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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/3/2019 Item 18, Cochran Purrington, Teresa From:June Cochran <gradofcal@yahoo.com> Sent:Friday, August 30, 2019 1:38 PM To:CityClerk Subject:In Support of the Reach Codes Attachments:decarbinazation info.docx Hi All, These two documents have all the talking points I want to make in support of the reach code you are considering. Please have the courage to make this bold and correct stance. As one of our panelists at the Electrify Everything event August 22 indicated, why build a house that will need to be retrofitted by 2050? That makes no sense. Thank you for your consideration, June Cochran SLO Could Pass the Next Landmark Clean Energy Building Code SLO Could Pass the Next Landmark Clean Energy Building Code San Luis Obispo could become one of the first cities in the state to pass landmark policy aimed at transitioning... 1 GAS TOPLINE MESSAGES: HEALTH, POLLUTION, COSTS HEALTH ● For decades, California has been battling poor air quality. Transitioning off of gas will not only limit toxic emissions and major sources of harmful chemicals, it will cut the amount of pollutants that people breath indoors - protecting everyone in their homes. ● Burning gas in home appliances like furnaces, hot water heaters and stoves produces toxic pollutants that are bad for our health. ○ Gas appliances release dangerous toxins including nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitric oxide and ultrafine particles, as well as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, all of which are harmful to human health.1 ○ This leads to air pollution levels in many homes using gas that would be illegal if  measured outside.  ○ A review of numerous studies shows that cooking with gas increases nitrogen  dioxide, degrades indoor air quality, and increases the risk of respiratory illnesses  in children, including asthma.   ○ In fact, children living in a home with a gas stove have a 42 percent increased risk  of current asthma and a 24 percent increased lifetime risk of  asthma.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23962958  ○ And it is vulnerable communities that are impacted most, low‐income  communities, minorities, and especially people with asthma and young children ‐  a recent study found that gas stoves may be responsible for up to 12 percent of  childhood asthma cases.  ● We burn as much gas in our homes and buildings as we do in our power plants, but our power plants have pollution controls - our homes do not, leaving us vulnerable to dangerous air pollution and health impacts. ● Recent research shows we can save 10,000 lives and $108 billion/yr by 2050 if we replace energy from burning fossil fuels w/electricity in buildings & vehicles in California. https://www.energy.ca.gov/2019publications/CEC-500-2019-049/CEC-500-2019-049.pdf POLLUTION The energy used to power and heat buildings is the largest source of climate pollution in the world and here in California, buildings are second only to transportation as the leading source of GHG emissions. But the Golden State lacks a clear plan to reduce these emissions - more than half of which come from using fossil fuels like gas in our homes, schools and businesses. 1 Source: See, Jennifer Logue et al., “Pollutant Exposures from Natural Gas Cooking Burners: A Simulation-Based Assessment for Southern California” Environmental Health Perspectives Vol. 122 No. 1 pp. 43-50, (2013); Victoria Klug and Brett Singer.“Cooking Appliance Use in California Homes—Data Collected from a Web-based Survey.” Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (August 2011); John Manuel, “A Healthy Home Environment?” Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 107, No. 7 1999, pp. 352–357; Nasim Mullen et al. “Impact of Natural Gas Appliances on Pollutant Levels in California Homes” Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2012. ● Nationally, building emissions spiked last year - rising ten percent and driving one of the largest national emissions increases in two decades. ● In California, buildings account for 25 percent of our total emissions - second only to transportation as the leading source of climate pollution. ● We burn as much gas in our homes and buildings as we do in our power plants. ● To solve this problem, California must transition to all-electric, zero-emission appliances as quickly as possible. ● The latest studies show that moving from gas to clean, electric appliances can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and climate pollution from homes by up to 60 percent in 2020 and by up to 90 percent in 2050. ● Transitioning to all-electric buildings is the most effective strategy to meet this level of decarbonization in this time frame. ● Gas appliances in buildings make up a quarter of the state’s NOx emissions, the main ingredient in smog. Electrifying buildings will reduce NOx and ground level ozone, improving air quality and improving public health. Cities and counties across California are already taking steps to help their residents access cleaner heating and cooking technologies. ● Cities like Carlsbad, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Berkeley, San Jose, Santa Monica and San Francisco have already taken actions like implementing building codes and other measures to create healthier homes and buildings - and this is just the start. ● More than 50 local jurisdictions are considering building codes and ordinances designed to facilitate the transition off of gas appliances to all-electric clean energy homes and buildings. ● These communities are supported by more than a twenty health, business, labor and environmental organizations who have called on local governments to lead this transition. COSTS Gas is expensive ● Using gas in your home and workplace is getting more expensive - SoCalGas has proposed rate increases that will raise the price of gas 45 percent over the next three years - causing utility bills to spike. ● And it won’t end there, new research shows gas rates escalating for residential customers for decades to come in California. ● Electrification can help to shield customers - especially lower-income communities - from the volatile prices of fossil fuels. While all-electric homes have been proven to save money. A growing body of evidence shows that electrifying the state’s homes and buildings is the most cost-effective, consumer-friendly way to reduce pollution from buildings. Research from E3 (April, 2019) shows California homeowners and developers can expect considerable financial SAVINGS from building and living in all-electric homes compared to homes that use gas for heating and cooking. ● Homeowners and developers can save between $130 – $540 per year for all-electric new construction compared to homes that burn gas. ● More than three quarters of new all-electric homes will save at least $15 every month on equipment and energy bills over the life of the equipment relative to new homes that use gas. ● Single-family homeowners that retrofit their homes can also see savings of between $10-$60 each month on energy bills ● Developers can build more quickly and affordably by avoiding gas hookups - which lowers the price of the home while also providing long-term energy savings to the homeowner. ○ Given that for every $1,000 increase in housing cost in California, 10,000 people are priced out of buying a home (according to a recent study by the National Association of Home Builders), these affordability measures will increase the pool of prospective homebuyers and help meet the state’s housing needs. ● An independent NRDC study found that gas rates are increasing much faster than electricity and gas is going to get more expensive over the next four years.2 RESILIENCY Gas negatively impacts the resiliency of cities in disasters. Not only are gas lines and leaks a dangerous liability during fires, they are a liability for recovery, as gas lines are more difficult to repair following disasters than electric infrastructure. ● Electric appliances in conjunction with battery storage technology combined with renewable energy generation such as rooftop solar can operate absent the grid’s electric supply chain during disasters. ● In case of electricity outages during a disaster or in preparation for high winds, neither new natural gas nor electric water heaters or stoves will function normally, because so many natural gas appliances require electricity to start. So having more gas infrastructure as a backup will become increasingly less useful. ○ Also electric heat-pump water heaters hold substantial amounts of hot water, ready to use in case of a disaster. In electrical power outages, it is thus advantageous to have electric hot water heating. OTHER STUDIES ● California homeowners could save $1,500 upfront, and hundreds of dollars annually in reduced operating costs thereafter, with the installation of electric heat pumps instead of natural-gas furnaces in new construction. 2 SoCalGas recently requested approval for a 45-percent revenue increase over 4 years from the California Public Utilities Commission ● Research from E3 shows building electrification is the fastest, safest and most cost- effective way to cut pollution from buildings & deliver cleaner air for California. ● Fuel-switching and electrification can save money for small businesses. A recent study3 of the lifetime costs and benefits of fuel switching an entire city building stock in Palo Alto to be all-electric (including capping the pipes) showed that commercial building owners would save money by going all-electric. ● Zero-net energy homes save homeowners money every month and quickly pay for themselves. In San Francisco, the payback period is less than 8 years. (Rocky Mountain Institute) ● One in every four U.S. homes is all-electric, according to the EIA’s 2015 Residential Energy Consumption Survey. The share of all-electric homes has risen in each census region over the past decade. 3 City of Palo Alto hired TRC to study “Commercial Building Electrification in Palo Alto” 2016. This study annualized the associated utility bill, maintenance cost and amortized upfront cost over the lifetime of the equipment. Regarding gas safety, I'm pasting below part of a draft report I'm working on that talking about the safety hazards of gas. Feel free to use any of these stats for talking points. Electrification improves safety Aliso Canyon (2015/16), Bakersfield (2015), Carmel (2014), San Bruno (2010), and Rancho  Cordova (2008),  and the recent fires in North Carolina, Massachusetts, and San Francisco are  but a few of the important and unfortunate reminders of the gas system’s inherent  risks.   [R1] A  strategic and managed transition off gas can mitigate safety risks from California’s aging gas  system, including:    Gas leaks and fires after earthquakes:  Communities with gas pipelines in  earthquake‐prone areas of California face increased risks of fires since vibration and  changes in pipeline tension during seismic events can result in leaking gas that fuels  fires. Aging pipelines and associated equipment, and inflexible pipeline materials are  vulnerable to shifts in the earth and buildings that put additional stress on pipelines,  causing cracks and methane leaks.  The California Seismic Safety Commission estimates  up to half of total post‐earthquake fires are related to gas leaks.[i]   In 2017, California gas utilities lost over six billion cubic feet of methane into the air from the gas  system, costing California ratepayers over $18 million annually. This is more spilled gas every year than  the entire Aliso Canyon blowout of 2015 and 2016, which is considered the single worst gas leak in  U.S. history.  Gas system vulnerability to climate change:  California has over 150 thousand  miles of gas pipelines[ii]crisscrossing the state. The California Energy Commission warns  that much of California’s gas system— particularly pipelines along the state’s waterways  and coasts— is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, like sea level rise, storms,  flooding and associated erosion. [iii], [iv]     Fires from everyday methane leaks:  The state’s aging gas system is leakier  than previously estimated—not just at the transmission level, but along distribution  pipelines and even inside our homes and buildings. Sierra Club’s review of methane  leakage research shows 2.3 percent to upwards of 4.5 percent of the methane that runs  through the gas system leaks before it even gets to our homes and buildings.[v]  Adding  onto this, some portion of gas that comes through the residential gas meter  leaks inside our homes and apartment buildings.[vi]  Methane leakage is a serious safety  risk, as it can cause fires that lead to injuries or death.[vii] [R2]  Gas fires and explosions from third party contractors: Perhaps the most  common reason for pipeline ignition is private contractors who strike gas infrastructure  with earthmoving and other equipment.  Although utilities spend millions of dollars  every year in education and outreach, and operate a call‐in number for third parties to  notify them before they dig, several gas line strikes happen every year, some of which  ignite with deadly results (San Francisco, California (2019)). As long as explosive material  is running through a vast network of underground pipes, this problem cannot be  eliminated with outreach and training alone.   Explosions and fires from over‐pressurization:  Over‐pressurization of gas  mains can cause dangerous explosions resulting in fire, destruction of homes and entire  communities, injuries, and fatalities. While these events are typically caused by human‐ error, their regular occurrence demonstrates a commonality and expectation of  reoccurrence.  Aging gas pipelines are vulnerable to over‐pressurization and are also  very costly to replace at approximately $1 million per mile.[viii]  A pressure surge in a  gas pipeline that exceeds the maximum set pressure can result in a catastrophic loss of  integrity and potential explosion, as evidenced in San Bruno, California (2010) and  recently in Andover, Massachusetts (2018).   Electrifying entire communities particularly where there is aging and/or vulnerable gas  infrastructure should be a key precautionary strategy to mitigate the growing risks of California’s  massive gas system.  [i] California Seismic Safety Commission, Improving Natural Gas Safety in Earthquakes, (Adopted July 11, 2002), p. 1. Available at http://ssc.ca.gov/forms_pubs/cssc_2002‐03_natural_gas_safety.pdf [ii] Add citation for: http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/general.aspx?id=4802 [iii] Radke, J. D., G. S. Biging, M. Schmidt‐Poolman, H. Foster, E. Roe, Y. Ju, O. Hoes, T. Beach, A. Alruheil, L. Meier,  W. Hsu, R. Neuhausler, W. Fourt, W. Lang, U. Garcia I. Reeves (University of California, Berkeley). 2016. Assessment  of Bay Area Natural Gas Pipeline Vulnerability to Climate Change. California Energy Commission. Publication  number: CEC‐500‐2017‐008 [iv] Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Fact Sheet: External Corrosion, available  at https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/Comm/FactSheets/FSExternalCorrosion.htm [v] Sources: For 2.3% rate, EDF, http://science.sciencemag.org/content/361/6398/186; For 4.5% rate, San Francisco  Department of the Environment, https://sfenvironment.org/sites/default/files/fliers/files/methane‐math_natural‐ gas‐report_final.pdf, average of studies they considered, see table 1 in their paper. [vi] Recent analysis by LBNL of X# of homes found that 0.5%...Additional research on a larger sample size is  underway. [vii] National Transportation Safety Board, Pipeline Accident Brief, available  at https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/PAB1001.pdf [viii] http://www.ncsl.org/documents/energy/KRogers1213.pdf [R1]See Pierre’s email and Sean’s reminder: “p. 8 and 9 would benefit from the nearly one-a-day explosion statistic: 3 Joseph, G. (2016). “30 Years of Oil and Gas Pipeline Accidents, Mapped.” Citylab.” [R2]COPYEDITORS or DESIGN team – This is citation for text box – can’t add in MS Word: http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/uploadedFiles/CPUC_Website/Content/Safety/Risk_Assessment/Methane _Leaks/2017%20NGLA%20Joint%20Report%2012-21-18.pdf 8/30/2019 SLO Could Pass the Next Landmark Clean Energy Building Code | NRDC https://www.nrdc.org/experts/pierre-delforge/slo-could-pass-next-landmark-clean-energy-building-code 1/6 Momentum is building across California to address a longstanding pollution blind spot: natural gas use in buildings. With a city council vote next week, San Luis Obispo, the coastal city of 48,000 halfway between LA and San Francisco, could become one of the first cities in the state to pass landmark policy aimed at transitioning to zero- emission electric homes and businesses that are cleaner, safer, and more affordable for their occupants. E X P E R T B L O G › P I E R R E D E L F O R G E SLO Could Pass the Next Landmark Clean Energy Building Code August 29, 2019 Pierre Delforge We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. — Privacy and Cookie Policy ✓Accept Cookies 8/30/2019 SLO Could Pass the Next Landmark Clean Energy Building Code | NRDC https://www.nrdc.org/experts/pierre-delforge/slo-could-pass-next-landmark-clean-energy-building-code 2/6 The Clean Energy Choice for New Buildings program would amend the local building code to accelerate the transition to zero-emission electric buildings, while providing options to those who still want to develop buildings with gas: Such projects would need to meet higher energy efficiency standards, and would be required to offset the pollution from their gas use by paying an in-lieu fee to help retrofit existing buildings. Promoting the switch to electricity in buildings is a key way to meet the city's goal of carbon neutrality by 2035—residential and commercial buildings are responsible for one-quarter of California’s greenhouse gas emissions—and it also offers direct health and economic benefits to residents by avoiding the indoor air pollution, fire risks especially during earthquakes, and rapidly increasing gas prices. San Luis Obispo and Berkeley are far from alone in recognizing the imperative for change. The City of Carlsbad has already adopted a “reach code”—in other words, a local building energy code that goes beyond state requirements—to require electric heat pump or solar thermal water heating for new construction. And more than 50 iStock We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. — Privacy and Cookie Policy ✓Accept Cookies 8/30/2019 SLO Could Pass the Next Landmark Clean Energy Building Code | NRDC https://www.nrdc.org/experts/pierre-delforge/slo-could-pass-next-landmark-clean-energy-building-code 3/6 cities and counties across California are pursuing similar local codes to shift to zero- emission electric new construction. NRDC has signed a letter of support urging San Luis Obispo (SLO) councilmembers to pass this reach code ordinance, and I recently joined a panel to discuss the many reasons why going all-electric is a smart choice. First, all-electric homes cost less and are faster to build than those heated with gas—without the need for connecting the building to the gas line in the street, installing a gas meter, gas piping in the building, and combustion venting and safety equipment, all of which save money and time—an advantage in San Luis Obispo’s ongoing housing crisis. Building all-electric also lowers utility bills, shielding customers from hikes in gas prices. For example, Southern California Gas company—which serves SLO—has requested rate increases of 42 percent between 2018 and 2022, and Energy and Environmental Economics (E3) reported in its draft Future of Gas study for the We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. — Privacy and Cookie Policy ✓Accept Cookies 8/30/2019 SLO Could Pass the Next Landmark Clean Energy Building Code | NRDC https://www.nrdc.org/experts/pierre-delforge/slo-could-pass-next-landmark-clean-energy-building-code 4/6 California Energy Commission that it expects gas rates to continue to increase rapidly through 2050, making gas increasingly unaffordable. Most importantly, San Luis Obispo's ordinance will improve air quality and health for its residents, both indoors and out. Since Californians spend 68 percent of their time indoors on average, burning gas inside the home poses no small health risk: the resulting indoor air pollution includes nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and ultra-fine particles, which have been liked to increased rates of asthma, particularly in children and the elderly. Research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has found that air pollution levels in 60 percent of homes that use gas stoves for cooking exceed levels that would be illegal outdoors. By voting for the Clean Energy Choice for New Buildings ordinance, San Luis Obispo's councilmembers will position their city to lead a wave of other cities and counties across California in constructing a cleaner, healthier, safer, and more affordable future. A BOUT THE AUT HOR S We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. — Privacy and Cookie Policy ✓Accept Cookies 8/30/2019 SLO Could Pass the Next Landmark Clean Energy Building Code | NRDC https://www.nrdc.org/experts/pierre-delforge/slo-could-pass-next-landmark-clean-energy-building-code 5/6 P I E R R E D E L F O R G E Senior Scientist, Building Decarbonization, Climate & Clean Energy Program Want to join the fight? We're hiring. SUP P O RT OUR WOR K $3 5 $5 0 $7 5 $1 0 0 $2 0 0 O T H E R DONATE We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. — Privacy and Cookie Policy ✓Accept Cookies 8/30/2019 SLO Could Pass the Next Landmark Clean Energy Building Code | NRDC https://www.nrdc.org/experts/pierre-delforge/slo-could-pass-next-landmark-clean-energy-building-code 6/6 JO IN U S When you sign up you'll become a member of NRDC's Activist Network. We will keep you informed with the latest alerts and progress reports. © Natural Resources Defense Council 2019 Privacy Policy State Disclosures Enter Email S U B M I T We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. — Privacy and Cookie Policy ✓Accept Cookies