This Week's News for LA’s Best Buildings
Newsom Imposes New California Water Restrictions—Leaves Details to Locals
As a dry summer looms, California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered water suppliers across California to step up their local drought responses, but fell short of requiring water rationing or setting a statewide conservation target.
Despite pressure from experts urging a strong mandate, the order leaves the exact conservation measures up to the urban water providers and major water wholesalers that supply the vast majority of Californians. It does not affect agricultural water providers, or the small water systems that are especially vulnerable to drought.
D.O.E. Releases New Study Confirming Strong Performance of Energy Efficiency Loans
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced a first-of-its kind study that confirms energy efficiency loans are generally low risk, have historically been repaid at a high rate, and perform well compared to other asset classes. The study also highlights the opportunities for financial institutions to support the transition to a cleaner, more efficient building stock. With states and local governments set to receive billions of dollars in funding for clean energy deployment under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this study reinforces the impact financial institutions will have as partners in retrofitting America’s building stock and the crucial role energy efficiency loans will play in cutting costs for American families and reaching President Biden’s net-zero carbon economy by 2050.
Funding Our Future: Creating a One-Stop Shop for Whole-Home Retrofits
Decarbonizing the US building stock must start by ensuring that low-income residents have easy access to affordable, healthy, safe, and climate-aligned housing. With over $5 billion in new weatherization and energy efficiency funding passed in the bipartisan 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), now is the time to begin restructuring energy programs to deliver comprehensive retrofits to as many low-income households as possible. On March 30, the US Department of Energy released the Weatherization Assistance Program’s IIJA funding availability notice, providing a momentous opportunity for communities across the United States to deliver whole-home retrofits for low-income housing.
It's Time to Electrify Industry's Process Heat—with Heat Pumps
As gas prices soar, a familiar but little-used technology—industrial heat pumps (IHP)—offers a compelling path to greater electrification and energy security, according to a report published today by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. The research shows that, where applied, IHPs could cut U.S. industrial energy use associated with process heat (the heat that powers manufacturing) by up to one-third and eliminate the equivalent of nine million cars’ emissions.
The Hydrogen Bombshell
The smallest molecule in the universe has displaced snakes as my top phobia. A new report from Energy Innovation, an energy and environmental policy research firm, goes deep on hydrogen and its use in cleaning up utilities. The reason the analysis struck fear into my heart? It shows that hydrogen is unlikely to help decarbonize buildings at any meaningful scale — but it could make our homes and infrastructure less safe.
Think Globally, Build Locally: Exploring the Benefits of Low-Carbon Buildings for Climate Change and Health
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently released the second part of its Sixth Assessment Report, a detailed publication that starkly outlines climate change’s threats to human and planetary health. This followed the 2021 release of a first part, which U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called “a code red for humanity.”
Image by Ray Chavez via the Bay Area News Group