Sustainable Development Focus
Greentech Media - Dec 27 In December, federal housing officials erected a new hurdle for residential property-assessed clean energy (PACE) financing. Pioneered in Berkeley a decade ago, PACE financing removes the upfront cost of energy- or water-saving improvements by enabling homeowners to pay off the cost of the upgrades over time via an assessment tied their property taxes. In a December 7 letter, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said the Federal Housing Administration would no longer insure mortgages for homes with PACE liens. The move reverses guidance adopted by the Obama administration in July 2016. The new guidance takes effect in January.
Sacramento Bee - Dec 28 Traditional lightbulbs are about to start disappearing from hardware store shelves in California, with an assist from a federal judge in Sacramento. U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller has denied bulb manufacturers’ plea for a court order that would have blocked new energy-efficiency standards from taking effect New Year’s Day. Those standards will effectively make most traditional incandescent lightbulbs obsolete. Although manufacturers can continue to pursue their lawsuit, the ruling means the energy standards will take effect January 1, said spokeswoman Amber Pasricha Beck of the California Energy Commission.
Energy Storage News - Dec 21 Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) has partnered with the Long Beach Water Department to build a 500kW/3,000kWh energy storage system at the latter’s Groundwater Treatment Plant which will provide a number of different services both behind and in-front-of the meter in a ‘stacked revenue’ business model. At the plant itself, the storage system will increase operational efficiency and lower energy costs. At the same time, it will provide grid services to local investor-owned utility Southern California Edison, helping integrate the growing penetration of solar PV on the grid and contributing to the state’s goals for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The City of Long Beach could save around $150,000 a year on energy costs from when the system is completed and connected next winter, a figure that could add up to $1.9 million over a 10-year period, AMS said.
Chico Enterprise-Record - Jan 1 Over the next decade, roughly 150,000 low-income renters in California will see their apartment buildings outfitted with solar panels — and their electricity bills drop. Regulations approved in December cleared the way for the state to spend $1 billion over 10 years — using proceeds from the state’s landmark climate-change program — on incentives for landlords to install rooftop solar panels on apartment buildings housing low-income residents.
Solar Industry Magazine - Dec 29 LINC Housing, a nonprofit developer of affordable housing in California, recently announced that its SEED Partners subsidiary has installed new solar photovoltaic systems at five LINC properties by aggregating them as one project to leverage tax credits and available incentive programs as part of a new financing structure. Co-developed with the National Housing Trust, the solar development impacts 545 low-income family and senior households, will reduce resident energy bills, and provide solar installation job training for the community. The five properties to benefit from the work are The Village at Beechwood in Lancaster, City Gardens Apartments in Santa Ana, SEASONS in Ontario, Pleasant View Apartments in Fresno, and Mosaic Gardens in Monterey Park.
