The fall has arrived, heat pumps are now providing more heating than cooling, and we are rushing toward the end of the year.
First, I’m thrilled to announce the upcoming launch of our book, The Clean Green Neighborhood, authored by BDC’s Kristin George Bagdanov with illustrations by Nicole Kelner. With a little inspiration from Richard Scarry, the book was created to instruct, inspire, and of course, delight both adults and children. It depicts how to transform entire neighborhoods from gas to clean energy alternatives with a focus on the workers who make this possible. I love it and I know you will too. You can pre-order it now—it’s the perfect holiday gift for your decarbonizer enthusiasts.
Last week was a big one with the late-night passage of the Clean and Reliable Grid Act in Illinois, which allows for the financing of both community and utility thermal energy network projects in the state. This was a big effort by the team, who didn’t quit when the regular legislative session ended. Instead they got creative, worked with labor and the rest of our coalition, and got it done during the legislature’s veto session in October.
Meanwhile, in New York an incredible group of advocates spanning from environmental justice organizations to labor unions came together to file comments in support of the six utility thermal energy network pilots. An incredible effort that shows the future really is electric.
For the last few months, we’ve been talking about the federal tax credits that expire at the end of the year. Smart panel provider SPAN is helping us to uplift that message, and provides products that can help homeowners get their electrification projects done by the deadline. You can find our chat with Karen Gough, Vice President of Sales at SPAN, on our blog.
Finally, the month of November is one of gratitude, so I’d like to take a moment to say thank you to everyone in this movement, working toward a clean and healthy future where buildings do not contribute to air or climate pollution. It’s hard work, and we are making incredible strides! It is more obvious by the day that the future is electric, and that is because of the hard work you all do.
In 2024, BDC wondered: How can we tell the story of neighborhood-scale decarbonization in a way that instructs, inspires, and delights? And that’s how The Clean Green Neighborhood was born.
Now, this bilingual English-Spanish children’s book is available for pre-order at buildingdecarb.org/clean-green-neighborhood. Order now through 11:59 pm on launch day, November 13, and receive 15% off with discount code: PREORDERTCGN
Written by Kristin George Bagdanov, BDC’s Senior Manager of Policy Research, illustrated by Nicole Kelner, and translated by José Torres, this book came to life through the sponsorship and creative guidance of four labor unions: International Union of Operating Engineers Local 12, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 11, International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers Locals 104 and 105, and United Auto Workers Region 6.
The book celebrates the union workers and communities building clean, resilient neighborhoods powered by shared renewable energy. Union representatives closely collaborated on the book’s development—shaping their characters, sharing details about how their skilled workforce contributes to everything from electrical school buses to gas-free kitchens to thermal energy networks, and highlighting the essential role that labor unions play in the clean energy transition. Printed by a union print shop in the U.S., The Clean Green Neighborhood embodies the values its story celebrates.
There are two key races in the energy transition: the renewables race to generate electricity, and the electrification race to supply final energy demand for heat, mobility, and other services.
In this webinar, Ember’s Daan Walter and BDC’s Panama Bartholomy discuss why electrification is the more consequential race today. Join us to discover why making electrification the central driver of decarbonization will accelerate the clean energy transition, make energy more affordable, and unlock the largest economic opportunity of our time.
We invite you to join us for our monthly California building decarbonization policy discussion! Learn about legislation, regulation, and what’s on the climate policy horizon as our coalition works to advance neighborhood-scale decarbonization, statewide healthy air standards, and energy affordability.
California Governor Signs 4 Bills to Safeguard Californians in Extreme Heat “We applaud the Governor and Legislature for advancing critical policies that protect communities during worsening extreme heat. With worsening extreme heat, we have to act swiftly to equitably upgrade our homes and neighborhoods at scale to create safe, healthy, and affordable communities,” said Beckie Menten, California Director at the Building Decarbonization Coalition.
The second edition of our Kitchen Currents series, which highlights chefs and restaurateurs reimagining what it means to cook sustainably, features Bad Chancla—a small, but bustling eatery in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood that chefs José Garzon and Stefanie Hieber describe as a “love letter to millennial immigrants and first-gen Latinx Americans.”
As BDC’s Allison Considine explains in this blog, embracing a neighborhood-scale approach to building decarbonization in the New York State Energy Plan will create healthier, more resilient, and more affordable communities powered by family-sustaining jobs in the state.
BDC sat down with Karen Gough, Vice President of Sales at SPAN, to learn more about how smart panels can help people qualify for IRA electrification incentives before they expire at the end of the year and the other benefits this technology can deliver to owners of all-electric homes.
Capital Tonight BDC’s Allison Considine spoke with Capital Tonight’s Susan Arbetter about why New York should not pause implementation of the state’s All Electric Buildings Act, explaining that decarbonization policies that move the state away from expensive energy sources, like gas, will make New York more affordable, not less.
U.S. Cities Drive Energy Transition Despite Trump Resistance Context Despite uncertain federal support for building electrification, California is preparing to move entire neighbourhoods to clean energy by decommissioning gas lines and diverting the related replacement and maintenance costs into neighborhood-scale building decarbonization projects, says BDC’s Beckie Menten.
Commentary: Don't 'Go Green' House by House. Do It Block by Block. Albany Times Union It’s time for New York to adopt a neighborhood-scale approach to building decarbonization in its State Energy Plan, writes BDC’s Allison Considine in this op-ed. Such an approach would upgrade entire communities to clean heating and cooling at once, making New York’s clean energy transition faster, fairer, and more affordable.
Heat pumps' rising popularity, combined with new clean heat policies supported by Maryland's Governor, will create new business opportunities for HVAC contractors in the state who are ready to capitalize on rising customer demand for clean heating technologies, write Green & Healthy Homes Initiative’s Ruth Ann Norton and BDC’s Brian Jenkins in this op-ed for Maryland Matters.
What Your Gas Stove Is Doing To Your Health Forbes BDC’s Rachelle Boucher describes how induction cooktops are not just much more energy efficient than gas cooktops, but can also cook food faster and offer more precision than gas.
POLICY UPDATES
Each month, BDC summarizes key building decarbonization policy-related news from the states in which we currently work. For more details on policy-related news in each state, visit the state’s policy page by clicking the "Learn More" button beneath the state’s summary.
California
Governor Newsom signed two major bills in October to help safeguard Californians from extreme heat. SB 655 (Stern) establishes statewide standards for maintaining safe indoor temperatures, while AB 806 (Connolly) ensures that mobile home residents can install clean, efficient cooling systems like heat pumps. Together, these measures also advance the state’s climate and heat pump targets. In Southern California, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) launched GO ZERO, a $21 million rebate program to help expand access to zero-NOx emission heating and cooling appliances, with 75% of funding reserved for underserved communities.
The Illinois General Assembly passed SB25, the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act, during the state’s October veto session. This bill includes legislation that will advance thermal energy networks (TENs) in the state by setting up a TENs pilot program, administered by the Illinois Commerce Commission and Illinois Finance Authority, that will provide up to $20 million to advance neighborhood-scale TENs. BDC and its allies worked hard to ensure the inclusion of TENs legislation in the CRGA, with Yami Newell, BDC’s Illinois State Policy Manager, testifying before the Illinois Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee about the bill, and BDC and its allies joining 200 other organizations to urge legislators to pass the CRGA.
The Maryland Clean Heat Coalition held its kickoff press conference on October 16, during which it announced the launch of a coordinated campaign advocating for the implementation of Clean Heat Rules for space- and water-heating equipment. The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) released the Heating Fuel Provider Reporting Rule for public comment on October 21. This rule requires heating fuel companies to report detailed delivery data as part of the implementation of Maryland’s Clean Heat Standard. The Maryland Public Service Commission’s Special Master issued a procedural schedule for Case No. 9707, extending the comprehensive investigation of natural gas utility planning practices through December 2026.
On October 27, BDC and our partner Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE) proudly submitted a detailed comment to the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) urging the commission to advance six utility thermal energy network (UTEN) pilot projects to Stage 3, Construction. BDC additionally submitted comments on the UTEN projects with our UpgradeNY partners. These comments encourage the PSC to move these projects forward to implementation and construction and keep the state on its path toward a resilient, equitable, and low-carbon future.
PLAYTE Kitchen Congratulations to Chef Matt Dailey, Chef Sandy Sauter, and Maryam Ahmed on the grand opening of PLAYTE Kitchen in Napa! PLAYTE Kitchen offers hands-on community classes, private events, and culinary experiences that celebrate local ingredients and farmers in a new all-electric kitchen.
Chef Matt is a proud member of our Chefluencer program, and brings his Culinary Institute of America training and creative flair to this new community-driven cooking venue. PLAYTE Kitchen was outfitted in partnership with Copper, which provided the kitchen with their Charlie Range, the world's first battery-equipped induction electric range.
NESCAUM NESCAUM will host a webinar on their recently released Multistate Action Plan to Accelerate the Transition to Zero-Emission Residential Buildings on Wednesday, November 12, at 2 p.m. ET.
Register for the webinar to learn more about the Action Plan’s recommendations on how states can improve access to affordable clean heat and how states are working to advance zero-emission residential buildings.
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