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The California Energy Commission’s Renewables Committee this week outlined ways to comply with SB 1, which requires that the Commission establish eligibility criteria, conditions for incentives, and equipment rating standards for ratepayer funded solar energy system programs in the state. Among the subjects during the August 22 workshop were energy efficiency recommendations. They include having: - All newly-constructed residential buildings in the state adhere to the New Solar Homes Partnership Tier I and Tier II criteria and that energy efficiency incentives be made available for each tier. Tier I mandates 15 percent reduction in a residential building’s combined space heating, space cooling, and water heating energy compared to the current Title 24 Standards, while Tier II mandates a 35 percent reduction. - Newly constructed commercial buildings also adhere to a tier structure, one similar, but not identical, to the New Solar Homes Partnership. Energy Commission staff has suggested that a Tier I minimum requirement for qualifying for solar incentives be set at 15 percent beyond the Title 24 Standards, and that Tier II--the preferred level--be set at 30 percent beyond Title 24 Standards and that energy efficiency incentives be given for each tier. - Existing commercial buildings meet the expectations of the Governor’s Green Building Initiative and that all commercial buildings be benchmarked using Energy Star’s portfolio manager. If the rating is at 75 or above and the building is equal to or smaller than 50,000 square feet, no further action would be required. But if the rating’s less than 75 or the building’s larger than 50,000 sq. ft., repairs and adjustments would be implemented or cost-effective measures installed to achieve a minimum rating level of 75. - Existing residential buildings would be subject to the CPUC’s current requirement for an online energy audit. Energy Commission staff is recommending that the CPUC subsidize an investigation to determine what measures have been installed by applicants as a result of the online audit. Staff also wants utilities to establish a benchmarking system that compares the home’s energy use per square foot to the range of energy use of the utility’s residential customers to see which energy use quartile the home falls into. Homes that fall into the best quartile of energy use per square foot, 75 percent to 100 percent, would continue to follow the use of an online energy audit. Homes in the lower quartiles would be candidates for onsite investigations to determine cost-effective measures. Many stakeholders addressed the committee during the workshop, with some utility representatives saying that they supported the initiative, but had concerns about its intricacy and cost. “The additional requirements have introduced additional complexity,” said David Rubin, Pacific Gas & Electric director of service analysis. “As we step into the next phase, we want to be mindful of the additional complexity.” He also said that the initiative should perhaps focus on larger residential homes at the outset, rather than all houses. “Benchmarking and targeting makes a lot of sense,” said Andrew McCalister of the California Center for Sustainable Energy. “The question is how to do it cost effectively.” Sandy Miller of the Energy Commission’s renewable energy program said the agency hopes to fully implement the plan by Jan. 1, 2009, with all of 2008 serving as a transition period. Written comments are due by August 29 and the Commission hopes to have guidelines posted by September 20, Miller said. A workshop is scheduled for early October to discuss the staff guidelines.

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