aggressive goals, Peevey emphasized, radical changes will be necessary. In particular, Peevey expressed a belief that realignment of market forces, while preferred by many major corporations such as Safeway (as we discussed previously in our review of the first panel), will be insufficient to meet the goals and deadlines set by AB 32. As with many of the speakers at the conference, Peevey was unafraid of controversy, stating that while AB 32 has many “command and control” requirements, he believes such strong mandates are necessary to achieve the state’s greenhouse gas reduction targets.
One challenge Peevey focused on was renewable energy deployment, stating that while there have been many recent renewable energy generation contracts, it has been difficult to translate those contracts into actual, deployed projects. Barriers he identified include permitting, financing, and technology risk. Specifically, the issues of transmission line permitting and first costs, CEQA permitting and litigation, and land & water mitigation (to offset the environmental impacts of developing land and using cooling water) are perhaps more difficult to navigate than they should to be.
To work around these barriers, Peevey offered distributed generation as a potential solution. Because distributed generation occurs on already-developed land, transmission lines and environmental reviews are not needed; as a result, distributed generation projects can circumvent many of the pitfalls of utility-scale renewable generation. However, distributed generation requires new methods to compensate customers who choose to sell power back to the grid, such as feed in tariffs (FITs – more on later this week!), or reverse auctions. And these new approaches come with their own problems. For example, in guaranteeing a $/kWh compensation rate for distributed generation, FITs create a large, long-term liability for utilities. Additionally, it can be hard to determine the most economically efficient $/kWh rate, to stimulate development as much as possible yet not overpay.
Speaking more generally about the challenges facing California, Peevey lamented, “it’s awfully easy to vote for a clean environment,” but much harder to summon the political will to pay the costs necessary to achieve that vision. The real challenge facing us today, he reminded the audience, is to move from talk to action. While we at the Alliance feel that there is in fact a great deal that can be done at low or no cost, we absolutely concur that it’s time to get going on sustainability – and we hope our site can help you get started! Use this space to share your experiences – how are you moving from talk to action? And what kind of tools and resources can the Alliance provide you to help?
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April 16, 2010
 Getty Center facilities, certified LEED-EB Silver Building a Green Economy: Connecting Sustainability to Business and Job Creation-The Los Angeles Business Council’s annual sustainability summit was held on April 6th at the Getty Center, a museum overlooking the city that is impressive not only for its extensive art collection, but also for its beautiful, LEED-EB Silver facilities.
The day’s events featured three panel discussions and keynote speeches, with participants representing major public and private organizations such as Safeway, Jones Lang LaSalle, the California Air Resources Board, LA Unified School District, Southern California Edison, the LA City Council, Kyocera Solar, Arden Realty, and others. Notable panel participants and keynote speakers included Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, California Attorney General Jerry Brown, LA City Controller Wendy Greuel, and Michael Peevey, President of the California PUC.
The summit featured a terrific collection of speakers and panelists, and we were thrilled to be in attendance as a cooperating organization. We’ll be sharing what we heard with all of you in this short blog series, beginning with this report on the first panel of the day, Discussion of Best Practices among Sustainable Industry Pioneers. Read more…
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