Weekly Clean Energy Roundup: January 27, 2010

California Adopts First Statewide Green Building Standard

The California Building Standards Commission unanimously adopted the first-in-the-nation mandatory Green Building Standards Code, called CALGreen, on January 12. The program takes effect on January 1, 2011.

CALGreen requires mandatory inspections of energy systems (furnaces, heat pumps, air conditioners, and other mechanical equipment) for nonresidential buildings with over 10,000 square feet of floor space to make sure they're operating at maximum capacity and according to their design efficiencies. New buildings must reduce water consumption by 20%, divert 50% of construction waste from landfills, and install materials that emit low amounts of indoor pollutants. Separate water meters are required for nonresidential buildings' indoor and outdoor water use, with a requirement for moisture-sensing irrigation systems for larger landscape projects.

While water conservation is a priority unto itself, it's also directly tied to energy consumption. A 2005 report from the California Energy Commission (CEC) found that water use consumes 19% of the state's electricity, 30% of its natural gas, and at least 88 billion gallons of diesel fuel per year, although those figures included water heating. See the CEC report (PDF 1.3 MB).

The California Air Resources Board estimates the mandatory provisions will reduce GHG emissions by the equivalent of 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2020. Upon passing state building inspection, California's property owners will have the ability to label their facilities as CALGreen compliant without using additional third-party certification programs. See the governor's press release and the Web site for the California Building Standards Commission, which has not yet posted the CALGreen code.

DOE Awards $20.5M to Community Renewable Energy Projects

DOE selected five community-based renewable energy projects to receive more than $20.5 million in Recovery Act funds. The projects involve biomass, solar, and wind energy installations in California, Colorado, Vermont, and Wisconsin, combining the Recovery Act funds with $167 million in local government and private industry funds.

From a district energy system fueled with sustainably-harvested wood chips in Vermont to California's first "solar highway" of roadside solar systems, the projects will serve as models for other local governments, campuses, and small utilities.

California's Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) will build 1,500 kW of concentrating and flat-plate solar PV systems along a 2-mile stretch of highway. SMUD will also install a digester to convert sewage and a variety of food wastes into biogas, producing 3 MW of power, along with a 600 kW molten carbonate fuel cell and two anaerobic digesters to convert dairy waste into 500 kW of combined heat and power (CHP).

The University of California at Davis will use a digester to produce biogas from organic wastes. The biogas will power a 300 kW fuel cell, which will work in combination with an advanced battery system to provide power to the campus' West Village - a new mixed-use community that's aiming for net-zero energy use.