It’s July, and while temperatures are reaching historic highs across the U.S., we’re focused on turning up the heat in our own way. Later this month, members of our organization from around the country will gather in-person for our annual all-staff retreat. We’ll spend four incredibly meaningful days together to align and forge an actionable plan to help push the decarbonization movement forward in 2025.
In the meantime, there’s no shortage of impactful work happening presently. Colorado’s Clean Heat Plan has poised the state’s largest gas utility to set a model for cutting emissions in home heating. And in California, legislators are looking at a bill that could greatly expedite the fossil-fuel to electric transition in the state on a neighborhood scale, while a new poll shows that nearly 62% of California voters support such policies. On the opposite side of the country, nine states plus Washington, D.C. have committed to working together to accelerate the transition to clean buildings. You can learn more about this agreement directly from members of Northeast States of Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) and Maryland Department of the Environment during our BDC Presents webinar on July 18th.
There’s so much to be excited about, so keep cool, and carry on!
Yours in decarbonizing,
Panama
Events
BDC Presents: The Multi-State Plan to Power a Surge in Heat Pump Adoption
July 18, 2024 at 10 am PT / 1 pm ET
Earlier this year, nine states plus Washington, DC, signed an agreement to meet ambitious heat pump targets and reduce emissions from buildings. Hear from Emily Levin of the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), who drafted the agreement, on how it came to be and what the states are now doing to meet the commitment. Also hear from Zach Berzolla of the Maryland Department of the Environment about the specific steps his state is taking to accelerate heat pump deployment and decarbonize buildings.
Extreme Weather Events and Building Resilience in Home Electrification and Decarbonization
July 17, 2024 at 11 am PT / 2 pm ET
This seminar will delve into the intersection of extreme weather events and resilience strategies associated with reducing emissions from homes. Identifying the vulnerabilities and highlighting the critical need for home resilient design and technologies, the seminar will present innovative solutions and best practices through expert presentations and case studies.
Information Management Network ESG & Decarbonizing Real Estate Forum
July 11, 2024 at 10:40 am PT / 1:40 pm ET
BDC's Ashley Besic, Thermal Energy Networks Senior Associate, will speak at IMN’s Third Annual ESG & Decarbonizing Real Estate Forum in Dana Point, California. Ashley’s panel, “Leveraging Tech to Decarb the Built Environment,” dives into the technology solutions that are moving the needle in decarbonization efforts. Connect with Ashley on LinkedIn if you're attending the forum.
In 2024, legislation supporting thermal energy networks (TENs) accelerated and expanded. Our blog details this year's legislative successes and contextualizes them within the past four years of TENs legislation.
The Equitable Building Decarbonization Program (EBD) is a life-saving initiative that is urgently needed. In California, another record-breaking summer approaches, but a quarter of California homes lack access to cooling with air conditioning or heat pumps. High temperatures could result in up to 4,300 premature deaths per year in the state starting in 2025, with greater impacts on low-income households and communities of color.
The Switch Is On
The Switch Is On is a consumer inspiration initiative powered by the Building Decarbonization Coalition to educate, inspire, and make switching to electric appliances easier for all those who live and work in buildings.
New Partnership: Sierra Business Council
The Switch Is On has partnered with the Sierra Business Council to promote contractor workforce development in the Tahoe-Truckee region of California. As the Sierra area transitions to electric appliances for HVAC and water heating with the support of experts and verified contractors, we’re excited to release a new video series to inspire contractors and consumers. This initiative provides education and resources to build the local contractor workforce, supporting the region's electrification goals.
Learn about the benefits of heat pumps, solutions for finding knowledgeable contractors, and the growing support for home electrification in areas like Truckee-Tahoe.
Furthering our commitment to knowledge sharing, we are excited to continue our seasonal ‘Report Roundup’ segment to highlight insightful reports from other organizations across the building decarbonization movement and share the latest developments, best practices, and strategies.
This report finds that a 75% residential electrification scenario produces $96B of net cost savings when low- to moderate-income households have the support they need to replace fossil fuel and electric-resistant equipment. The first part of the report details the current landscape of LMI household space and water heating and shares the results from their analysis of EIA's RECS 2020 dataset of six electrification scenarios. In the second half, ACEEE breaks down and compares electrification measures in LMI households by building type, end use, and fuel and touches on energy burden.
This report analyzes two scenarios, full electrification and electrification with alternative fuels, and finds that the full electrification scenario will cost between $13.3 to $14.6 billion less than the electrification with alternative fuels case. In both scenarios, customers who remain on the gas system are expected to face higher rates and have higher annual gas bills.
This implementation guide demonstrates how cities can equitably implement building decarbonization policies while integrating community priorities through community-driven building retrofit programs. The guide provides best practices for designing the retrofit program and includes case studies of cities that have implemented community-driven building retrofit programs such as Denver, Madison, Philadelphia, and New York City.
Following the launch of the first operational networked geothermal pilot in the nation, BDC’s Ania Camargo explains how “networked geothermal also offers an ‘evolutionary path’ forward for the gas companies and workers who could otherwise be out of a job in a renewable energy future.”
BDC’s Ted Tiffany explains how, by using water-based heat pumps that can be installed floor by floor as tenant leases expire, the owners of 345 Hudson Street in Manhattan will make the retrofitting of their 17-story Art Deco office building with a thermal energy network much less disruptive for the building’s occupants.
BDC’s Ania Camargo describes how innovative utility thermal energy networks, like the one proposed by National Grid for Syracuse, can speed New York and other states’ transition away from fossil fuels.
Boulder's new energy code will permit residents to use building materials with lower carbon footprints to meet efficiency standards.
Policy
California
CA Budget Updates: Final Budget
Governor Newsom and the Legislature agreed on a 2024-25 state budget on June 22, and released budget trailer bills “Budget Bill Jrs” SB 108 and SB 109.
The Final Budget Agreement rejected $25 million in reductions to the Equitable Building Decarbonization Program (EBD) compared to the May Revise but cut $397 million total, leaving just over $500 million for the EBD program from the original $922 million allocation.
Passed out of the Senate Energy, Utilities, and Communications on June 19; Referred to Senate Appropriations Committee to be heard in August.
Requires the PUC’s Section 913 report to include how the current rate trends affect households across energy uses and how electrifying more end-uses may reduce the total cost of energy for households.
Is currently awaiting a hearing on the Senate Floor.
Prohibits the sale of gas stoves manufactured on or after Jan 2025, unless the gas stove bears a label relating to the air pollutants that can be released.
Disappointingly, the New York State Assembly failed to pass the NY HEAT Act before the end of this year’s New York Legislative session.
Despite tremendous support and momentum that was built by the building decarbonization movement in New York to pass this measure, which would have amended the utility obligation to provide gas service, ended the 100-foot rule gas line extension subsidy, and protected households from excessive energy bills, the New York’s State Assembly and Governor failed to act before the end of the session on June 8, 2024.
“The Governor and the Assembly have put New Yorkers at risk of facing massive energy bills resulting from utilities continuing to waste tens of billions of dollars replacing and maintaining the state’s outdated gas distribution assets over the coming years. Their failure to plan for a managed, phased, and equitable transition to clean heat and cooling is a plan to fail.”
“The building decarbonization movement in New York is growing, and will not stop until the legislature passes NY HEAT.”
BDC has been selected to assume a co-leadership role for Shift Zero’s, the state’s zero carbon buildings alliance, State Policy Working Group.
Colorado
(WIN! - Clean Heat Plan) - In a landmark climate win, CO’s largest gas utility (Xcel Energy) is slated to help electrify thousands of homes under a new plan that is being called a national model for states looking to cut emissions from home heating. In its decision on Xcel Energy’s inaugural Clean Heat Plan, the Public Utility Commission approved the investment of $440M, mostly in energy efficiency and electrification to benefit Xcel Energy customers. This commitment has the potential to avoid more than 775,000 tons of carbon emissions by 2027 while simultaneously making the places where Coloradans live and work more efficient, affordable, and comfortable. This is the first utility plan to implement Colorado’s “innovative” legislative clean heat standard, which establishes greenhouse gas reduction targets for gas distribution utilities.
(WIN! - Neighborhood Scale Decarbonization) - Gov. Jared Polis signed the neighborhood scale decarbonization bill (HB24-1370), which requires the Colorado Energy Office to identify up to five interested local governments to participate in a Neighborhood-Scale Alternatives Pilot Project to transition to zero-emissions thermal resources (such as geothermal) as the heat energy source for buildings. To be eligible, neighborhoods must receive both gas and electric service from a dual-fuel utility and projects must include, for example, energy service through networked geothermal heating and heat pumps instead of gas appliances. This bill allows interested local governments to evaluate and choose limited projects that, by deploying an alternative energy service, reduce costs for all customers and reduce local air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions through avoided natural gas use.
Oregon
Governor Tina Kotek, along with Senator Ron Wyden, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, and key public and private figures, held the first meeting of the Clean Tech Manufacturing Task Force. The task force’s findings and proposals will be compiled into the final Oregon Clean Energy Technology Manufacturing Report, expected later this year.
Maryland
A coalition of health, environmental justice, and climate organizations applauded an executive order from Gov. Wes Moore directing the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to develop zero-emission heating equipment standards this year. This announcement, which comes as a new analysis from RMI (founded as Rocky Mountain Institute) reveals that Marylanders can save an average of $740 on heating and cooling and $380 on water heating by upgrading to highly efficient heat pumps and heat pump water heaters, will ensure Maryland residents can adopt the best, most efficient clean heating equipment. Healthy air standards can phase in the adoption of highly efficient heat pumps, which provide affordable, reliable heating and cooling year-round while reducing health-harming air pollution.
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