SAN FRANCISCO—The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) joined California business leaders earlier this month to launch a 2010-2012 Zero Net Energy Action Plan designed to help California commercial building owners take advantage of the latest technologies and financial incentives to help reduce building energy use to “net-zero” through greater efficiency and on-site clean energy production.
“This is an innovative action plan to transform the state’s commercial buildings into clean energy powered, energy-efficient structures by 2030,” said CPUC commissioner Dian M. Grueneich. “Zero net energy isn’t just a big, bold goal—it’s a reality today. By tapping into the innovation and entrepreneurialism that made California the largest builder of zero net energy buildings in the nation, this action plan will succeed.”
Zero net energy (ZNE) buildings have a net energy consumption of zero over a typical year. On-site solar, wind, and other renewable energy resources generate the amount of energy used by the building. To date, California has more ZNE buildings than any other state in the nation. Technologies needed to achieve ZNE—including high performance lighting and distributed generation such as rooftop solar—are widely available and incentivized.
Energy is one of the biggest expenses of building ownership, yet it is the one cost that owners have the most control over. Moving toward ZNE will help building owners better manage energy costs and become more energy independent, and at the same time help the state take a big bite out of overall energy consumption. Buildings consume more electricity than any other sector in California. About 5 billion square feet of commercial building space accounts for 38 percent of the state’s power use and more than 25 percent of the state’s natural gas consumption.
The Zero Net Energy Action Plan was developed through a collaborative 11-month period and represents the work of more than 150 stakeholders in commercial building, architecture, finance, clean energy, technology, and various state agencies. The action plan lays out a path to implement California’s Long-Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan for the commercial sector, published in 2008, which identified ZNE as one of the Big Bold Energy Efficiency Strategies (BBEES). Altogether, the Strategic Plan’s BBEES will save an estimated 2,056 MW, avoiding the need for four new 500 MW power plants. The action plan identifies specific actions, timelines, and “champions” to achieve time-bound milestones in California’s Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan.
For more information and to download the ZNE Action Plan, visit www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/energy/Energy+Efficiency/eesp/.
