It was standing room only at the Local Government Workshop on home energy retrofit programs and government-sponsored financing options held at CCSE. More than 100 government officials, energy industry experts and others learned how municipalities can design comprehensive residential programs that will decrease energy consumption and help meet California’s greenhouse gas ( GHG) emissions reduction goals.
California AB 32, signed into law as the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, sets statewide GHG emission reduction targets to be met by 2020. The goal is to cap emissions at 427 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (or equivalent GHG), roughly equal to the amount emitted in 1990. The act requires reduction measures be operative by 2012. In the meantime, government agencies, municipalities, utilities and others are scrambling to develop actions and infrastructure to comply.
Recent federal and state initiatives funding energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies are a “once in a generation opportunity to put in place the human and program infrastructure necessary to achieve deep GHG reductions,” according to Andrew McAllister, CCSE director of programs. He is referring to President Obama’s American Reinvestment and Recovery Act ( ARRA) of 2009 and California AB 811.
AB 811 allows land-secured loans for homeowners and business owners, who install energy-efficient technologies and clean-energy generation systems, to be paid back through assessments on individual property tax bills. Property owners can avoid up-front installation costs, and local governments need not invest precious general funds.
The ARRA contains several funding opportunities for California jurisdictions, including the State Energy Program, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants and a variety of bond programs that can support private and public sector clean-energy projects. McAllister said the California Energy Commission and other agencies are working to coordinate and leverage these various funding sources so that they can provide the highest possible benefit to local governments and residents.
“We want to ensure that the actions taken now lead to policies and practices that turn energy efficiency and renewable-energy technologies into standard practices,” McAllister said. “Improving the energy performance of the existing housing stock must be a priority and is where aggressive policy measures and well-coordinated implementation are central to achieving success.”
The workshop was a joint effort with presentations by CCSE, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Build It Green, the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission, San Diego Gas & Electric, Heschong Mahone Group, California Building Performance Contractors Association, Bevilacqua-Knight and Sustainable Spaces.
“We’ve participated in several of these kinds of programs throughout the state, and this is the most interactive group I’ve seen,” said Bill Pennington of the California Energy Commission.
Review the workshop agenda or download the presentations. For information about AB 811 and ARRA energy funds, visit the CCSE Public Affairs website.
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