Climate Changers

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[climateprotection]

Community Choice Energy: A California transformation in one decade

by Ann Hancock, Center for Climate Protection  |  March 10, 2016

In October 2014, at our first Business of Local Energy Symposium, only two operational Community Choice programs existed in California: Marin Clean Energy and Sonoma Clean Power. A mere sixteen months later, Community Choice is taking off across the state.

We reported this story in our February 24, 2016 blog post called “The accelerating pace and growing number of Californians served by Community Choice.” For the March 4 Symposium we elaborated on this story.

The combined population of areas with existing and about-to-launch programs, as well as large population areas considering Community Choice programs, is about 17.6 million. If all of these had operational Community Choice programs by 2020, and if we subtract out the approximately 25 percent of Californians already served by Municipal Utility Districts (therefore ineligible for Community Choice), then about 60 percent of eligible Californians would be able to select Community Choice. This transformation would happen ten years from the time Marin Clean Energy went live.

From a climate protection perspective, the impact of this transformation is potentially huge. Consider the impact if results are similar to Sonoma Clean Power, for example, which in 2014 realized a 48 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions relative to PG&E’s last reported data from 2013.

In addition to the communities listed in the table above, many other California cities and counties are in varying stages of exploring Community Choice.

California’s Community Choice movement faces many hurdles, such as exit fees (also known as the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment rate) charged by the Investor-Owned Utilities, access to start up financing for Community Choice Energy programs, and the long time it takes for communities to get programs up and running. Still, the data show that momentum is building for Community Choice.

Last month, I was interviewed about Community Choice by two members of an international team studying emerging local energy solutions worldwide through the Enel Foundation. I asked the researchers how Community Choice compared with the other solutions they were studying. They responded, “Community Choice Energy is one of the most powerful solutions we have found.”

Community Choice is a platform for innovation where public/private partnerships build something that is both dynamic and enduring. It is up to us to bring the energy revolution home to our communities. That requires leadership and hard work.

Given the impacts of climate change, it is also our moral obligation to accelerate this trend, and leave our children and grandchildren a sustainable energy system that supports future prosperity.

[climateprotection]

“Creating the Clean Energy Future” – Symposium inspires innovation and camaraderie

by Niki Woodard, Center for Climate Protection  |  March 9, 2016

Pictured above: Dawn Weisz (CEO Marin Clean Energy), Geof Syphers (CEO Sonoma Clean Power), Cathy DeFalco (Energy Manager, Lancaster Choice Energy), and Ann Hancock (Executive Director, Center for Climate Protection)

Innovation, inspiration, and camaraderie emerged as themes defining the Center for Climate Protection’s second Business of Local Energy Symposium, held March 4, 2016. Titled “Creating the Clean Energy Economy,” the Symposium’s keynote speakers and panel discussions focused on Community Choice energy and how to optimize competition and choice for significant greenhouse gas reduction, energy resiliency, and local economic gain.

The event was held in San Jose, California’s technology innovation hub, and attracted a sold-out crowd of 350 people from all over California, including 48 speakers who discussed Community Choice from diverse perspectives and areas of expertise. The program was uniquely designed to inform attendees along the entire spectrum of Community Choice interests and expertise – those in the early investigative stages, elected officials in the process of setting up a program, and energy entrepreneurs developing technology to green the grid – to spark creative discussions and innovative solutions.

Clean energy IS the future, and Community Choice is propelling progress to meet carbon reduction goals at the speed and scale required. Today, clean energy is a $1.4 trillion dollar global industry – almost twice the size of the airline industry. Community Choice facilitates the public-private partnership that ensures that the new clean energy economy is a revolution that includes everyone.

With three plenary sessions and ten breakout panel discussions, the Symposium’s content was remarkably rich. We look forward to sharing more details with you in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we offer some highlights from some of our speakers and attendees:

Angelina Galiteva, Board of Governors, California Independent System Operator, spoke about the agility and ability of Community Choice programs to be progressive. She suggested that programs can tackle the transportation and energy problems together and suggested the idea of Community Choice programs giving customers electric vehicles to promote vehicle-to-grid integration.

Carla Peterman, Commissioner, California Public Utility Commission, spoke to the contentious issue of the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) rate, essentially an exit fee assessed on CCE customers, which she said is meant to serve as a mechanism to keep customers indifferent to their energy provider. In response to the “uniquely large volume of calls and letters” she received about the PCIA rate increase, she encouraged participants to attend the PUC’s workshop on March 8 to assess the fairness and effectiveness of the PCIA.

Mark Ferron, Board of Governors, California Independent System Operator board, spoke about today’s positive energy trend to “decarbonize and decentralize.” He said that California can “reduce its carbon output by regionalizing the grid.” While there are regulatory and technical challenges to distributed generation like roof top solar, he pointed to networked storage solutions like electric vehicles to stabilize the grid. “I’m extremely optimistic about the future. We in California are an example. As we work through the challenges, we can be a guidestar for the rest of the nation.”

Dawn Weisz, CEO, Marin Clean Energy: “People are paying attention. People are looking for solutions,” said Ms. Weisz said of the growth and potential of Community Choice energy programs. Under her leadership, Marin Clean Power, is preparing to launch a pilot program that incentivizes home energy storage services for the grid.  

Geof Syphers, CEO, Sonoma Clean Power: “To help the climate, you need to not only add renewables, but you need to turn off the fossils.” Mr. Syphers encouraged us to focus on the end goal of creating affordable energy that is zero carbon and working backward from there – how do we get there? We need to work together to get solutions off the ground and fuel switch at all levels of human activity.

Rusty Klassen, Senior Strategic Advisor, Policy and Energy: As moderator on the Financing panel, Mr. Klassen discussed the possibility of forming regional Joint Power Authorities (JPA) that could aggregate several Community Choice operators and make it easier to obtain financing. Ian Parker from Goldman Sachs agreed saying that such an entity would reduce risk for institutional investors and make it easier for them to lend.

Dolores Weller, Director, Central Valley Air Quality Coalition, said that she hopes that Community Choice “can bring together unconventional partners” to meet the unmet needs of residents in the Central Valley.

Barry Vesser, Deputy Director for the Center for Climate Protection and organizer of the event: In his closing remarks, Mr. Vesser brought the energy discussion back to the looming threat of climate change and our global challenge to keep temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius, or preferably, below 1.5 degrees. He commented on the historic Paris agreement and called it an important first step. “Having admitted that we have a problem is the first step in the biggest Twelve Step program that the world has ever seen. The next is having a plan for recovery, no matter how inadequate.”

Not only was the event about creating a clean energy future, but Symposium attendees generated their own energy in the room. The enthusiasm and optimism circulating throughout the plenary sessions, breakout sessions, and in the conversations between sessions was positively electrifying. If the feedback that we’ve received from Symposium attendees is any indication of action on the horizon, we have a lot to look forward to:

"Thank you for assembling such an expert and enthusiastic group and for such productive content."

"A blueprint for the world!"

"Great job - very organized and timing was impressive. Lots of great information sharing."

"I learned so much that I can bring back to my county as we consider and investigate CCAs."

"Always so good, productive, fun and educational to get this community together. I also particularly appreciate the spirit of sharing, mutual support, collaboration that the CCP team imbues in the whole event."

"Please do it again!"

"The work of not-for-profits like CCP and all of the CCAs is driving innovation in energy choice and technology finance - NOT Wall St."

"A fabulous symposium..."

To all attendees, we reaffirm to you: it takes a village. We are thankful to be working with you.

Pictured above: Break out panel discussion

[climateprotection]

Sonoma Clean Power continues to lead the way on clean power and low rates

By Woody Hastings, CCP   |  Feb. 25, 2016

Sonoma Clean Power launched in 2014 with rates below PG&E. SCP’s standard plan is to set rates once per year. When it had its first chance to raise rates in April 2015, it chose to keep them unchanged from the previous year. This year the staff proposal is to actually reduce rates. As things stand, the average SCP customer generation rates are about 1% below PG&E’s comparable rates. The proposed rate reduction would double that savings.

On the greenhouse gas and clean power front, SCP has surpassed the state mandated 33% renewable content by 2020 with a 36% renewable energy content, six years ahead of schedule. SCP’s overall portfolio is about 80% greenhouse gas free, 48% below PG&E’s greenhouse gas content.

Unfortunately, the decades-long trend of the three large utilities to increase their rates, usually more than once per year, has continued. On January 1st a sharp increase in PG&E rates and increased PG&E fees on other service providers like Sonoma Clean Power, caused many energy customers to notice, as pointed out in a recent article in the Press Democrat. PG&E is on track to meet the state renewable energy standard by 2020 with a current portfolio that includes about 27% renewable energy. 

The next Ratepayer Advisory Committee meeting will be on April 12th when the staff proposal will be reviewed one last time prior to going to the SCP Governing Board, and of course, Sonoma Clean Power’s meetings are open to the public. See you there!

Woody Hastings is the Renewable Energy Implementation Manager for the Center for Climate Protection. Email him at [email protected]

[climateprotection]

The accelerating pace and growing number of Californians served by Community Choice

 By Ann Hancock and Woody Hastings, CCP  |  Feb. 24, 2016

The Center for Climate Protection keeps a close eye on Community Choice energy developments in the State of California and updates a growing database of cities and counties evaluating Community Choice. The compiled data demonstrates the spread of Community Choice and shows that momentum is building across the state, in terms of both speed and scale. Since 2013, spreading Community Choice throughout the State has been a focus of the Center for Climate Protection.

Currently the three existing Community Choice programs – Marin Clean Energy, Sonoma Clean Power, and Lancaster Choice Energy – are serving communities with a total population of about 1.1 million.

CleanPowerSF, the next California Community Choice program that’s going live this May, will serve San Francisco’s population of about 850,000. Peninsula Clean Energy, comprised of San Mateo County and its twenty cities, will serve a population of about 750,000 starting this August. Silicon Valley Clean Energy, comprised of Santa Clara County and 11 of 13 eligible cities, will serve a population of about 600,000 starting in late 2016. In sum, these three new programs will serve populations of about 2.2 million, and thus will double the population that can select Community Choice.

On March 1 the San Jose City Council is scheduled to vote on whether to solicit energy service providers for a Community Choice program. The San Jose Community Choice program would serve a population of about 1 million. Napa County cities, Contra Costa County and several of its cities have asked Marin Clean Energy if they could join their program, which would extend service to an additional 428,000 people. Alameda County is also developing a Community Choice program which could serve a population of about 1.5 million. This would bring the total population of areas served by Community Choice in California to about 6.3 million, equal to about 16 percent of the total state population of 38.8 million. Moreover, there are approximately 40 more cities and counties throughout California in varying stages of exploring Community Choice Energy.

Huge financial impacts are at play with the emergence of Community Choice. For San Jose alone, our conservative estimate is that customers now pay $350 to $400 million per year in electrical generation payments to PG&E, an amount that would be put under local control with a Community Choice Energy program.

[ Note: In addition to the communities listed in the graphic above, approximately 50 other California cities and counties are in varying stages of exploring Community Choice. Table compiled from data collected by the Center for Climate Protection.]

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Ann Hancock is the Executive Director of the Center for Climate Protection. Woody Hastings is the Renewable Energy Implementation Manager.

[climateprotection]

The Smoothest Ride of All

Doron Amiran, CCP  |  Feb. 24, 2016

Driving a car is useful and often necessary in our society. But we also want the driving experience to be fun. Carmakers have long sought to maximize both the efficiency and fun of their cars by devising ever-fancier ways of shifting from one gear to the next. Manual transmissions have given way to automatics in the decades since their introduction after WWII, and in recent years manufacturers have turned to continually variable transmissions in an effort to deliver the smoothest and most efficient ride possible.

The average modern car transmission has over 900 parts, and that does not even include the nuts and bolts that hold it all together. Why are we carrying all these torque converters, planetary gear sets, and hydraulic controls under the hood, with their attendant fluids, clutch plates and o-rings? What is the purpose of such complexity?  

The simple answer is that internal combustion engines only generate usable torque and power in a narrow band of engine speeds. The transmission helps keep the engine within its usable power-band. Not only that, but without a transmission a combustion engine could be severely damaged - or even blow up - when it crosses a certain rpm, or redline. That’s one of the dirty little secrets of internal combustion: that it really and truly can catch your car on fire. It is, after all, combustion. The solution has always been gears, and gears require a transmission.

Not so, however, for electric cars. Electric motors deliver 100% of their torque at very low speeds, and continue to provide plenty of torque as power output increases at higher speeds. What this means is that you accelerate from a dead stop very quickly, and never need to shift as you reach highway speeds. It really is a radical feeling to step on the accelerator (that’s right, it’s not a gas pedal anymore), and feel the car zip smoothly from 0-60, and beyond.

The advantages to the driver are tangible and immediate. Not only have you done away with over 900 parts that can no longer break or snap or leak, you have done away with the need to shift. Only a drive in an electric car will impress upon you the glorious feeling of the electric drive. No more shifting, no more lurching, no more clunking. All of that, along with the transmission fluid, is replaced by the blissful feeling of the road whizzing by in what truly is the smoothest ride of all.

Doron Amiran is the Electric Vehicle Program Implementation Manager for the Center for Climate Protection.

[climateprotection]

Rumi’s Caravan Was Magnificent!

by Kristin Berger, CCP 

Thanks to all who took part in Rumi's Caravan on February 6 to benefit the Center for Climate Protection. After expenses, we raised over $13,000 this year to incubate and advance cost-effective climate solutions. 

Rumi's Caravan is a poetic conversation that engaged all of the audience's senses through the spoken word, music and dance. In its sixteenth year, Rumi's Caravan offered two magnificent performances and a sumptuous Persian dinner featuring Balletto wines. Please enjoy Karen Preuss's photography documenting the day:

Click here to view slideshow.

[climateprotection]

Solar Wins the Day at CPUC

by Geoffrey Smith, CCP  |  February 11, 2016

The fate of rooftop solar has been a cliffhanger for the last few months.

On January 28, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) voted on the future of Net Energy Metering (NEM) and its impacts on rooftop solar in California.

The consequences of a ‘bad’ CPUC decision are proven. We need only look at rate decisions recently made in Nevada and Hawaii, which devastated the rooftop solar industry. Would California go the way of Nevada? Thankfully, that was not the outcome.

In a 3-2 vote, the CPUC helped secure a future of growth for rooftop solar by adopting a NEM successor tariff largely resembling the original tariff (or “rate structure”), that governs how rooftop solar generators are compensated for the energy they produce.   

What does this mean for you, the rooftop solar generator? First and foremost, it means you will continue to be paid full retail rate (rather than a lower wholesale rate proposed by the utilities) for all of the power you produce and send to the grid. Additionally, no monthly fixed or transmission access charges were imposed, and only a ‘reasonable’ one-time fee will be charged for connection to the grid. Overall, the outcome was a big win for rooftop solar. 

The Center for Climate Protection attended the CPUC session to show our support and bring to you a report of the day’s events: 

Despite months – years, in fact – of aggressive lobbying and grassroots organizing from the solar industry and climate activists, the prevailing sentiment on January 28 was one of tension and uncertainty. 

More than twenty audience members presented public comments from a variety of perspectives, almost all supporting strong NEM rules favoring rooftop solar. Only one spoke against such rule-making: The California Chamber of Commerce. 

At the close of the public comment period, CPUC President Michael Picker opened the discussion among the commissioners. He noted that the proposed decision (PD) from December to extend NEM would give customers more choice as well as responsibility, and that the PD was moving in the right direction. He voted YES (1-0). Commissioner Liane Randolph also spoke in defense of NEM, saying that the PD strikes the right balance in a complicated process. She voted YES (2-0). Commissioner Catherine Sandoval had enthusiastically supported the PD leading up to the previous day’s amended proposal in which transmission access charges were removed. She said she could not support the proposal without those charges in place. She voted NO (2-1). Commissioner Michael Florio largely echoed Sandoval’s comments, and voted NO (2-2). The tension in the room escalated as the 2-2 vote and ultimate decision moved to the last commissioner. ‘What if’ scenarios were playing out in everyone’s minds. Commissioner Carla Peterman opened her remarks by acknowledging the wide range of views on the matter and endorsed the PD as moving in the right direction. She said she looked forward to working on the future of NEM, which the CPUC takes up again in 2019. And then she cast a YES vote for the 3-2 final vote in favor of NEM. 

Rooftop solar lives to power our communities for another day! 

The mood in the room as the (mostly) rooftop solar supporters stood to leave the chamber was one of relief. This was a hard-fought battle over a complex set of issues governing an individual’s right to choose how they power their lives. 

But the real winner was the climate. With new certainty now established around rooftop solar rates, greenhouse gas reductions will accelerate. Go solar!

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Geoffrey D. Smith is the Solar Sonoma County Program Coordinator for the Center for Climate Protection.  He can be reached at [email protected] or 707.654.4350.

[climateprotection]

YES Conference Empowers Youth Climate Activists and Inspires Hope

by Niki Woodard and Amy Jolly, CCP  |  February 10, 2016  

Maddy from Sonoma Valley High School: "Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow."   

Twenty-three students from Sonoma County attended the Youth for Environment and Sustainability (YES) Conference on January 30 at the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley. The conference is organized Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to bring together middle and high school students from the greater Bay Area to talk about transportation and sustainability solutions. About 400 students from nine counties attended this free event. 

The Center for Climate Protection’s Youth Advisory Board (YAB) presented a well-received “Climate Café,” in which YAB members facilitated roundtable discussions provoking a deep exchange about the climate change problem and its solutions. In two separate rounds of discussion, YAB members asked 81 of their peers to identify their personal location in the climate change problem and how they are part of the solution.  In the second round, YAB members asked “Climate Café” participants to “share their climate moment,” to put into words the trigger that inspired them to take action. They also asked students what they plan to do when they return from YES to their schools and communities. The session concluded by asking what message YES members would give to world leaders. 

“The student’s answers to these questions were incredibly insightful, inspiring and encouraging. The young people at the YES Conference are forward-thinking and give me great hope for the future. They have the problem-solving skills needed to address climate change,” said Amy Jolly, Program Manager for the Center’s youth leadership program, ECO2school. 

The 23 YES Conference student participants from Sonoma County came home invigorated and fired up to take evermore impactful actions to address climate change. They are also better connected to one another and better poised to have meaningful impact. 

“Collaboration was a dominant theme in this year’s YES Conference,” said Amy. “Our students focused on communicating the power of collective action. They designed their ‘Climate Café’ to emphasize the value of team building and collaborative thinking. Strengthening this sense of connection empowers them with a feeling of being part of something much bigger than themselves,” Amy continued. 

YAB member, Izzi Rader, was the Master of Ceremonies for the Conference. She presented inspiring anecdotes about her climate-focused summer exchange trip to China. Her take home message was to communicate the global passion, swelling from the youth, to make positive change. “It was amazing to witness the conviction that our peers in China had to push through their bike project despite immense resistance and nearly insurmountable challenges. If they can push through that bike project, imagine what we can do here. We have no excuses to not make big things happen,” said Izzi.   

“Adults need to find better ways to hear our youth. These students are impassioned and committed. Their messages are strong, authentic and urgent. As we connect youth with mentors and like-minded peers, a chemistry happens. They claim their voice. It is powerful,” said Amy.

Chris from Montgomery, wraps up our Youth Advisory Board's presentation, the Climate Cafe, by giving everyone an inspirational message to take home.

[climateprotection]

California Number One in Grid Modernization

By Woody Hastings, CCP  |  February 10, 2016

California ranks number one in terms of modernizing its electrical grid for the 21st century according to a new study by the GridWise Alliance in collaboration with Clean Edge.

The study also finds that the number of smart meters capable of two-way communication surpassed that of old-fashioned meters in 2013. This means that more and more customers can feed clean rooftop solar power into the grid, as well as receive power from the grid.

The study includes a Grid Modernization Index that ranks states according to actual grid operations, customer engagement, and state support. What this means is that the higher the ranking, the more the state in question is dedicating money, activities on the part of its grid operators, and state policies to modernizing the 100+ year old electric grid. According to the report, only these top ten states are making significant progress, with the remaining 40 are doing relatively little to modernize their grids.

California’s distribution resource planning (DRP) proceeding at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) imposes one of the most rigorous requirements for planning out grid modernization efforts on the State's three Investor Owned Utilities. Center for Climate Protection partners are influencing this important work.

One of the study’s cautionary takeaways is that grid modernization still faces serious obstacles, even in states like California. “As long as utilities and regulators continue to view grid modernization predominantly in terms of costs to ratepayers, rather than also considering benefits, investments will likely fall short,” the authors state.

You can download the entire GridWise Alliance report for free here.

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Woody Hastings is the Renewable Energy Implementation Manager for the Center for Climate Protection. Email him at [email protected]

[climateprotection]

ECO2school Inspires Korean Climate Action

by Niki Woodard & Amy Jolly  |  February 10, 2016

Korean educator Dr. Choi of Gwangju National University of Education wants to see Korean youth more engaged in the fight against climate change. In searching the internet for strategies and activities to engage youth in climate action, he found the Center for Climate Protection’s ECO2school program. According to Dr. Choi, "The Center is very well-known in Korea."

But Dr. Choi went further with his investigation, thousands of miles further.

On February 4, after months of correspondence, Dr. Choi and his daughter Hanna Choi (who translated the conversations) traveled to Santa Rosa, CA. They sat down with our ECO2school team to learn more about our program and how to successfully build a movement of youth leaders for climate action.

Dr. Choi has an influential job as an educator: he trains teachers. His goal is to present a carefully curated toolkit of ideas and activities to Korean teachers so that they can easily incorporate climate action into their curriculum and classroom activities. Korean culture doesn’t currently encourage students to volunteer for causes and he wants to change this, with climate action as the leading cause.

Inspired by our program’s ability to grow student participation in climate action, Dr. Choi will be translating the ECO2school manual into Korean.

“I’m so pleased to know that our work is having such an impact, not only locally, but globally,” said Amy Jolly, Program Manager for the Center’s youth leadership program, ECO2school. “Knowing that we have allies across countries and oceans, makes me hopeful that we are turning the tide in global attitudes about climate change. We’re on the cusp, riding a wave with infinite potential. Meeting with Dr. Choi and seeing his passion – that he would take the time away from his vacation to build a relationship with us – makes me very hopeful for the future.”

Dr. Choi looks forward to continuing to build the relationship between ECO2school and Korean youth. He hopes to send one of his teachers to attend a training workshop focused on ECO2school program design and implementation.

[climateprotection]

San Bernardino County Energy Symposium Draws Desert Preservation Activists and Elected Officials

Center for Climate Protection is there to answer questions and offer support

By Woody Hastings, CCP  |  Jan. 27, 2016

About 100 community leaders and clean energy advocates convened for a Local Energy Symposium on January 25th, hosted by the Morongo Basin Conservation Association in Yucca Valley, not far from Joshua Tree National Monument. Earlier in the day, a smaller group of elected officials, water agency representatives, and other stakeholders attended a question-and-answer session focused on Community Choice energy.

It was great to be there with my colleagues Barbara Boswell of Lancaster Choice Energy and Bill Powers, legendary San Diego-based energy engineer, to share our thoughts about Community Choice with the desert community.

The purpose of the Local Energy Symposium was to seek an answer to the question, “Is Community Choice [energy] the smart renewable energy option for the Morongo Basin?” If the spirit of the question-and-answer period was any indication, there is a lot of promise for the Morongo Basin and surrounding region.

Local Radio Station Z107.7FM was on hand to report on the event and share some of the potential benefits of Community Choice energy. One of the top reasons that the region is interested in Community Choice is that they have not been benefitting from the large-scale solar and wind projects and transmission lines in the region. The hope is that with a local Community Choice agency, some of these projects could be developed in a way that creates local jobs and circulates more dollars in the local economy. Further down the road, it is hoped that such an agency would take on more of the decision-making about what kinds of renewable energy projects are developed in the service territory. The more power that is derived from local renewable sources, the less need for long distance transmission lines and towers marring the pristine desert views.

In other areas of San Bernardino County, the City of Fontana has contracted with Good Energy to produce a Technical Study for a possible Community Choice program. And the San Bernardino County Association of Governments is pursuing a countywide assessment.

Stay tuned for more exciting news and updates from the desert communities of San Bernardino County!

Photo caption: Woody Hastings (front row left) and Bill Powers (front row right) share their experience and knowledge of the renewable energy model known as Community Choice Aggregation while state, county, water and business leaders listen and take note.   

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Woody Hastings is the Renewable Energy Implementation Manager for the Center for Climate Protection. He can be reached at [email protected] 

[climateprotection]

The Hum of the Near Silent Future

by Doron Amiran, CCP  |  Jan. 27, 2016

I live on a country road, not too far off the highway. There are many things I love about our one-and-a-half acres of Sonoma County paradise. Birds flit among the trees, and the sunshine dapples the greening grass of springtime. But the highway buzzes incessantly in the background, and the decibels spike from time to time with the keening whine of an accelerating turbo, or the roar of a Harley.

The rumble of internal combustion is an incessant part of modern life. So much so that silence is a precious and undervalued commodity. Silence-seeking is a uniquely modern pursuit, and will drive some to hike miles away from roads and traffic to enjoy the unfiltered sounds of nature: the wind through the leaves, or the screech of a hawk on high.

I think of the city-dweller who must shutter herself from the roar of the machines outside. Especially that most beloved of machines: the car. How constant is the sound of automotive combustion in our lives? So much so that we do not even think of it. We just accept it as one of the prices we pay for the freedom of mobility we enjoy, along with the cost of gasoline and its stench on our hands after a fill-up.

Electric cars offer a different soundscape altogether. My Fiat 500e creeps along silently until I punch it. Instead of a rumble, grumble or roar, however, there is a slight whine as the motors wind, and I am instantly flying down the road, nearly silent.

What will our world be like when we have revamped our fleets, replacing our fossil-fuel burning automobiles with the electric cars that are already whizzing around California in the tens of thousands? How different will our cities be when all that churning and burning is replaced by the subtle hum of electric transportation? How many windows will be thrown open to let in the sunshine, no longer needing to be closed to the roar of the city outside? How much more time will we want to spend in our yards and on our porches, freed from the sound, smoke, and stench of our fossil-fuel-powered economy?

It seems like a small thing, to quiet our world. But the rapid growth of electric transportation, where we will measure our efficiency in miles-per-solar-powered kilowatt instead of mpgs, offers not just a cleaner and more sustainable world, but a quieter, calmer and more pleasant one as well.

[climateprotection]

June 2016 Dolo-Slovo Rocks Trip Benefits the Center for Climate Protection

by Kristin Berger, CCP  |  Jan. 26, 2016

Interested in geology and adventure travel and want to support climate solutions?  

Williams GeoAdventures (WGA), our Business for Clean Energy Silver Sponsor, is ramping up its commitment to the Center for Climate Protection by designating the June 2016 Dolo-Slovo Rocks!, tour a fundraising endeavor for the Center, in addition to being a once-in-a-lifetime immersion geology lesson and adventure. The trip will visit three remarkable regions of Northeastern Italy and Slovenia: the Julian Alps, Lake Bled, and the Škocjan Caves of Slovenia; the Trieste/Carso (Karst) area; and the enchanting Dolomite Mountains.

“We recognize that international adventure travel is indeed a carbon-intensive luxury,” said Tom Williams of WGA. “That’s why we recognize that it is vital to offer a meaningful carbon offset by supporting the fundamentally important work of the Center for Climate Protection. We see this as a critical investment in our clean energy future.”

WGA will make a donation to the Center for Climate Protection for each traveler signing up for the trip. For each person referred directly by the Center who signs up for the trip, WGA will donate $500 to the Center. If you’re looking for an unforgettable vacation that will enlighten you with more reasons to appreciate our exquisite earth, then don’t miss this opportunity. For trip details, go to the WGA website: geology-adventures.com.

About WGA:

WGA provides custom field trips for the geology enthusiast. By partnering with top-notch local guides, each trip offers fabulous geology in a breathtaking setting and invites you to experience each region’s historic, cultural, and gastronomic delights.  

[climateprotection]

Business of Local Energy Symposium: A Must-Attend Event for Community Choice

by Andy Ferguson

The second Business of Local Energy Symposium, an event that explores the emerging Community Choice Energy market in California, will be held in San Jose on March 4th. Prominent speakers from existing Community Choice Energy (CCE) programs, state energy agencies, and private industry will address an audience composed of local government representatives and private industry. Following its initial success in late 2014, the event focuses on the growing interest in Community Choice in over 80 communities in California. CCEs are a hybrid public utility that buys and sells electricity in local communities. CCEs are set up under California law as Joint Power Authorities (JPA) where single or multiple cities and other jurisdictions can act as electricity retailers while still depending on Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs) for maintaining the grid.

Breakout sessions with panel discussions explore the process of creating a CCE, how CCEs boost local economies while enhancing sustainability plus support technology deployment. Experts will discuss how CCEs can play a vital role in achieving significant greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions while promoting distributed energy resources and local jobs. The Symposium will also emphasize how CCE’s can develop such programs rapidly, optimize results for local residents, and collaborate across jurisdictions to improve outcomes. Other presenters will discuss new disruptive technologies that will replace fossil fuel powered vehicles and appliances with more efficient and cleaner electric powered equivalents.

The Symposium presents Community Choice as a platform for innovation so it will include presentations on enhancing grid resilience through microgrid development, storage, and electric vehicle to grid storage applications. Among the timely topics addressed this year will be energy metering (NEM) policies, local energy resource plans, and a new CPUC ruling allowing collective use of virtual net metering for community solar arrays in disadvantaged communities.

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE (Early bird rate ends Feb. 5) 

MORE INFORMATION 

DRAFT AGENDA 

Who Should Attend

Community Choice Energy energy operators and advocates, elected officials considering a program, electric service providers, cleantech entrepreneurs, utility experts, businesses with an interest in distributed energy resources, and anyone interested in the energy system of the future. Those involved with private utilities and Community Choice will cross-pollinate with energy entrepreneurs working on storage, energy efficiency, automated demand response, micro-grids, and cutting-edge renewable energy.

[climateprotection]

San Francisco's Community Choice Energy Program Launching May 1

By Woody Hastings, CCP  |   Jan. 15, 2016 

All eyes are on San Francisco in the California local clean energy community as the City moves closer to its long-held vision of having its own Community Choice energy program, CleanPowerSF.

San Francisco was one of the first communities to embark on an evaluation of Community Choice energy, beginning back in 2004. On Tuesday, January 12th, the long-awaited fruition of the endeavor took a giant leap forward with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) authorizing the first power contracts to serve San Francisco businesses and residents. The very next day, Harlan Kelly – General Manager of the SFPUC, the entity that will manage the new program – signed the first contracts with multiple wholesale energy suppliers.

This development is of significant importance to California’s growing Community Choice movement and greenhouse gas reduction because it is home to almost 840,000 people as well as PG&E’s headquarters. That San Francisco is taking control of its energy destiny can give the other 80 or so California jurisdictions considering a Community Choice program a boost of confidence about doing the same.

The City’s Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) has been instrumental in the development of CleanPowerSF. Jason Fried, Executive Officer of the LAFCO, stated that “we are excited that the program is moving forward. We are doing our best to ensure that as many people as possible sign up for the ‘SuperGreen’ 100% renewable energy option. It’s easy to do at cleanpowersf.org.”

SuperGreen is among several new choices San Franciscans will have with respect to their electricity service. The SFPUC authorized that contracts could be signed if they offer competitive rates and 35% to 50% renewable energy content is the default service power mix.

SFPUC Commissioner Francesca Vieto, a strong proponent of CleanPowerSF, read from remarks she’d prepared for a launch that never happened several years ago, but that still ring true today: “Today is a historic moment for the [SF]PUC. CleanPowerSF is an unprecedented opportunity to lead the country by example. We will be able to create a new generation of workers and build our own green power supply. I’m proud.”

Lane Sharman, a long-time advocate for a Community Choice program in San Diego, responded to the news with an enthusiastic email to local clean energy supporters around the State: “AWESOME... MANY CONGRATULATIONS FROM SAN DIEGO!!! 

For more information, visit CleanPowerSF, and if you live in San Francisco, check out the SuperGreen option.

Woody Hastings is the Renewable Energy Implementation Manager at the Center for Climate Protection. He can be reached at [email protected]

[climateprotection]

Rumi’s Caravan Invites You to “Cook” in the Fire of Love

Rumi’s Caravan, the longest-running and most popular poetry ensemble in the North Bay, will have audiences sizzling for its performance on Saturday, February 6 at the Glaser Center in Santa Rosa. The Caravan offers two performances – a matinee (2pm) and evening show (7pm) – with live music and dancing, and an option for a benefit dinner between shows (details below).

Rumi’s Caravan performances feature the mystical poems of Rumi, Hafiz, Rilke, Mary Oliver, and others recited by heart and performed in the ecstatic tradition. More than a performance, it's a poetic conversation with poetry, live music, and Whirling Dervish dancer designed to create a soul-lifting experience.

Artistic Director Kay Crista explains the popularity of Rumi’s Caravan this way: “With ecstatic poetry, a potency of feeling slips in with the words, bypasses the brain, pierces the heart, and enters directly into the soul … and we are uplifted, effortlessly, like grace,” she says.

Proceeds of the event and dinner benefit the Center for Climate Protection (CCP). “Rumi’s Caravan is proud to support the work of this important organization,” said Larry Robinson, Caravan performer.” Attending a Rumi’s Caravan performance is an excellent way to experience great poetry while helping to stop global warming,” he added.

Rumi – mystic poet and Sufi master – is the most popular poet in America.

The whole of my life Summed up in these words I used to be raw Then I was cooked Now … on fire.

This quotation, which greets visitors at the entrance to Rumi’s shrine, reminds us to seek divine love not because we are already formed, cooked, or mature, but because we aspire to become so.

RUMI’S CARAVAN EVENT DETAILS

"Rumi’s Afternoon Delight" – 2:00 pm Matinee – $25. Performance includes post-show tea and cake with the performers.

"Rumi by Night" – 7:00 pm – $35. Performance includes tea, cake, and wine at intermission.

“Sumptuous Feast” – Optional Dinner – 5:00 pm – $50

Audiences may choose to enjoy dinner after the matinee or before the evening show. This is an intimate dining experience to delight the senses, which benefits the Center for Climate Protection. Dinner must be purchased with a performance ticket. Only 60 dinner tickets available.

Lavish Attire Recommended for All Events

TICKETS:

Online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2473190

In person at Many Rivers Books and Tea, 130 South Main Street, Sebastopol, CA. [phone]

[climateprotection]

(More) Action Needed Now to Save Rooftop Solar!

by Geoffrey D. Smith, CCP   |   January 12, 2016

We all want to keep rooftop solar a viable, affordable option as a means of reducing greenhouse gases, right? To do so, we need you to raise your voice and take action because rooftop solar is under attack. Yes, again.

The solar community celebrated Christmas a week early last year, when the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a preliminary decision (PD) to keep Net Energy Metering (NEM) rules largely intact. This provided some assurance (uh, we hoped) that distributed rooftop solar will remain a viable, affordable option for residential and small business customers. Your help, last year, to influence that PD clearly made a difference. [See my blog post ‘A Good Day for Rooftop Solar.’]

But wait, there’s a catch. In the days and weeks since the preliminary decision on NEM, investor-owned utilities throughout the state (PG&E, SDG&E, and SCE) have pulled out all the stops to pressure the CPUC to reverse or significantly modify their proposed decision. A final vote on the matter is scheduled for Thursday, January 28 in San Francisco.

What you can do

We need you to keep the pressure on by writing the CPUC commissioners, and urging them to adopt the preliminary decision without weakening changes. Please do this today.

Send a letter to the CPUC asking them to adopt the proposed decision, and keep California moving forward as a clean energy leader.  (Thanks to 350 Bay Area for this action tool.)

Geoffrey D. Smith is the Solar Sonoma County Program Coordinator for the Center for Climate Protection. He can be reached at [email protected] or 707.654.4350.