Our local work is powered by our own experiences and relationships with community members. Each member is engaged in local pilot projects, research, and community education and access efforts to spur equitable building decarbonization in our respective communities and to lift community concerns and priorities in our statewide and regional efforts.
San Joaquin Valley
San Joaquin Valley Affordable Energy Options Proceeding- Pilots
Center for Race, Poverty, & the Environment, in partnership with Leadership Counsel for Leadership and Accountability and Self-Help Enterprises, hosted a series of community listening sessions in Allensworth, Alpaugh, and Ducor to gather feedback from pilot participants of the San Joaquin Valley Affordable Energy Pilots Proceeding. Their insights were captured in a SJV Pilots Community-led Evaluation Memo that details issues that arose from the pilot program and recommendations to remedy them.
Electric Vehicles & Home Infrastructure Upgrades
Central California Asthma Collaborative (CCAC) as a lead outreach partner for the Driving Clean Assistance Program, built a statewide network of community-based organizations to provide low-income, disadvantaged community (LIDAC) residents with EV Incentives and loans in over 40 counties. CCAC’s Comprehensive Asthma Remediation and Education Services (CARES) program sends community health workers into homes of Medi-Cal patients who suffer from uncontrolled asthma to assess their home for triggers. We currently are able to leverage Medi-Cal resources to provide eligible patients with many tools and in some cases minor home improvements to improve ventilation by installing,replacing or repairing a range hood over the stove. CCAC’s long term vision includes harnessing building decarbonization with whole home retrofits, clean energy and climate solutions resources for our asthma patients with tangible improvements to their indoor air quality, health and safety.
Research on Home Electrification Impacts and Issues
In response to the San Joaquin Valley Disadvantaged Community Pilot Projects initiated by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), CCAC conducted a research project in partnership with Berkeley Air Monitoring Group to evaluate the indoor air quality impacts of whole home electrification. This study compared homes that opted for electrification with those that remained on propane. The results demonstrated meaningful differences in indoor air pollutant levels, offering new insights into the health benefits of transitioning away from fossil fuel combustion in residential settings. Another research project CCAC is currently enrolling subjects in is the Cooking & Electrification Improvements in Children with Asthma (CEVICA) is a California Energy Commission-funded study investigating the effects of interventions to reduce indoor pollutant exposures related to cooking with a natural gas stove and improve respiratory health of children with asthma. The study is replacing gas stoves with electric induction stoves in 160 homes in three San Joaquin Valley communities: Fresno, Bakersfield and Stockton. The study is being conducted in collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, UCSF, UCLA and AEA. CCAC is also a partner with Build It Green on its CEC-funded Panel Optimization Research Project, which studies diverse single-family household energy use to analyze demand and peak power in LIDAC homes, while testing low-power, load management solutions that promote electrification without costly infrastructure upgrades.
Energy Leadership Institute
In 2024, CCAC hosted an Energy Leadership Institute, a program to train local grassroots organizations about the California energy landscape and how to engage in energy policy including CPUC, CEC and CARB advocacy. After the initial cohort, many of the groups will be engaging their respective communities in conversations about their energy priorities through 2025.
Organizations
San Francisco
San Francisco Healthy & Resilient Homes Initiative
PODER and Emerald Cities Collaborative (ECC) are engaged in equitable building decarbonization demonstration projects to provide cost-free holistic electrification opportunities for low-income households and households of color at three affordable multifamily buildings in the Mission District.
San Francisco Climate Equity Hub
PODER and ECC are members of the advisory committee for the SF Climate Equity Hub, which is a one-stop resource for tenants, homeowners, contractors, etc. on building decarbonization.
Buildings Up and Heat Pumps
PODER is partnering with the San Francisco Environment Department on the Buildings Up Department of Energy grant regarding the implementation of heat pump water heaters.
EJ Communities and Grid Expansion Research
PODER is on the advisory research committee for a joint research project between UC Santa Barbara, UCLA and UC Berkeley looking at EJ communities’ interest in decarbonization informing grid expansion.
Organizations
Los Angeles
Los Angeles for Resilient and Healthy Homes
Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles (PSR-LA) and Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) serve as a steering committee members of the Los Angeles for Resilient and Healthy Homes (LARHH) coalition, which aims to advance equitable building decarbonization in Los Angeles through building ordinances and tenant protections. LARHH began as a response to the City of Los Angeles and environmental nonprofits advancing building decarbonization policies without the consideration or partnership with environmental justice stakeholders. Today, LARHH is a diverse coalition of environmental justice, labor, housing, tenant’s rights, and environmental organizations working collaboratively across sectors to ensure LA’s building decarbonization policies address not only the climate and housing crises, but also social and environmental justice.
Organizations
Hayward
Community Education on Building Decarbonization
Local Clean Energy Alliance (LCEA) is working with the City of Hayward Environmental Services Department and Cal State East Bay Public Health Department to increase community education about building decarbonization and inform the City’s electrification roadmap to ensure non-English speaking communities are able to access Hayward’s building decarbonization program, e.g. the City’s heat pump water heater and induction stove cooktop program designed for disadvantaged community members.
Organizations
Richmond
Richmond Building Decarbonization Pilot Project
The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) and the City of Richmond are creating a model for dignified, clean, green healthy homes—all while creating good local union jobs, protecting tenants and increasing our collective power through neighborhood-scale building decarbonization. Neighborhood-scale building decarbonization means improving energy efficiency, providing clean electric appliances, and installing rooftop solar and storage across entire neighborhood blocks. This way, everyone receives the health and economic benefits of getting off gas and installing rooftop solar, regardless of whether they are rich or own their home.
