The Community Energy Champions Grant Program Handbook & Caasse SSttudiesies Acterra Alviso Neighborhood Group Asian American Center of Santa Clara County Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County Center for Training and Careers City of Cupertino CreaTV San José De Anza Community College Enlighten Culture and Education Foundation Green Energy Agents Midpeninsula Community Media Center Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley Sacred Heart Community Service San José State University Research Foundation Zero1: The Art & Technology Network SILICON VALLEY About Silicon Valley Energy Watch The City of San José administers Silicon Valley Energy Watch (SVEW), a partnership with Pacifi c Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to provide energy effi ciency resources throughout Santa Clara County. Part of the State’s energy effi ciency portfolio under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), SVEW is one of 19 Local Government Partnerships in PG&E territory. SVEW works in four main areas: small business energy savings and rebates; low- and moderate-income residential energy assistance; municipal and nonprofi t energy savings and rebates; and community-wide education, outreach, and service coordination. The City has administered SVEW since 2004. SILICON VALLEY Table of Contents Page An Inno vative Solutio n • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 01 Grantee Snaps hot • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 08 C ase St udies • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11–62 Organizations Campaigns A cterra • • • • • • • • • • Gr een@Ho me • • • • • • • • • 11 Alviso Ne ighborho od Group • • • • • Cr eating Su stainab le Comm unities • • • • • 15 Asian Am erican Ce nter of Sa nta Clara County • • V ietname se Comm unity Ene rgy Savin gs Projec t • • 18 Boys & Gi rls Clubs o f Silicon Valley • • • • Sili con Va lley Energ y Fair • • • • • • • 21 Catholic Char ities o f Santa Cl ara Coun ty • • • C ORAL En ergy Cham pions • • • • • • • 24 Center fo r Training and Care ers • • • • • Energi ze Now • • • • • • • • • 27 Cit y of Cu pertino • • • • • • • • Gr eenBiz Cupertin o • • • • • • • • 30 Growing Gr eener Bl ocks • • • • • • • 34 C reaTV Sa n José • • • • • • • • C ortese K ids Climate Club • • • • • • • 38 De Anza C ommunit y College • • • • • E nergy M anageme nt Techni cian Lab Teams • • • 41 Enlighten C ulture an d Educati on Foun dation • • E nlighten Energy W atch Pro motion • • • • • 44 Gr een Ener gy Agen ts • • • • • • • Y outh Energizing C ommunities • • • • • 46 Midpeninsu la Com munity M edia Cente r • • • 2 012 Green light Fil m Festiva l • • • • • • 49 Rebuildin g Togeth er Silicon V alley • • • • R esource Coordinato r Trainin g Projec t • • • • 52 Sacred He art Comm unity Se rvice • • • • S acred He art Saves E nergy • • • • • • • 55 San José S tate Univ ersity Re search Fo undation • G reen Ninj a Energy Reducti on • • • • • • 58 Zero1: Th e Art & Te chnology Network • • • H ealthy Ar t • • • • • • • • • • 60 01 The Community Energy Champions Grant An Innovative Solution Introduction The City of San José joins with PG&E in proudly presenting this handbook of the SVEW-CECG program to further the concept and use of the community-based approach to chieving California’s ambitious energy effi ciency behavioral energy effi ciency initiatives. and climate goals1 requires behavioral approaches as well as technology and fi nancial strategies.2 ASocial science literature and evidence from the fi eld Program Overview indicate that behavioral initiatives play a crucial role in realizing the full potential of consumer energy savings. The CECG enabled community-based organizations (CBOs) to Behavioral programs may “prime the pump” for retrofi ts and deliver innovative campaigns that increased participation in measure uptakes by expanding awareness of resources, energy effi ciency programs and reduced overall energy cementing conservation-oriented behavior, ensuring that consumption. Leveraging community agencies for the buildings are operated properly once measures are installed, delivery of behavioral programs has the following key and augmenting demand beyond the capacity of mandates advantages: or incentives.3 Gradually, utilities and state governments have begun to support behavioral energy effi ciency programs. In • Members of disenfranchised communities often trust CBO 2010, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) representatives more than government or utility staff to recognized behavioral programs as an “eligible energy deliver complete information, relevant messages, and effi ciency resource” in the statewide energy effi ciency culturally-appropriate programming. portfolio.4 For behavioral programs to thrive, appropriate • CBOs are vital liaisons between government and the implementation frameworks must be identifi ed. Which communities they serve. CBOs exist to directly address initiatives are best delivered at the state or regional level, and community needs, set locally specifi c goals, and are better 5 which are best left to community-based implementers? How positioned to achieve high levels of participation. can local implementers augment statewide campaigns, and • CBOs are often adept at addressing participation barriers to how can governments and utilities best support them to capture the full extent of non-energy benefi ts.6 They are ensure broad reach, optimal results, and consistent experienced in reaching diverse and hard-to-reach markets messaging? with low-cost program delivery methods. They typically Silicon Valley Energy Watch (SVEW) created the Community manage multiple funding sources, enabling diverse areas Energy Champions Grant (CECG) to embed an eff ective of emphasis, longer time horizons, and mission-driven implementation framework, one that harnesses the power of programming. community-based organizations to promote energy effi ciency. Launched in early 2011, the CECG awarded funding • People may relate better to energy effi ciency messages and technical assistance to 16 local agencies to deliver that are presented within a unifying concept promoted by targeted behavioral campaigns in communities across Santa CBOs, such as public health, which can help contextualize Clara County, California. Largely completed by the end of energy use. Energy is not easily visualized, and more 2012, the CECG experience indicates that a community-based obvious needs, such as food and medicine, tend to override approach, with government and utility support is, indeed, an attention. eff ective delivery mechanism for energy effi ciency programs. Within two years, more than 19,000 Pacifi c Gas and Electric The Community Niche Company (PG&E) customers throughout the county have Targeted local programs are particularly critical in Santa Clara been reached through in-home audits, workshops, County. At the heart of Silicon Valley, in the southern San community events, and other tactics used by the various Francisco Bay Area, the county’s two million residents are campaigns, resulting in real energy savings across a diverse geographically, socioeconomically, and linguistically diverse. swath of communities. Program results, as discussed here and 37 percent are foreign-born, and half speak a language other in the case studies that follow, refl ect the merits of the than English at home. With roughly half of the county’s community-based approach to energy-effi ciency. population, the City of San José has no racial majority: Asians, 02 The Community Energy Champions Grant An Innovative Solution Latinos, and Caucasians represent roughly one-third each of energy nexus, and more. Grantees needed varying levels of the City’s population. The Asian community includes the assistance in this area. They were receptive to instructions on largest Vietnamese population of any US city.7 While the basic principles of building science and other topics, and county’s median household income was $85,000 in 2010, became eff ective communicators of energy information. The more than 30 percent of students qualify free school entire CECG network rolled up to appropriate statewide meals—a fi gure that has risen steadily since 2006.8 About 20 energy effi ciency programs, so that the grantees were percent of adults hold graduate degrees, while 14 percent integrated as part of the larger universe of public energy and of adults have not completed high school. The county conservation programs. includes rural farmland, yet is also home to high tech giants SVEW provided assistance to grantees in several ways: such as Adobe, eBay, and IBM, as well as numerous clean- tech startups. 1. Technical Training: Grantees were required to attend Santa Clara County thus stands as a complex web of three technical sessions, held early on in the program. subcultures. In this mix, targeted, local delivery as done by Grantees networked during these sessions and shared CBOs can greatly increase the effi cacy of public messaging knowledge and resources, learned new outreach and programs. strategies from each other and, in some cases, found additional service areas that fi t their target population Grant Mechanics profi le. The training sessions addressed three main topics: The City of San José administered the CECG through SVEW, • Basics of energy effi ciency, including technology and publicly announced the grant opportunity in February options, incentives, policies, and core messages 2011. The program was open to 501(c)3 CBOs and local government agencies in PG&E territory within Santa Clara • Evaluation and measurement