Sustainable Development Focus
Proud Green Building - May 16 According to a new report, some 345 leading public and private sector organizations in the Better Buildings Challenge have made significant energy-efficiency progress, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). These efforts have led to a combined 240 trillion Btus and an estimated $1.9 billion in cumulative energy and cost savings. The Better Buildings Initiative aims to make commercial, public, industrial, and residential buildings 20 percent more energy efficient over the next decade by focusing on overcoming market barriers and sharing partner-created solutions. The more than 345 organizations from diverse sectors that have stepped up to the challenge committed to improve the energy intensity across their entire building portfolio by at least 20 percent within a decade. These organizations represent more than 4.4 billion square feet of building space, include more than 1,000 industrial facilities, and have committed $7 billion in financing.
San Diego Union-Tribune - May 16 Sales of new cars and trucks in California inched forward in the first three months of the year while the electric vehicle market made some healthy improvement after months of flat results. While registrations for new vehicles fell 1.4 percent nationally, California dealers experienced a 0.7 percent increase in registrations, putting the state on the path for another year of sales exceeding 2 million vehicles. In the same time frame, 4.8 percent of all new vehicles registered in the Golden State between January and March were zero emissions vehicles and plug-in hybrids, the highest ever recorded.
ULI San Francisco - May 18 ULI members and the greater Bay Area real estate community had an opportunity to hear from several experts on the renewable energy revolution happening in commercial real estate and the significant challenges ahead in implementing new regulations at a recent event. The discussion was led by Joshua Kagan, Vice President of Business Development at CleanFund. With crisis comes opportunity, and here in California, one way we are seeing that opportunity is in the adoption of clean energy sources like solar and wind and energy efficiency in the built environment. California’s forward-thinking energy requirements have created the right environment for clean energy investment, as the state gets ready for all new commercial buildings to be Zero Net Energy by 2030.
University of California - May 18 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named the University of California (UC) among the national leaders in the use of clean, renewable energy. The EPA assessed participants in its Green Power Partnerships and found that UC ranked sixth for its on-site generation of renewable energy, ninth among the top 30 colleges and universities, and 67th on its list of top 100 national green power partners. UC is improving its energy efficiency, developing new sources of renewable energy, and enacting a range of related strategies to cut carbon emissions. For example, energy efficiency efforts helped the university save roughly $28 million in 2016 while reducing its carbon footprint. UC campuses and medical centers have also installed a total of 36.3 megawatts of solar photovoltaic technology, with an additional 12.9 megawatts in the planning stages. The university’s goal of reaching 10 megawatts of onsite solar by 2014 was surpassed two years early, and has now been more than tripled.
PV-Tech - May 10 New Jersey’s Nautilus Solar and California-based Kilroy Realty have partnered to build a portfolio of commercial solar projects amounting to 5.2 megawatts across nine of Kilroy’s offices between Southern and Northern California. The projects will consist of solar carports and rooftop arrays at the Class A buildings across San Diego, San Francisco, Menlo Park, and Long Beach. Construction will begin in Q2 2017 with most of the sites expected to come online at some point during this year. Sara Neff, senior vice president of sustainability at Kilroy said the company chose Nautilus Solar because of its track record, particularly in commercial solar. “This solar portfolio will complement our longstanding commitment to reducing energy consumption throughout our buildings,” she added.
Utility Dive - May 17 The Dominguez Hills campus of California State University (CSU) has tapped Stem to develop software-driven energy storage services to reduce the school's electricity costs, the company announced this week. Stem said it is developing a 1-megawatt system to be housed on campus in Carson, part of a larger company strategy in targeting academic institutions. Combined with an existing Stem storage system on the campus, near Los Angeles, the project will total 2 megawatts and will eventually be paired with solar generation.
Press-Enterprise - May 14 A public bus cruising roads in Western Riverside County will spew much less pollution as a result of a recent action by the Riverside Transit Agency. The organization equipped one of its buses with a near-zero emission engine, thanks to a $10,000 government grant. Like others in the agency’s fleet, the 40-foot bus with the new engine runs on compressed natural gas, a clean-burning form of diesel. Yet it emits 90 percent less nitrogen oxide and 15 percent less greenhouse gases than the fleet’s other buses, according to a release from the agency.
Solar Industry Magazine - May 17 By a vote of 48 to 22, the California State Assembly has passed Assembly Bill 797, a bill that would extend consumer incentives for solar thermal technologies. According to the California Solar Energy Industries Association, the bill is part of the state’s ongoing efforts to reduce natural gas use, meet greenhouse-gas reduction goals, and support economic development. It now goes to the state Senate for consideration. The largest markets for solar thermal technologies, such as solar water heaters, are multi-family housing buildings and commercial swimming pools, such as at schools and community centers.
