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As we deploy more renewable generation, the electrical distribution grid is quickly becoming the cleanest source of power in the state. A few years ago, most policy folks thought it would be a stretch to have 50 percent of the electric supply from renewables by 2025. In reality, we are already way ahead of that…

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Is Energy Efficiency Dead In A Decarbonization Future?   Over the past 50 years, energy efficiency has played a critical role in California. The state’s aggressive efforts to reduce energy consumption, triggered by the oil crisis in the 1970s, has paid off. The results speak for themselves. Appliance standards, building codes, and efficiency rebate programs…

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These are difficult times. While we all might hope that things can get back to “normal” soon, it’s likely that some things will change for good. Like a lot of businesses, contractors are suffering, as customers put off renovations and upgrades. If there’s a silver lining though, it might be that after spending weeks indoors,…

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WorkFromHome

A little over five years ago, I took on the position of executive director at Efficiency First California. It was a challenging time. I was taking over an organization that had been shrinking in size and was basically in a holding pattern, fighting for survival. My predecessor, our interim ED, had done his best to…

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BuildingScience

If you ask tradespeople or contractors about how and why they perform a specific task they do regularly in a certain way–like hanging HVAC ducts up high on the rafters in the attic–you usually get one of two responses. Lots of people will fall back on their training or early experience: “I learned to do…

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SMOG DT LA

California is pushing hard to cut its carbon footprint.  Senate Bill 32 (passed in 2016), requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030; in 2018, former Governor Brown signed SB 100 which set a target to make the state completely carbon neutral by 2045. Because of…

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HeatPump

Over the past year, it seems like everyone involved in California energy policy has started talking about heat pumps–even if they’re not 100 percent sure what heat pumps are. What is it about heat pumps that make them so interesting, and why are they suddenly getting so much attention? Most of the interest is driven…

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NowWhat?

Once again, California has been challenged by devasting and deadly wildfires ripping across the state. The Kincade fire raged out of control in Northern California, and multiple fires were burning in Southern California. All of the wildfires have one thing in common: plenty of dry fuel created by millions of dead trees after four years…

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UnintendedConsequences

There is no doubt the electrification trend is taking hold in California. As reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) becomes the most important goal for energy policy, it makes sense to shift end uses of energy away from the limited resource of fossil fuels to the electric grid. Recently, the increase in renewable generation has quickly made…

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