A typical neighborhood home in Chula Vista has been transformed into extraordinary, efficient, attractive, comfortable, and cost effective! The City of Chula Vista, ConSol, and San Diego Gas & Electric led a project team that retrofitted the house to achieve "deep" energy savings of over 50%, to demonstrate a new “plug & play” solar photovoltaic system, and to provide a local green job training opportunity.

Event focuses on how homeowners can make their homes more energy efficient

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (Jan. 18, 2012) - An energy-efficiency program that provides cash rebates and special discounts for homeowners who improve their homes’ energy performance is now available to all Chula Vista residents. A community meeting explaining the program will be held by the California Center for Sustainable Energy ( CCSE) on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. at the Loma Verde Recreation Center, 1420 Loma Lane. Admission is free and a continental breakfast will be served.

When the military goes green, everyone wins

Not always regarded as innovative or progressive by the uninformed, U.S. military forces are taking great strides toward using energy efficiency and alternative fuels to save energy and money – and more importantly lives – while reducing the size of its carbon “boot print.”

Actor/scholar transforms into famous naturalist

The spirit of John Muir, one of the nation’s earliest and foremost advocates for preserving wilderness and the environment, will come alive during a performance by actor and scholar Doug Hulmes the evening of Saturday, Jan. 14, at the Recital Hall in Balboa Park.

CCSE is partnering with National Solar Trainers to provide an affordable solar water heating training program in January to fully prepare attendees to enter into this growing market. Participants will learn the skills needed to launch a career as an installer, designer, marketing professional or entrepreneur.

California Public Utilities Commission reopens statewide program to help lower energy use and achieve reduction of greenhouse gas emissions

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (Dec. 12, 2011) - A program that rewards businesses, building owners, industry and homeowners for installing clean energy systems is taking applications for more than $10 million in rebates for the San Diego region, according to the California Center for Sustainable Energy. The Self-Generation Incentive Program, or SGIP, provides cash for a wide range of sustainable energy technologies that can save energy, shrink utility costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

CCSE awarded the first rebate check issued from $15 million allocated by California Air Resources Board ( ARB) for clean vehicles during fiscal year 2011-12 to Kim Adelman of Poway at a ceremony held Nov. 15.

While the energy crisis of the 1970s played a key role in turning modern-day architects to sustainability and energy-efficient designs, the roots of green building go back more than a century, according to Donald Watson, a professor, author and founder of EarthRise design. Watson spoke about “100 Years of Engagement of Architecture and Nature” during a noontime seminar at CCSE held Nov. 10.