Regional Dashboard
1. Energy - Renewable Energy
2. Energy - Residential Electricity Consumption
photo: sapphireenergy.com
1. Energy - Renewable Energy
What is the measure?
Percent of total electricity supply generated from renewable
sources for SDG&E’s service area.
How are we doing?
In 2010, SDG&E made
progress toward reaching state mandated goals by increasing renewable
energy to 11.9% of total sales, and was able to achieve compliance using
flexible credits from previous years. SDG&E reached 20%
renewable by the end of 2011 and more gains are expected within the next two
years as more projects come on line. Substantial progress was made in the addition
of residential and non-residential solar installations, equaling an overall 28%
increase in capacity in the region from the beginning of 2010 to 2011. The
complexity of permitting requirements continues
to hamper the deployment of both large-scale and more distributed small-scale
renewable generation.
Why is it important?
- The majority of San Diego County’s electricity is currently sourced from fossil fuels, primarily natural gas. Although much cleaner than other fossil fuels, burning natural gas produces greenhouse gas and other emissions that contribute to poor air quality and climate change.
- Increasing renewable energy improves air quality, reduces public health costs, and increases energy security for the region by diversifying our energy portfolio.
- The State of California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)
currently requires electric utilities to increase procurement from eligible
renewable energy resources to 20% of their retail sales during the 2011-2013
timeframe, and to 33% by 2020.
How can we improve?
Policy Options:
- Pre-permit regional or multi-jurisdictional “renewable energy parks” in appropriate areas for large-scale projects.
- Pursue a uniform permitting process and revise zoning requirements to encourage small-scale distributed generation installations throughout the County.
- Provide more financing options and incentives for consumers and businesses who want to install renewable energy capacity.
Energy - Residential Electricity Consumption
What is the measure?
Total per capita per day residential electricity use.
How are we doing?
Per
capita residential electricity consumption decreased
3.5% in 2010, moving closer to the SANDAG regional goal of a 20% reduction
from 2007 by 2030. California’s Public Utilities Commission and the California
Energy Commission recently set more ambitious goals to reduce residential
energy consumption by 20% by 2015 and by 40% by 2020. San Diego County consumes
an average of 10% less residential
electricity per capita than the state average, likely due to the temperate
climate of the region. The
economic downturn continues to play a role in the consumption decline, as did
mild weather in 2010.
A substantial opportunity exists to
increase energy efficiency in almost 800,000 homes in the County built before
the State’s 1982 energy efficiency building performance standards were
implemented. Even newer buildings
constructed in the last two decades can achieve significant savings due to
recent progress in energy efficiency technologies.
Why is it important?
- Ample and affordable energy is critical to every aspect of our residential life and economic development.
- Meeting our energy needs through efficiency and conservation is 3-5 times less expensive than deriving energy from fossil fuels or renewable sources.
- Using less energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions, improves the region’s air quality and reduces public health spending resulting from air pollution.
- According
to a 2010 Department of Defense report, increasing energy efficiency and
renewable energy will improve energy security by lessening the impacts of
energy price fluctuations, conflicts abroad and natural disasters.
How can we improve?
Policy Options:
- Support new financing options to assist residents and businesses to make efficiency improvements by allowing them to repay such investments over a longer period of time.
- Support a disclosure policy that would provide information to buyers about the energy performance of a home or building.
- Create or support programs that train and deploy energy-efficiency auditors/HVAC and weatherization specialists, such as the training workshops offered by the California Center for Sustainable Energy).
- Simplify and build awareness for programs that incentivize homeowners to conduct energy audits and implement whole house energy efficiency retrofits, such as Energy Upgrade California. Support programs to educate residents on the savings opportunities and benefits of Smart Meters and Home Area Networks.