Winter 2011

Local Government Strategic Energy Action Report

The CPUC hired the team of SAIC, Navigant Consulting and Innovologie to conduct a study of local government implementation of energy efficiency policies and practices represented in the local government chapter of the California Long-term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan, which was adopted in September of 2008.

In requesting this report, the “CPUC recognized the leadership role of local governments in reducing energy use and global warming emissions in California. The CPUC wanted to better understand the barriers local governments face in pursuing energy efficiency policies and practices, ways to overcome those barriers, as well as the successes and exemplary practices of local government leaders in this regard. The CPUC hopes that the findings and case studies included here, support progress and momentum on this front.”

This report identifies successful strategies, approaches, and practices currently used by local governments to enhance their communities’ long-term capacity to save energy and reduce climate impacts. The report provides key recommendations to address existing barriers in order to implement the State of California’s Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan’s goals for local communities, including achieving zero net energy for new buildings by 2020.

To determine what local governments can do to improve energy efficiency and reduce climate impacts, the study team conducted in-depth interviews and surveys of more than 50 elected officials, city managers, utility managers, department heads, and energy and sustainability professionals. The team met with more than a dozen national, statewide and regional organizations and analyzed policies and examples of innovations of more than 100 local governments in California and other states the U.S.

The report examines six major topics of critical importance to building capacity to take sustained energy action at the local government level:

1. leveraging local planning and development authority to achieve energy efficiency and address climate change;
2. increasing energy efficiency in government buildings;
3. achieving high levels of compliance and enforcement with energy efficiency standards in building codes;
4. reducing energy use in buildings through advanced energy codes, including innovative whole building and zero net energy strategies;
5. financing energy efficiency projects and local government energy offices/enterprises; and
6. solutions to cross cutting barriers that inhibit developing local energy capacity, such as financing and training.

This report offers a new and innovative business model for communities to develop and operate energy and related programs — the Sustainable Energy Enterprise.

The report is available at http://www.calmac.org/toolkitEE.asp