In order to meet the Paris Agreement to slow global warming and limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, we will need to eliminate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by half by 2030 and completely by 2050¹.

Most Californian homes and businesses primarily rely on gas for space heating, water heating, and other business and industrial uses². As a result, in our homes and businesses, we are continuously producing GHG emissions such as Sulphur Oxides, Carbon Dioxide, and Nitrogen Oxides, which contribute to the global temperature rise.

Public agencies like cities and counties are preparing to address this challenge through climate and sustainability plans that involve GHG reduction. However, defining and implementing a decarbonization strategy is just one of the many priorities tasked to public agencies, and a specialized, complex industry like electrification can feel like a labyrinth. How can cities and countries navigate through a decarbonization plan, making the best long-term decisions for their assets?

Clean Power Alliance Offering Building Electrification Assistance Services

Clean Power Alliance (CPA), a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) located in Southern California, chose Lincus, Inc. (Lincus), a technical consultant, to assist their member agencies to identify, limit, and eliminate harmful emissions from within their building portfolio. As a part of CPA’s directive, Lincus will help define and design pathways to electrify buildings owned and operated by member agencies.

To support this program, CPA is providing $250,000 to each participating member agency. The sum will be used to cover Lincus’ end-to-end technical consulting support for the member agency, and these funds will also be applied toward equipment investments, installation costs, and site improvements that may be needed.

Recognizing that each public agency has unique goals in infrastructure upgrades, the program empowers each to maximize use of CPA funds through flexible, individualized consulting plans. Lincus will tailor the scope of work for each city or county based on their decarbonization plans and desired outcomes.

This generous program is a reflection of CPA’s commitment to both climate action and customer service. While building electrification in new and existing buildings can be complex, it presents the lowest cost pathway to reduce emissions with immediate economic and health benefits for CPA’s customers. In addition to GHG reductions, member agencies have the opportunity to improve indoor air quality by eliminating on-site gas emissions.

Building Decarbonization Program End-to-End Implementation

In partnership with CPA and the member agency, Lincus will investigate and select decarbonization pathways through electrification for the member agency’s commercial buildings. This support covers the entire life cycle of the project, from the initial emissions estimate through identifying resources for plan implementation.

A successful electrification project requires coordination of many moving pieces. Once audits are completed and emission reduction goals are identified, the Lincus team will help create viable electrification (decarbonization) pathways through technical and optional project management support. The member agency should not only understand the economic benefit, but also be empowered to move through permitting process issues and replacement equipment choices.

In practice, this building decarbonization program will cover four major phases:

  • Developing electrification plan: Initial feasibility screenings, energy benchmarking, site visits, and electrification plans and peer reviews.
  • Technical assistance: Finalized design, construction documents, RFP assistance, and technical services.
  • Funding package: Summary table, funding memo, and agency approval to proceed.
  • Implementation support: As requested, bid evaluation, equipment evaluation, project management and permitting support, and commissioning support

Moving through these phases with a trusted technical partner like Lincus allows CPA’s member agencies to successfully navigate the decarbonization journey within their commercial building portfolio.

Lincus as an Established Partner in Building Electrification

As CPA’s trusted partner in this program, Lincus brings decades of experience working with public agencies in the decarbonization space. Our consultants understand the challenges of infrastructure projects, particularly as cities and counties are faced with increased competition for resources and technical capabilities.

Through CPA’s forward-thinking programming, member agencies have the opportunity to meet their decarbonization goals with the support of an experienced technical consultant at every stage of the project.

CPA’s interested member agencies can apply to this program by visiting the Energized Communities website or sending an email to EnergizedCommunities@cleanpoweralliance.org.

If you’re interested in learning more about building electrification pathways for decarbonization, Lincus can help. Contact us today.

 

¹ https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/net-zero-coalition

² https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=52999