Burlingame: moving to catch up?

Just in from Mike:

Burlingame's Green Ribbon Task Force will present it's first comprehensive report to the City Council this Tuesday, Sept 2, 6-7, conference room A, City Hall. Two weeks later, at the September 15 meeting, council will vote on the proposals in this report and on the future role of the GRTF. We need you to show the council there is support for strong climate protection action in Burlingame, and the best way is to come to this first meeting. Our Cool City Team will then meet on Sept 8 to discuss the results of this meeting and plan for the next one.

Also reviewed is Burlingame's position relative to its peers with regards to action on climate. And these observations are based on a Sierra Club report to be released on Wednesday.

The Sierra Club surveyed San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, and 35 cities in those counties. Both counties and 26 of the cities responded, so the sample space is 28 government entities or jurisdictions.

Burlingame is AMONG:
1) The 21 entities that have signed the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement or Cool Counties agreement.

2) The 22 entities that have formed committees or task forces to pursue climate protection initiatives.

3) The 26 entities that have completed (or expect by year’s end to complete) a municipal emissions inventory.

4) The 22 entities that have policies to encourage transit-oriented growth.

5) The 16 entities that offer commuter incentives to municipal employees.


Burlingame LAGS BEHIND:
1) The 16 entities that have or expect to have (by 12/08) a municipal climate action plan in place by 12/08.

2) The 9 entities that have or expect to have a community-wide climate action plan in place by 12/08.

3) The 19 entities that have or will have a procurement policy to favor green vehicle fleets.

4) The 19 entities that have or plan new incentives or requirements for green building standards based on LEED or Build It Green guidelines. (Breakdown: 14 entities require or plan to require a minimum standard of LEED Silver or LEED-EB on new and/or existing municipal buildings. 10 entities have or plan to have requirements for commercial buildings set at LEED Silver or LEED-EB or better. 11 entities have or plan to have incentives or requirements for a Build It Green rating of 50 points or better on residential buildings.)

Clean-tech for Obama

Earth2Tech has the story.

Guv signs High Speed Rail bill

High Speed Rail is a great opportunity for the region and the state. It will improve transportation and reduce emissions. The governator signed a bill to move a better bond into the November ballot.

The high-speed rail legislation will replace a $10 billion bond measure on the November ballot with a revised version of the proposal that makes the bullet train system more appealing to voters statewide.

The legislation, AB3034, adds more specific oversight and spending rules to the plan, which calls for a 700-mile rail system that moves trains between San Francisco and Southern California at speeds of up to 220 mph.

Sunnyvale to implement green building standard

Just in from Barb:

Good news!

After three public comments in favor and no public comment opposing, the Sunnyvale City Council adopted citywide green building standards. The standards encompass municipal, commercial and residential buildings; new construction, additions and remodels. Council removed some incentives, such as reduced setback requirements for extra green buildings, from the staff proposal to avoid upsetting neighbors. And Council directed staff to apply green building standards to single-family residential remodels exceeding half of the home's square footage. The vote was 5-2 (our usual anti vote and one that felt the incentives were unnecessary and wished to provide some city loans for green remodels--perhaps I agree with her on both points).

Staff is now directed to come back with ordinance to enact this proposal.

So we got residential remodels included, along the lines of San Mateo County. We were not able to get an accelerated roll out at this time. In fact, at least one council members doesn't seem to have any concept of LEED or BIG. Others are concerned we may be putting to big of a burden on developers. I think we have some work to do.

The ordinance is now forthcoming. Basically, BIG 70 for new residential starting 1/2009 and LEED Silver for commercial (over 5,000 sq ft) in 7/2010. There’s even a 1/2012 increase. This is a big win. Details of the standards are in the staff report (Attachment G).

Toles

Don't miss the fine print...

Hat-tip Climate Progress

Guv touts EcoDriving

The governator runs against the GOP message and pushes ways to be more efficient when driving. Auto maintenance, driving habits, and, yes, tire pressure!

Smart growth: SB375, Bay Meadows

Darrell Steinberg has been trying for years to help support a better way of building our cities, one that provides more housing options, better transportation alternatives, and reduces our dependence on automobiles. His latest effort is SB375. And it looks like he's getting some support.

But now, in what many observers are calling the most significant environmental bill of this year's state legislative session, builders and environmentalists have found common ground on a compromise they hope will limit global warming by changing where homes are built.

The bill would make California the first state in the nation to attempt to reduce global warming emissions by drawing up regional plans to reduce miles driven by passenger vehicles, then directing most transportation funding only to so-called "smart growth" projects.

It's a heavy lift. Because of the skewed incentives, cities love to build sprawling strip malls to generate sales taxes but are quite happy to have people live in distant homes and drive long distances to get to jobs and services. That's overstated but not by much. One of the consequences of Prop. 13 is that cities have difficulty paying for the infrastructure needed for homes, creating a disincentive to having the kind of vibrant livable communities many people actually want - the kind where people have short commutes and can walk or bike to needed services.

Nevertheless, a number of cities are trying to address the challenges of growing populations with the best decisions possible. One such case is Bay Meadows in San Mateo.

The SF Chronicle carries a good profile.

Often called smart growth or New Urbanism, this model of development has made inroads in the Bay Area during the past decade. The difference here is location: Bay Meadows not only sits in the heart of the settled and affluent mid-Peninsula, it's next to a Caltrain stop with direct access to San Francisco in one direction and Silicon Valley in the other.

Because of this, the developers say they're striving for a true mixed-use district - one distinctive enough that people and companies will want to put down roots.

San Jose is also taking steps to use these strategies. It does require thinking differently. Many people oppose these projects in a misguided attempt to minimize traffic and retain some suburban ideal. But the reality is that the heavy concentration of jobs in the Bay Area, without the needed housing, creates much more traffic overall by forcing more cars onto longer commutes. And not everyone is looking for the same kind of housing. Providing more housing in attractive options like these is better for our communities and our planet.

Human Power

Talk about killing two birds. Turn your exercise bike into a power plant. It's a heckava way to lose a few pounds while getting off the grid.

It reminds me of Lance Armstrong powering ESPN studios.

Power purchase agreement - affordable home solar

SJ Mercury News carries a terrific profile of "power purchase agreements" or PPAs. These agreements allow homes and businesses to lease solar panels and dramatically reduce the up front costs. These arrangements, and other variants like Berkeley's now legal renewable financing district, are fundamentally changing the nature of solar power, putting it within reach of millions of people.

The result? With the PPA, Bunyard and Pambianco paid about $17,000 to SunRun — or $30,000 less than the original installation estimate from installer REC Solar. (State incentives and a federal tax credit would have reduced the $47,000 estimate to about $35,000.) Their monthly power bill from SunRun is just $80 to $100, while their PG&E bill is negligible — as low as $4 one month this spring. So the couple, who once paid between $200 and $300 a month for electricity before installing solar panels, are thrilled with their savings.

"I talk to people about what almost seems impossible when I look at the numbers,'' Pambianco said. "I could pay less up front and less overall. That's magic.''

The concept of a PPA for solar power isn't new. Major retailers such as Macy's and Wal-Mart, and governmental entities use PPAs to pay to install solar arrays on their roofs. Now consumers are doing it, too. The take-away from Pambianco: "You don't have to be independently wealthy to consider getting solar.''

This particular installation is a pretty big one and some arrangements further reduce or even eliminate the up front costs. Through additional tools like home equity loans the up-front cost can be zero and immediately the monthly costs are reduced.

This is clearly a winner for everyone.

Local smart-grid firm Trilliant bags big VC support

Venture capitalists are placing their bets in a range of clean tech arenas. One of the most important but least visible is "smart grid" technology:

Smart grid systems are designed to give customers greater knowledge of their energy use, and allow them to conserve during periods of peak demand. The systems also give utilities a better sense of power usage and help them prepare for anticipated power sources, including rooftop solar systems and electric and plug-in hybrid cars. But critics worry that improved grid systems will cost too much money and not be as effective as promised.

Trilliant in Redwood City pulled in $40 million to grow its business in advanced metering, demand management and related technologies. Currently, we don't know were our energy comes from, how much is being used in our homes and businesses at a given point in time, can't move electrical power where we need it, and are vulnerable to massive system failures. Smart-grid technologies are meant to address these problems and enable greater efficiency and support for renewable energy. And Trilliant is not alone:

The funding news follows similar announcements in recent months from Trilliant's rivals, including BPL Global, Ambient, GridPoint and SmartSynch. EMeter of San Mateo raised $12.5 million in April. Silver Spring Networks of Redwood City raised $17.4 million that same month.

Free Us

The latest from the Alliance for Climate Protection:

Big houses: Atherton & LEED Platinum

The SF Chronicle ran an article this weekend on what is expected to be the first LEED Platinum home in Northern California.

"After living here for a couple of months, we realize that we already have a surplus that goes back into the grid." If that pattern continues, they may never have to pay for electricity.

"When we built in solar features, we thought they would reduce just half our electricity bill," McDonald said. That's because the number of solar panels was limited by cost and the roof space available. Perhaps the panels perform better than he expected because McDonald put dimmers on all the lights, and installed high-efficiency appliances and passive and active solar features that add up to more energy savings.

It's terrific to see great showcase examples of what can be done. These high-end project push the technology forward and gradually make those key technologies affordable by building expertise and developing the market.

The owner Mike McDonald though also notes the impact of the 4,600 sq. ft. home. "The house is so large, we started out with negative points for our LEED certification," McDonald said.

In theory, if all the energy used in the home is from renewable sources then the lifecycle impact of the size of a home becomes modest (of course there are still impacts from materials, construction, and typically reduced walkability/alternative transportation options in neighborhoods with many large homes).

It's notable that in the city of Atherton's recently released carbon footprint, the city reports carbon from buildings (natural gas and electricity) at about 37,500 metric tons for 2007.

This is a remarkable size and huge opportunity for improvement, especially in natural gas which makes up 63% of the building generated emissions in the city. What makes it remarkable is that Atherton has a population of less than 7,200 people - and larger homes - making the per capita footprint 5.2 metric tons per year for electricity and natural gas alone. By contrast, the city of San Mateo with over 92,000 residents had a per capita building related footprint of half that amount with 2.6 metric tons in 2006.

Some options noted in the flyer on Atherton's footprint (not online):

...include home insulation, double‐paned windows, solar water heaters, more efficient gas heaters, on‐demand hot water heaters, hot water circulation pumps and zoned heating systems. Clothes washers and dishwashers that conserve hot water lower the demand for hot water and therefore, save natural gas.

PG&E's big move on thin-film

PG&E makes a huge move on thin-film PV solar.

In a move that could alter the economics of the global solar industry, California utility PG&E on Thursday announced that it will buy 800 megawatts of elecricity produced from two massive photovoltaic power plants to be built in San Luis Obsipo County on the state’s central coast. The 550-megawatt thin-film plant from Bay Area startup OptiSolar and a 250-megawatt PV plant from Silicon Valley’s SunPower dwarf by orders of magnitude the five-to-15 megawatt photovoltaic power stations currently in operation around the world.

This would be a huge boon to the thin-film industry. But it is by no means a done deal, if the renewable energy tax credits are not renewed due to continuing Republican obstructionism then that could throw a monkeywrench into the plans. More at Green Wombat.

Gas prices drive change

There's little question that gas prices are causing a lot of suffering, especially for people with less disposable income. But some of the changes are ones long-since needed. In this case, the cost of fuel are changing how kids get to school.

So school districts are consolidating bus routes, charging steeper fees for yearly bus passes and expanding the "walking distance" between homes and school.

Gilroy Unified recently expanded the distance that students must live from a school to be eligible for busing. Previously, Gilroy elementary school students had to live more than half-mile from school; now it's a mile. For students in grades six to 12, the zone has expanded from one mile to two.

Obesity has increased from 4% in 1960 to close to 20% in 2004 in part because children do not walk or bike to school any more. According to one study, "71 percent of adults report that they walked or rode a bike to school when they were children, but only 22 percent of children do so today." Part of this is distance, families are living farther from schools but part of it is habit and fear - not wholly substantiated. There has been a dramatic drop in children's freedom of movement in the last two generations whereas a child of 7 two generations ago would readily have been allowed to go 5 miles or more on their own, now that child perhaps is allowed half a mile or less.

But for those not comfortable with children going out on their own, there is the an alternative to driving the kids to school - the walking bus. A GREAT alternative and healthier for the kids too.

VC record but only 2nd inning yet

Venture capital investment into clean-tech continues to soar.

Venture capital investments in US cleantech companies grew by 41% to $961.7 million in Q2 2008, up from $683.5 million in Q1 2008, according to an Ernst & Young report based on data from Dow Jones VentureOne. This is the highest total cleantech investment on record, and comes amidst a quarter in which overall venture capital investment was down by nearly 8%. Year-on-year cleantech investment follows this upward trend, increasing 83% from Q2 2007.

This is starting to be real money from the standpoint of the energy industry as a whole - if still a fraction of the amount being invested towards conventional fuels by big oil. Nevertheless, it is fair to wonder if this is a bubble that's about to burst. However, rising petroleum costs driven by peak oil (current dip notwithstanding) and continued momentum towards national and international action on climate, makes it improbable that there will be any real pullback in capital.

Paul Holland of Foundation Capital had this to say:

... we're entering the second inning of the clean-tech investing game, the second inning of a doubleheader. If you look at the requirements in terms of new energy needed and energy efficiency over the next 40, 50 years globally, the numbers just don't match up. We're not making enough new energy to support what's happening on the planet.

I think Al Gore has not overstated it: It's the greatest opportunity of our lifetime. It's the greatest opportunity for the people being born now to go and solve this problem.

There's big money to be made here which is why the new economy players are training their guns at the polluting old economy giants. The giants are still bigger but their days are numbered.

Will manufacturing return to Silicon Valley?

Silicon Valley got its moniker because at one time, not long ago, the region actually manufactured computer chips made from silicon. Manufacturing of all kinds has been in decline since the late 80s at least. The manufacturing of course has moved to Asia and "fabless" design firms have risen in the region to focus instead on design.

But could manufacturing make a comeback in Silicon Valley? What kinds of circumstances might make that conceivable? How about this:

Bill Watkins, chief executive of Scotts Valley-based Seagate Technology, outlined the changes when he stopped by the Mercury News earlier this week to talk hard drives, politics and social responsibility with a group of editors and reporters.

On hard drives, he said business is good. On the presidential race, he's an Obama man, but as for party politics? "Neither party has an ideology anymore so it doesn't really matter." On social responsibility, Silicon Valley should be doing a lot more. "Too many people in the valley want to make a fast buck and get out."

And of course the conversation drifted to oil prices, which is when Watkins turned the flat world of globalization on it axis: "It actually costs us more to ship a device," he said, "than the labor cost that goes into it."

Hard drives of course are large, complex object with more labor required than a chip, but labor cost is no longer the driving force of location. Instead Watkins said tax-breaks and transportation costs are becoming paramount. Increasingly firms will be making decisions based on proximity to distribution centers and customers.

And this isn't a short term issue. While ground transportation can go electric, barring a breakthrough on biofuels, air and sea transportation have a big problem. That's why Virgin, Boeing and others are already exploring alternatives.

San Mateo County solar project, training

San Mateo County is considering a major solar power project for government buildings in Redwood City.

A $3 million solar panel project atop the county government center in Redwood City will provide clean, renewable energy and recoup its initial cost in as little as four years, according to a report coming before the Environmental Quality Committee next week. The county would spent $500,000 toward a 330-kilowatt solar project, offsetting the remaining cost with a $1.5 million federal grant and a $1 million state loan. If energy prices continue increasing by 7 percent or greater annually, the county could break even on the initial cost in as little as four years.

The Environmental Quality Committee meets 1 p.m. Aug. 12 in the Board of Supervisors conference room, 400 County Government Center, Redwood City to discuss these and other measures.


Escalating demand is making it difficult for solar installers to find workers. Fortunately at least some schools are stepping up:

Hoping to capitalize on an industry desperate for trained workers, students are flocking to places like San Jose City College to learn a new trade in the up-and-coming solar-energy field.

Their timing couldn't be better. According to a recent report by researchers at West Valley College in Saratoga and City College of San Francisco, the Bay Area's solar industry could add 1,900 jobs this year, many of them as solar-panel installers.

Nationwide, a study by Navigant Consulting said, the solar photovoltaic industry could add nearly 70,000 jobs in the United States by the end of 2009.

But finding workers is a problem.

Caltrain hiking fare - transit measures

Even with ridership soaring on Caltrain as on other transit, budget cuts and fuel costs are taking its toll. Caltrain announced plans to increase fares beginning next year.

Facing an 84 percent increase in the price of gas, the Caltrain board of directors moved forward yesterday with a proposal to raise fares come Jan. 1, 2009.

Caltrain is suggesting either a 25-cent base fare increase or a 25-cent base fare increase combined with a per-zone increase. It means an average monthly pass for travel between San Mateo and San Francisco will increase from $106 to between $112 and $119, according to Caltrain.

Little wonder that the American Council on an Energy Efficient Economy in Congressional testimony in July identified support for transit as one of the top 10 measures with the most benefit in the transportation sector - opportunity for major efficiency, CO2 reduction and cost benefit to the economy.

Redwood City Discussion on "Green Building" Standards

Press release from the city

Redwood City has scheduled a public workshop to discuss a possible "green building" ordinance for the City. This workshop will be held on Wednesday, August 20, 2008, beginning at 6:30 pm in the Council chambers at city hall, 1017 Middlefield Road in Redwood City.

This is the third workshop leading up to the creation of a building ordinance for Redwood City. All interested Redwood City residents and community partners are invited to attend. A special invitation is offered to local builders, architects, and developers, as this particular type of expertise and experience will be most helpful in this discussion.

A green building ordinance would create the opportunity for new buildings to incorporate more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient design, construction, materials, and operation. This could be accomplished with an ordinance containing building construction guidelines for human and environmental health, including sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

This workshop is a continuation of green building discussions that have occurred over the past months. This event will specifically help the City to take the next steps in the development of a green building ordinance. City staff will present an overview of information that has been gained so far, including state and local green building activity, examples of some typical green building standards, experience from other cities, and a draft green building ordinance for Redwood City for the community to comment on. The next steps in the process will include bringing a draft green building ordinance to the Board of Building Review and the Planning Commission for their comment in September. The final step will be for the Board of Building Review to bring a recommendation to the City Council in October.

A green building ordinance in Redwood City would be consistent with the City's signing of the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, and its ongoing Environmental Initiatives, which are both efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency throughout the City. Redwood City has been implementing energy-saving measures for a number of years, including purchase of a hybrid vehicle fleet, retrofitting traffic signals with LEDs, our recycled water project and water conservation project, toilet replacement program, transit-oriented development policies, and widespread tree planting efforts.

Redwood City is also in the process of developing a new General Plan, and in the course of community workshops on that issue there has been widespread comment supporting the development of a green building ordinance. The General Plan will likely include policies for sustainability, and a green building ordinance would be one way of implementing those policies.

Visit Redwood City's award-winning website at www.redwoodcity.org for information about the City and its services, the community, recreation programs, education, City government, and local business. Take a look at the variety of City webcams at www.redwoodcity.org/webcam, and subscribe to Redwood City's email newsletter and other City documents by visiting www.redwoodcity.org/egov.

Contact:
John LaTorra
Community Development Services
(650) 780-7360

Adaptation Strategy - Getting Started

The California Resources Agency has begun a new process to develop a Climate Adaptation Strategy (CAS). This is really an important action! With all the talk about how to reduce our impacts and to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases, discussion about what we need to be doing to prepare for the effects of global warming has been largely absent. 

The process includes working groups on biodiversity and habitats, infrastructure, public health, oceans and coastal resources, water and working landscapes. You can read about the CAS process and sign up for their e-list here. 

Together

New from the Alliance for Climate Protection:

Republicans block renewable incentives again

This is becoming a rerun story. It would be funny if it weren't so serious. But this is hardball politics at work protecting the fossil fuel industry.

Republicans blocked the legislation from coming to the floor, marking the eighth attempt to extend the 30 percent tax credit beyond it’s Jan. 1, 2009, expiration date. The extension is backed by all the state governors save Georgia, a coalition of Fortune 500 companies, Wall Street banks, renewable energy startups, and tech giants like Google (GOOG), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Applied Materials (AMAT).

Utilities like PG&E (PCG) and Edison International (EIX) as well as financiers such as Morgan Stanley (MS) and GE Energy Financial Services (GE), are pushing for an eight-year extension of the investment tax credit to give Big Solar projects enough time to get off the ground and start to achieve economies of scale.

Tropical diseases

One of the signatures of climate change is that the warmer temperatures allows certain organisms to move beyond their normal range. This includes tropical diseases.

West Nile virus found another ally in the mortgage lending debacle.

One of the many fallouts of the nationwide housing crisis are neglected pools in foreclosed homes. They are perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes. One pool, Frazer said, can hatch a cloud of millions of mosquitoes.

Updated: Green building moves: builders & state standards

Builders are beginning to get the picture according to this feature in FastCompany:

The latest report from McGraw-Hill Construction, cosponsored by the National Association of Home Builders, predicts that the market for green housing will grow to from as little as $12 billion this year to between $40 billion and $70 billion by 2012.

Even some large commercial home builders -- forced into hibernation by the real-estate bust -- have begun sketching plans for a decidedly different generation of American houses. "Until recently, the publicly traded home builders saw green building as a niche market best taken up by smaller players," says David Wood, director of the Boston College Institute for Responsible Investing. "But with the down market, this could be a good time for them to differentiate themselves from competitors."
...
Even in hard-hit Northern California, where Grupe Co. has virtually shut down its green development, Carsten Crossings, there are indications that there will be a market for houses with a more modest footprint. "Prices have fallen so low here that we have completely stopped building," says Mark Fischer, senior vice president of operations. "If we build a house, green or otherwise, we lose money." Yet before the bubble burst, the LEED-certified homes in Carsten Crossings were outselling their competitors' two to one, and buyers were boasting online of monthly energy bills of $5 to $10.

These signs of life from the builders are coming just as California has passed the first state-wide green building standard in the nation. The new standard takes effect in 2010.

The code sets targets for energy efficiency, water consumption, dual plumbing systems for potable and recyclable water, diversion of construction waste from landfills and use of environmentally sensitive materials in construction and design, including eco-friendly flooring, carpeting, paint, coatings, thermal insulation and acoustical wall and ceiling panels.
...
The standards were preceded by an executive order signed by the governor in 2004 that requires state buildings to reduce energy use by 20 percent by 2015, and directs all new state buildings and renovation projects to attain at least a LEED silver level certification.

Not clear at this point is how the state standards compare to LEEDLEED Silver is widely seen as a good minimum green building standard for commercial buildings. Some are describing the state standards as a good floor but encouraging more. Updated: The state standards are extremely modest - less than 20 points on Build It Green's scale (50 points is the standard Build It Green is promoting with the Home Builders Association of Northern California).

On local levels of course cities continue to take the lead with San Francisco having passed what is likely the most aggressive green building standards in the country. Now Oakland is making moves to establish its own as well.

Choosing a neighborhood vehicle

Most driving that people do is short range driving. The average daily driving range is 30 miles. Short-range neighborhood electric vehicles are here and viable options for people now.

Get yours in Berkeley:

SF Chronicle has a profile.

Comments on CA's global warming plan: Friday

If you have comments on California's draft plan ("scoping plan") for the implementation of the Global Warming Solutions Act (AB32) the time to speak up is this Friday in San Jose:

DATE: August 8, 2008
TIME: 9:30 am to 4:00 pm
LOCATION: County of Santa Clara, 1555 Berger Drive, Berger Auditorium, San Jose

Meeting details here. If you can't make the meeting comments can be submitted online here: http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/scopingplan/spcomment.htm

Climate Progress provides a quick overview of the plan.

A few legitimate areas for improvement in the scoping plan are as follows:

• Cap and trade: The need to ensure carbon credits are auctioned so there are no disincentivizing windfall profits for polluters. They should pay for their emissions of greenhouse gases, using the resulting revenues to promote clean energy and aid low-income consumers. Limit sharply and verify any offsets. Do not link our program to any states with weaker emission standards.
  
• Transportation and development: Ensure that transportation alternatives are supported and encouraged, including through appropriate development patterns. Good development which is walkable, with amenities and businesses near residential areas and with good transit options are key to giving people options to using their cars.