Sub-title-1 | Sub-title-2 | Sub-title-3 | Sub-title-4

Three Platinum Beacon Spotlight Awards for the City of Palmdale!

Three Platinum Beacon Spotlight Awards for the City of Palmdale!

10.24postpic2

 

The Institute for Local Government’s Beacon Program recognizes the efforts of local governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy and adopt policies and programs that promote sustainability. This year, SoCalREN helped the City of Palmdale apply for and receive Platinum Beacon Spotlight Awards in the category of agency natural gas savings, electricity savings, and sustainability best practices.

The City of Palmdale received a Platinum Award, the highest distinction of the Beacon Program. While agencies that demonstrate a minimum of 20% in realized energy savings are eligible for the Beacon Program, the City of Palmdale achieved double the savings minimum, with over 40% for the electricity and natural gas savings award category!

 

10.24post2.2.png

 

In previous years, the City of Palmdale had completed several lighting projects with the support of SoCalREN. And, in June 2020 the City of Palmdale began its work with SoCalREN Public Agency Programs to upgrade its natural gas pool boilers and pool covers in various recreational facilities. Read on to learn how SoCalREN’s energy efficiency support services enabled the City to meet the energy related elements of the award criteria!

 

10.24post2.3.png

 

Upgrading natural gas pool boilers to their energy-efficient counterparts can significantly reduce energy use and cost. By replacing pool boilers in several of its parks, the City of Palmdale is estimated to achieve lifetime bill savings of $420,000!

With support from SoCalREN’s financing services, the City of Palmdale secured over $158,000 in zero-interest On-Bill Financing from SoCalGas and qualified to receive over $51,000 through the SoCalGas Energy Efficiency Rebate Program.

Installing pool covers can significantly reduce pool heating costs and evaporation for both indoor and outdoor pools. SoCalREN helped the City of Palmdale secure over $25,000 through the SoCalGas Energy Efficiency Rebate Program to reduce the project’s total capital costs!

 

10.24post2.4.png

 

Replacing traditional lighting with energy-efficient LEDs has many benefits including reduced maintenance costs, improved comfort and safety, and significant energy savings. The City of Palmdale pursued several interior, park, and street and lighting replacement projects at 15 sites across the city. These sites include recreational parks and centers, city-wide streets, and libraries. Through SoCalREN, the City secured over $2 million of incentives to help reduce lighting upgrade costs!

SoCalREN’s no cost support services and expertise enabled the agency to achieve cumulative gas energy savings of over 78,000 therms and electricity savings of over 7 million kWh each year! That’s equivalent to greenhouse gas emissions savings from driving over a million miles in an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle.

10.24post2.5.png

 

SoCalREN is proud to support the agency’s team, who all showed dedication, focus, and great enthusiasm for completing the projects that contributed to their Beacon Award recognition.

 

10.24post2.7.PNG

 

We thank Palmdale for placing their trust in our team and look forward to continuing to partner with the city to upgrade facilities to better serve their community!

Are you interested in implementing a similar project? Reach out to your SoCalREN Project Manager to get started. Don’t have a SoCalREN Project Manager? No worries! Fill out the registration form at socalren.org/join to get started.

Making a Difference

In 2019, the SoCalREN Workforce Education and Training Program enrolled 67 ACES in the Program, established 20 new partnerships leading to 29 paid internships to participants, and conducted over 300 hours of training. 

By registering on socalren.org/agencies/register, public agencies can now gain access to an extensive library of information, tools, templates, and case studies while being introduced to exciting new program opportunities. 

SoCalREN also offers financial services for public agencies to obtain the necessary incentives or financing to make projects a reality. Reducing energy use reduces costs for public agencies, freeing up scarce public resources for services like public safety, firefighting, and educational resources. 

SoCalREN works collaboratively with engineering firms, contractors, Local Government Partnerships, Southern California Edison, and SoCalGas to ensure streamlined, “one-stop” services to customers. 

13,740 tenant units improved, $7,161,042 improvement incentives paid to multifamily properties, and 180 construction jobs created all in the 2019 calendar year. 

In 2019, 53 percent of the projects completed were performed in disadvantaged communities. These projects achieved 3,597,973 kWh gross (3,058,277 GWh net) and 194,514 therms gross (165,337 therms net).  

The SoCalREN Multifamily Program helps customers identify and prioritize project opportunities to achieve a percentage savings above baseline usage, regardless of utility. This allows property owners to make informed facility improvement decisions that best meet their property’s needs. 

The mission of SoCalREN is to harness the collective action of public agencies to save energy and lead their communities on the pathway to a safe, secure, resilient, affordable and sustainable energy future.

In 2019 SoCalREN achieved 17,692,420 kWh (39% DAC), 707 kW (47% DAC) and 15,203 (100% DAC) of energy savings, while supporting 260 construction jobs and paying out a total of $6.5 million in incentives. 

In 2019, SoCalREN’s energy efficiency programs collectively achieved 6,920,487 kWh and 492,655 therms of energy savings. 

SoCalREN works across 12 counties with one common goal: achieving unprecedented levels of energy savings throughout Southern California by delivering programs and information to the communities, businesses, and 20 million people who call the area home.

SoCalREN Workforce Education and Training Program serves as a response to high demand for skilled labor in the energy sector through targeted youth workforce education and training, small business training regarding current energy efficiency programs, and local public agency opportunities. 

SoCalREN’s Workforce Education and Training Program continually pursues new ways to provide greater employment opportunity to under-represented individuals performing energy efficiency project work. 

The Metered Savings Program, Pathway to Zero, and the Revolving Savings Fund aim to overcome significant market barriers and harness the collective actions of Southern California public agencies to save energy. These programs work together seamlessly as companion programs and have expanded services available to agencies to drive deeper energy efficiency savings and create more sustainable communities. 

In Q4 2019, the Residential Community Coordinator (RCC) Program interacted with nearly 748 customers through participation in 13 community events and seminars. These outreach events targeted Hispanic and Chinese audiences and successfully increased program awareness in these communities. SoCalREN’s RCC Program will continue to provide in-language support to hard-to-reach customers and provide opportunities for these customers to save money and add value to their multifamily properties. 

The Architecture, Construction, and Engineering Students Pathway Program provides education and career pathways for disadvantaged youth. The Program improves educational achievement and removes barriers to higher education by co-enrolling high school students in community college courses in science, technology, engineering, art, and math fields. 

  • 0
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15

Professionalism of consultants and SoCalREN Public Agency Program staff has been high. The program is more hands on and personal than other programs we have used before.
— Alice Rod, Management Analyst, Administrative Services, City of Moreno Valley

SoCalREN has done a wonderful job and we both have learned a lot since we began working together. We are happy to be part of a collaborative partnership to save energy and the environment through the SoCalREN Public Agency Program.
— Dave Marshall, Facilities Services Director, Ventura Unified School District

With the SoCalREN Public Agency Program, we are able to do things that would not have been done otherwise. Technical expertise has been a huge help. It has been great working with everyone in the SoCalREN Public Agency Program!
— Benjamin Lucha, Sr. Administrative Analyst, City of Palmdale

I can truly say we would have not gotten this far this fast in such a cost-effective manner without SoCalREN’s guidance and technical assistance every step of the way. In short, the SoCalREN Public Agency Program is a fantastic program to assist local governments in energy efficiency that will pay dividends for years to come.
— Charles Herbertson, Public Works Director/City Engineer for Culver City

Their level of expertise and professionalism has been unsurpassed. They have suggested things that we never thought of, and weren’t even on our radar. They have done significant amounts of work on our behalf that has resulted in substantial savings of both energy and money.
— Rick Freed, Energy Educator/Manager for Conejo Valley Unified School District

It’s a great project for Whittier. It’s green and it helps us save energy. We’re getting a lot of bang for our buck. It’s win-win-win all the way around.
— Joe Vinatieri, Mayor, City of Whittier

The SoCalREN Public Agency Program provided engineering services, project management, and the resources needed to streamline the Cucamonga Valley Water District’s energy efficiency projects from start to finish.
— Mike Maestas, Water Production Manager, CVWD