October 11, 2011

Solar@Work Offers Huge Discounts To Commercial Building Owners And Lease Holders

Posted by Steve Sacks under Building Operations, Energy, Finance, Free, Government, Green Economy, Incentives and Rebates, Make Money, Marketing Ideas, Photovoltaic, Save Money, Solar | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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A new program in San Francisco, Solar@Work, offers discounts, and in some cases free installation, on solar arrays for commercial building owners and lease holders.  Almost any size business can qualify for the program that will lower energy costs for participants.  For businesses proactively addressing San Francisco’s required energy audits, this program requires a closer look. (For full analysis of San Francisco’s commercial building energy audit program, click here)

Solar@Work groups commercial building owners and/or lease holders together to reduce costs through economies of scale.  Participants generate the greatest savings on energy costs through the purchase of a solar array.  The cost of purchasing and installing a system can be prohibitive, so Solar@Work creates a discount on installation and financing through volume pricing.  A “traditional” solar lease is also available with no up front cost, but the savings on energy bills are markedly less significant.

The Collaborative Solar Procurement model created by the World Resources Institute allows the Solar@Work program to offer four financing options.  Owners can purchase systems at a discount, secure a solar lease, secure a capital loan, or finance through other options including power purchase agreements.

The goal is to collect enough businesses in the program to collectively generate 2 megawatts of power or more.  Applications are being accepted until October 31, 2011, and an informational conference call is scheduled for October 21, 2011.

The ideal applicants are owner/occupiers or long-term leasers whose available space on a roof or parking area is 5,000 square feet or more.

Solar City is the exclusive vendor for the program created by the World Resources Institute, the City and County of San Francisco’s Department of the Environment (SF Environment), in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Optony.

Solar City was selected through a competitive process to provide the installation services for the program.  The company anticipates hiring 400 new workers in the second half of 2011 including 100 in the Bay Area, partly due to Solar@Work.

Congratulations to WRI, San Francisco, and the other contributors to this program.  Solar@Work promises to be another great example of how sustainable development will lead a growth in the economy through reducing energy costs and increasing employment.

 

June 14, 2011

Dwell On Design Speaking Gig

Posted by Steve Sacks under Building and Design, Conferences / Conventions / Events, Editor's Note, Speaking Engagement | Tags: , , , |
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Just a quick note to let you know I will be in Los Angeles June 24 and 25, at the Dwell on Design conference.  My panel will discuss financial incentives and traps when undertaking sustainable construction.

Other panelists include Eve Troeh, Reporter, Sustainability Desk, Marketplace; Bill Baldwin, from HartmanBaldwin Design/Build; and Aaron Britt, Senior Editor, Dwell Media.

The event is always a big hit, and draws thousands.  The expo looks great and the line-up of speakers is stellar.  I hope you can join us!

The Dwell on Design homepage is here: http://dod.dwell.com/

The link to our session is here http://dod.dwell.com/stages/3

 

June 5, 2011

AB 32 Cap And Trade Initiative Delayed!

Posted by Steve Sacks under Carbon, Government, Law, Legislation, and Policy | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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First, a quick editor’s note.  I’ve been on a brief hiatus, but thanks to all of you for continuing to check in and research our past coverage.   I have a number of articles in the pipeline, so get ready!

Now, on to the recent news.  California’s AB 32 (AKA The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006) is a fantastic initiative to measure and reduce our impact on the environment. The legislation mandates deep reductions in environmental impact across numerous industrial sectors requiring California to reach 1990 levels of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. When one realizes this is not a per capita benchmark, the feat appears daunting to say the least. The California Air Resources Board (ARB) is responsible for setting the Scoping Plan for AB 32 that lays out the roadmap for reducing green house gasses. That ARB Scoping Plan was finalized at the end of 2008, and can be found by clicking here.

On March 18, 2011, Judge Earnest Goldsmith ruled that the board failed to follow proper procedures under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) when the board mandated the implementation of California’s proposed Green House Gas Cap and Trade program without a detailed consideration of alternative approaches. With this finding, Judge Goldsmith issued a Writ of Mandate that suspends the implementation of the cap and trade program until the board satisfies the CEQA requirements. (Click here for the decision). Specifically, Judge Goldsmith focused on the board’s failure to show it sufficiently considered alternatives to the cap and trade program (e.g. a carbon tax). The analysis of alternatives is a specific document, the Functional Equivalent Document (FED), contained within the Environmental Impact Report (EIR). A sufficiently detailed FED is required to provide disclosure to the public as to how the decision was reached, and to show the board did not reach its decision in an arbitrary and capricious manner. In this way, the board can conclusively demonstrate that the cap and trade program is the best alternative.

Frankly, this decision appears to be an exercise in legal semantics. Clearly there is a requirement that the board follow CEQA in its decision-making process, but to suggest that the board needs to spend time and money exploring the effects of implementing a carbon tax is unrealistic. Temporary measures aside, California has not voted for a new tax in years (if not decades). To suggest that a carbon tax is an alternative to cap and trade is like saying walking is an alternative to flying.

Goldsmith is right to a certain extent.  The FED is not very detailed, but his decision is really an exercise in futility. The result is that the ARB will comply with the decision while it appeals the ruling. Either way, Judge Goldsmith’s decision results in at least a year delay to the implementation of the Scoping Plan.

The case is Association of Irritated Residents vs. California Air Resources Board, CPF-09-509562

For more on the scoping plan, click these links:

Scoping Plan

Scoping Plan Timeline (Now obsolete to some degree)

Scoping Plan Appendices

 

February 22, 2011

Green Jobs At All Levels For Retrofitting Buildings In California – AB 758 Gains Speed

Posted by Steve Sacks under Government, Green Economy, Law, Legislation, and Policy | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Invariably, those in sustainable development acknowledge the greatest impact in reducing green house gasses (GHGs) will come from improvements to existing buildings. The new commercial building energy performance ordinance that we recently spent a great deal of time covering is an example of that focus.  That is not to say that intelligent new building codes are ineffective. It’s just that refurbishing the existing building stock will have a far greater impact. Just how drastic is the difference in impact, you ask? How about seven times greater for residential retrofits and two times greater for commercial?!

Just think of it from this starting point: “72% of California’s 13 million residential buildings and over 5 billion square feet of commercial structures were built before the implementation of California’s energy efficiency building code (Title 24) in the early 1980’s. This means that 3 out of 4 homes in California have never had to comply with any energy efficiency requirements whatsoever.” (Citation: http://bleer.lbl.gov/?p=635)

AB 758, sponsored by Assembly Member Nancy Skinner, was signed into law in October 2009 to addresses this underserved area.  Now, the program has created a need for hiring at the California Energy Commission to implement the provisions. Jobs, people. Jobs!  (Click here to see the job postings from the California Energy Commission).   I won’t get into it, but for the critics who will gripe about government jobs we can not afford, I argue, we can not afford to waste energy across our great state.  When companies waste money on energy, they don’t hire.  Further, jobs are created to fix the inefficient structures that are identified.

Now, let’s examine what the bill requires.  In summary (and using a great deal of the direct language from the bill) the bill mandates three main initiatives

First, the Energy Commission is required to establish a regulatory proceeding to develop a comprehensive program to achieve greater energy savings in the state’s existing residential and non-residential building stock.  A brief but thorough report on their progress is available here. The CEC created the Home Energy Rating System (HERS Phase II). Next is a complimentary program for commercial buildings. Further, the Energy Commission is required to report on the status of the program in the integrated energy policy report.

(If you’re reading on our home page, click “more” to read on and get links to a power point presentation from Assembly Member Skinner that has tons of great concise information.) (more…)

 

December 14, 2010

FTW! Largest Municipal Solar Project In California Comes Online

Posted by Steve Sacks under Energy, Finance, Government, Green Economy, Law, Legislation, and Policy, Make Money, Photovoltaic, Risk Transfer, Save Money, Solar | Tags: , , , , , , , , , |
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Last week Mayor Gavin Newsom  and Recurrent Energy announced the completion of the Sunset Reservoir Solar Project.  We mentioned the story back when it started, and we’re glad to see it finished quickly! A year and a half is pretty good to install 24,000 solar panels (imagine 12 football fields) generating 5 megawatts of power (with some sources stating as high as 7 megawatts).  The energy generated can power 1,500 homes, but will be used instead by the city to power public transportation and city buildings.

The project is the result of a public-private partnership (P3) with Recurrent.  As a result, San Francisco owns the property, but leases the rights to operate the plant and sell the energy.  Under the current contract, Recurrent will sell energy to the city at $0.235 /kWh.  That price will allegedly save roughly $1 million per year in energy costs.  Through the P3 procurement method, San Francisco saves the up-front costs of implementing the system, and reaps the rewards of low cost sustainable energy.

And, let’s not forget.  The money paid to Recurrent stays right here in California.  The corporation was founded in California, pays taxes in California, and employs people in California.  71 general labor jobs – in a decimated construction industry – were created from this project.  30 percent of those jobs were for individuals from disadvantaged communities (Though they had to fight to keep those jobs).

This project looks like a win for proponents of sustainable energy, public-private partnerships, and green job promotion (The CGBB fits into that category).  It also looks to be a win for San Franciscans who will instantly see savings in energy costs to public services.

In the meantime, congratulations to Recurrent Energy and San Francisco.  The Sunset Reservoir Solar Project is currently the largest municipal solar installation in the state.  We hope more of these projects are built immediately all around California and the nation!

San Francisco Press Release Here

(For those of you wondering, “FTW” stands for “For The Win”)

 

November 16, 2010

Discount For Cleantech Open On Wednesday, November 17!

Posted by Steve Sacks under Awards / Competitions, Conferences / Conventions / Events | Tags: , , , , |
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Tomorrow is the Cleantech Open in San Jose, and for those of you who have made it there in the past, you know it’s an exciting event for anyone interested in the latest in clean technology.  Below is a communication from the organizers with a discount code for registration – check it out!

* Expo from 12pm to 2pm – showcasing technologies from throughout the United States and 16 other countries
* Awards Gala from 2:30pm to 6:30pm – technology demonstrations and some terrific speakers
* Networking Reception from 7pm to 9pm.

There will be networking all day, and speakers including Lori Wigle – head of Eco-Technology at Intel, Neal Dikeman – Jane Capital, Chuck Reed – Mayor of San Jose, Lesa Mitchell – VP of Innovation at Kauffman Foundation, Joel Serface – Managing Partner at Serface Ventures, Trond Unneland – Managing Executive, Chevron Technology Ventures, Chuck Reed – Mayor of San Jose, VIP Dinner speaker Representative Jeremy Kalin – Chair of CLEAN, and others.

The Cleantech Open is a nonprofit and the Awards Gala is a fundraiser. Tickets normally go for $97 and up –but there are some discounted tickets which will give you a 20% reduction – just click this link: www.cleantechopen.com/20_percent

 

October 20, 2010

PACE Lawsuit Update (BerkeleyFirst and GreenFinanceSF Still Suspended)

Posted by Steve Sacks under Energy, Finance, Finance / Mortgages, Government, Green Economy, Incentives and Rebates, Just Plain Cool, Law, Legislation, and Policy, Make Money, Marketing Ideas, Mortgages, Risk Transfer, Save Money, Solar | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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The feud between Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the PACE program is heating up.  I’m going to play devil’s advocate (for a moment), so let me quickly set the stage.  As you will recall, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and their parent entity (following the financial crisis of 2008) the Federal Housing Finance Agency (for convenience, collectively “FHFA”) single-handedly torpedoed the Property Assessed Clean Energy program (PACE), one of the best publicly and privately-funded tools for gaining energy independence.  California immediately sued to stop FHFA from interfering with the programs. (United States District Court For The Northern District Of California, Case 4:10-cv-03270-CW)  According to pacedata.org, five other parties have separately sued the FHFA.  Just last week, the FHFA filed a motion to dismiss the California lawsuit. I am not willing to join FHFA’s motion, but I am also willing to say we can’t just scapegoat FHFA. They are just doing their job.  Perhaps a compromise is in order?

For a copy of California’s lawsuit against the FHFA, click here.

For a copy of FHFA’s recently filed Motion To Dismiss, click here.

FHFA is in charge of protecting the integrity of the housing finance industry, and they have taken on PACE financing because it undermines the integrity of primary mortgages. They have a point, and they can’t just look the other way (as much as it appears they are looking straight into the pockets of big banks).

(See our previous posts on AB 811 backed PACE financing programs such as BerkelyFirst or SFGreenFinance by clicking here).

PACE debt is classified by municipalities as an assessment, and in case of non-payment the PACE debt becomes a tax lien against a home. The issue FHFA have is that in case of foreclosure, tax liens are paid first. That puts the PACE payout in front of a primary mortgage, and that undermines the integrity of the primary mortgage market.  If PACE programs explode in popularity across the nation (as they were prior to the FHFA advisory letter), that’s a big problem for FHFA.  The PACE debt is likely small, but if it is nationwide it is definitely an issue. If FHFA are going to be true to their mission they have to stand up to this (especially since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac didn’t show sound judgment leading up to the mortgage-backed securities financial crisis).

The sticking point is proponents of PACE financing aren’t interested in making the PACE debt secondary to a primary mortgage.  Recently, California Representative Mike Thompson (and many others) proposed a bill that’s a pretty good compromise, but still asks the FHFA to look the other way on PACE financing.  The devil’s advocate is not sure this is appropriate in situations where private entities finance PACE debt.

HR 5766 requires that:

“the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] shall adopt underwriting standards that are consistent with the Guidelines for Pilot PACE Financing Programs issued on May 7, 2010, by the Department of Energy.”

The DOE guidelines referred to in HR 5766 state:

“In states where non-acceleration of the lien is standard for other special assessments, it should also be standard for PACE assessments. After a foreclosure, the successor owners are responsible for future assessment payments. Non-acceleration is an important mortgage holder protection because liability for the assessment in foreclosure is limited to any amount in arrears at the time; the total outstanding assessed amount is not due in full.” (Full Guidelines Here)

The DOE guideline quoted above states that under a PACE program in a state where under foreclosure proceedings a primary mortgage holder can demand payment for the full amount of the debt, PACE assessments can only ask for the debt that was owed up to the time of the foreclosure.  This is an important distinction.  The problem is that the PACE lien still supersedes the primary mortgage to some degree.

I doubt this would be such a problem if municipalities provided all of the financing for PACE programs. Municipalities will always have the power to impose assessments.  The problem is that often PACE financing is provided by private enterprise.  Further, with the municipal budgets in pieces, the likelihood of private finance for PACE programs only increases.  I am all for PACE programs, but allowing a private entity to supersede a primary mortgage without asking the primary lender seems a little, shall we say, inconsistent (even if the motives are pure).

For my return from the devil’s side of the argument, and some suggestions for solutions, click the “more” link here:  (more…)

 

September 6, 2010

Book Review! Physics For Future Presidents

Posted by Steve Sacks under Book Review, Carbon, Energy, Government, Green Economy, Law, Legislation, and Policy, Nuclear | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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After reading a slew of books on sustainability (some of them reviewed here), I was ready to take a break.  Then, a colleague handed me Physics for Furture Presidents, The Science Behind The Headlines, and asked me for my opinion.  I’m glad I read the book, but I can’t endorse it with the same enthusiasm I have for the others reviewed on CGBB.  Physics for Future Presidents was written in 2008 by Dr. Richard A. Muller, a Professor of physics at the University of California at Berkeley.  The book is based on Dr. Muller’s wildly successful lectures that are popular on the Cal campus, and online.  Think of it as physics for people who don’t know about math.

Dr. Muller’s writing style is fine (not great), but I found the consistent reference to “Mr. President” created disconnect.  I will take an idea from the review on the back jacket, and state that the book should have addressed “fellow citizens” (or residents), not Presidents.

Regardless, the book contains more than a few biased interpretations and cherry-picked facts focused on creating shock-value, and support for Dr. Muller’s opinions.  In this regard, it fails as a memorandum to the President of the United States, let alone a nationwide primer in physics.  Whatever value can be rendered from the fascinating facts recited by Muller, is overshadowed by a question of doubt about the validity of the statements or the balance provided to the opposing opinion.

The book is worth a read only if you are well versed in the subject matter or you’re willing to do some fact-checking regarding some of Muller’s statements.  Unfortunately, you can’t take the book at face value, and that was supposedly the whole reason for the book in the first place.

I stewed for a long time on how to respectfully refute some of Muller’s statements.  After all, he is a MacArthur Fellow, and I’m . . . well, I’m not a nuclear physicist, that’s for sure.  If you want to read more of my analysis, click the “more” button at the end of this post.  If you want to read some quick science-based reviews by Earl Killian that dispute Dr. Muller, click here for part 1 and here for part 2.

(more…)

 

August 20, 2010

Upcoming Speaking Gig For California State Bar, And Info On West Coast Green And GreenBuild

Posted by Steve Sacks under Build It Green / Green Point Rated, California Green Builder / Building Industry Institute, Conferences / Conventions / Events, Editor's Note, NAHB / National Association of Homebuilders, Speaking Engagement, USGBC / LEED | Tags: , , , |
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Just a quick editor’s note (and honestly, a little self-promotion) to let you know I will be a panelist on September 25, 2010 at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the State Bar of California.  You don’t have to be an attorney to attend, so please consider this engaging educational event.  The Annual Meeting will be held in Monterey, California from September 23 -26.  My panel is entitled Sustainable Development: Moving Beyond Green Building Toward Sustainable Building and Master Planning, and I will be joined by Ed Quevedo and Bret Stone of the Paladin Law Group, (a great law firm by the way). 

The Annual Meeting promises to be informative, and our panel will address a number of the new developments in laws supporting sustainablity.  The keynote speaker this year is Justice Anthony Kennedy, and there are lots of other insightful speakers.  Check 0ut the dozens of sessions by clicking the link above!

While we’re discussing conferences, I want to note that West Coast Green 2010 is coming up September 30 – October 2, 2010.  Once again, West Coast Green lo0ks to be a fantastic event at the same scenic location on the bay in San Francisco.  Last year it was a lot of fun. Note that the early bird discount for West Coast Green ends today, August 20!

Also note, the USGBC’s GreenBuild, November 17-19 in Chicago, IL, has early registration going on, too (until September 10).  They have not announced the keynote speaker for GreenBuild, and it will be tough to top Al Gore from last year… who knows….  Regardless of the speakers, I attended last year, and it was a blast (though Gore was a very inspiring speaker).  It is still the largest green building conference and expo in the United States (if not the world).

 

July 19, 2010

California Sues Federal Government! BerkeleyFirst and GreenFinanceSF In Jeopardy

Posted by Steve Sacks under Energy, Finance, Finance / Mortgages, Government, Green Economy, Incentives and Rebates, Just Plain Wrong, Law, Legislation, and Policy, Mortgages, Risk Transfer | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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The local California programs that allow homeowners to pay for green renovations through an added assessment on their property taxes is in jeopardy.  The BerkeleyFirst program – the first Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program in the nation, is still up and running, but San Francisco suspended the GreenFinanceSF program, and Sonoma County now sends warning letters out with every application.  Mind you, 22 states now have PACE programs (enabled in California by AB 811), and President Obama wants to allocate $150 million in federal funds for these programs.  Someone in his office better call the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), because they don’t like the programs one bit.

The issues started when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sent out a letter in the beginning of May that scared some investors and homeowners because it stated, “an energy-related lien [i.e. PACE loan] may not be senior to any mortgage delivered to Freddie Mac.”  Then, at the beginning of this month, the FHFA (who oversee Fannie and Freddy) stated that the PACE loans pose a risk to lenders, and called for the programs to be stopped.  Last week, California shot back and sued the Federal Government to have the FHFA back PACE programs.

FHFA’s concern is that if a property goes into foreclosure, property taxes are the first debts paid off.  Since the PACE loans are an assessment included in property taxes, the PACE loans would be paid off first in a foreclosure.  Almost universally, a primary mortgage is paid off before any subsequent loans taken on a property.  The PACE loans throw that fundamental rule out the window.  This allegedly adds risk to the primary mortgage, and since Fannie and Freddie are the largest purchasers of mortgages in the nation, they object.

To make matters worse, a New York Times article reports that Fannie and Freddy might not accept mortgages with PACE loans.  Fannie and Freddy turning down mortgages is huge.  The two entities own nearly 50% of the mortgages in the nation, and banks rely on the ability to sell mortgages in bulk to Fannie and Freddie.  If PACE loans make mortgages less valuable in the mortgage market (the banking market that bundles groups of mortgages and sells them wholesale between banks and investors . . .e.g. “mortgage-backed securities”), that will essentially end the programs.

I understand the FHFA point of view, but I think their concerns are overblown. The improvements to the property add value, and the PACE payments are generally very small. A $25,000 loan at 6.5% over 20 years comes to about $185 / month.  If you consider the savings to the owner’s energy bill, are we really talking about a debt obligation that will jeopardize someone’s mortgage payment?  Indeed, what if the local government just increased taxes outright?

The PACE programs are gaining tremendous momentum, creating jobs, and leading us toward energy independence.  Throwing a wrench in the system over something quite small is not only counter-productive, its subversion.  We’ll track this issue closely, and let you know of further developments.

More on the lawsuit from Sustainable Business here

More on the lawsuit from the San Francisco Chronicle here

The CGBB first post on BerkeleyFirst is here

 

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