California Energy Commission Prioritizes Building Electrification

Today we celebrate the California Energy Commission’s unanimous approval of a statewide energy policy report that identifies building electrification as an essential strategy to curb climate and air pollution. This report, called the Integrated Energy Policy Report, helps to determine the agenda and goals for California’s energy policymakers.

This is a big moment.  

Less than six months after SB100 was signed into law, setting a goal for the grid to be powered with 100 percent zero-carbon energy by 2045, state regulators are now turning their attention to clean energy inside our homes.

Gas appliances like furnaces and water heaters in our homes and buildings are a major source of climate and air pollution, burning more gas and producing more greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) than all of California’s gas power plants.  

These appliances, especially gas stoves, produce unhealthy indoor air pollution that contains nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and ultrafine particles. A recent study found air pollution levels in the majority of homes with gas stoves exceed teh EPA’s standard for clean and safe air.  

While many important initiatives are underway to phase out gas use in homes and buildings (shout-out to SMUD and SB1477), the commission argues that more must be done if zero-emission electric homes and buildings are to become a reality for all Californians.

For example, priority policy reforms identified by the commission, and supported by the Sierra Club and many others, include the need to develop:

1. Zero-emission building goals for new construction;

2. A strategic inter-agency plan to cut building sector emissions 40 percent by 2030;

3. Funding mechanisms to make electrification broadly accessible to Californians;

4. State programs that support “smart” electrification to reduce reliance on gas power plants and integrate more clean energy onto the grid; and

5. New building codes focused on reducing emissions.

Symbolic of the growing movement for 100 percent clean energy inside our homes, a broad cross-section of advocates, academics, energy experts, builders, utilities, and cities, along with hundreds of Californians provided the commission with a robust regulatory record supporting smart electrification and clean energy.

Along the way, we overcame the gas industry’s pervasive lobbying and media campaign which claimed biomethane was a better alternative to electrification. Countless studies have of course concluded that biomethane is not a scalable solution: California’s total potential biomethane supply could replace only 10 percent of buildings’ gas consumption, leaving no supply for harder-to-electrify sectors. And, biomethane is subject to the same safety and health risks as fossil gas.

The California Energy Commission’s diligent review of the research and preparation of this vision-setting report is a testament to its commitment to clean energy, clean air, and climate leadership.

The end goal of zero-emission fossil-fuel free buildings is clearly marked in the sand. Along this path, we must be steadfast to ensure California’s homes and buildings are clean, affordable, and safe, while also providing a model for other states and countries.

Let’s get moving.