Not a member? Register »
Davis, CA – The City of Davis is clarifying some of the proposed electrification actions in the Draft 2020-2040 Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP) in response to concerns that have been raised by community members. The City is committed to mitigating the local impacts from climate change by implementing actions to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) and decrease climate risk.
The CAAP seeks to prepare the community for climate change impacts while bringing the City into compliance with California legislation (including anticipated changes in the California Energy Code) and regulations to reduce GHG emissions in which there are multiple laws that must be followed. In addition, the CAAP supports the City’s goals, policies and programs and celebrates a culture of sustainability for which the City is known. The CAAP is important for improving community health, supporting long-term energy affordability and achieving carbon neutrality.
“Working to address climate adaptation is an essential role of local government both to enhance quality of life and provide equitable solutions to climate change for Davis residents,” said Mayor Lucas Frerichs. “I’m confident that the City Council will continue to listen carefully to all of the community feedback provided during this public comment period for the draft CAAP, prior to taking action on a final CAAP later this year.”
It is important to note that the CAAP is a planning document that recommends carbon reduction and climate risk implementation actions and approaches, but does not establish City requirements.
The State of California’s Role
In 2018, the State of California established a landmark policy with Senate Bill 100 (SB 100), “The 100 Percent Clean Energy Act of 2018,” requiring renewable energy and 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045, with several benchmarks for jurisdictions to meet, including 60% electrification by 2030 and 100% by 2045.
Additionally, the California Energy Code contains required energy conservation standards for most jurisdictions, including the City of Davis, designed to reduce wasteful and unnecessary energy consumption in newly constructed and existing buildings. This Code is updated every three years, with the next implementation occurring January 1, 2023, and then again in 2026. The Energy Code will continue to create and implement policies to lead the State and its jurisdictions toward electrification to support California’s 100% electrification goal by 2045.
The City’s Draft 2020-2040 Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP)
In 2019 after the passage of SB 100, the Davis City Council adopted a target of community carbon neutrality by 2040, five years ahead of the State’s goal 2045. This means that the sum of Davis’ community carbon emissions (quantified by regular GHG Inventories) will be reduced through ambitious local CAAP actions, lowered through local/regional carbon removal opportunities and offset through carbon markets and industrial carbon removal, to a total of net zero.
The City of Davis is not alone in setting targets. The cities of Sacramento, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, San Francisco, Los Angeles and many others have begun to create, or have already developed, strategies to incorporate electrification.
The CAAP process began over a year ago with multiple public workshops, online surveys and outreach to the Davis community. The 28 actions currently identified in the CAAP were previously reviewed by City Council on May 24, 2022 for inclusion in the Draft CAAP to be circulated for public review and feedback. Development of the final CAAP will continue to be responsive to community input and will undergo certain revisions and updates before the requested adoption by City Council in December. The targeted date for City Council to review the final CAAP for approval is December 6, 2022. The accompanying California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process is underway and staff anticipate Council adoption of the final document in February 2023.
Upon the anticipated December approval of the plan and the subsequent CEQA adoption, all proposed actions will be further developed; each action that requires an ordinance or other mechanism for implementation at the local level will have further community review and ultimately review and approval by City Council. Some actions, such as building electrification, may also require approval by the California Energy Commission or other State agencies.
One way to decrease carbon emissions locally and increase environmental resilience is to reduce or eliminate natural gas in favor of renewable energy, such as electricity. The City is committed to advancing equity through the electrification process. Electrifying our buildings in Davis will provide additional, immediate benefits:
In addition, the electrification actions identified in the CAAP document (pages 46 to 53 and in Appendix A) include the four actions below, which are voluntary. When the CAAP is re-evaluated in 2025, the City will assess which voluntary actions may necessitate consideration of being required actions (depending upon the status of State Building Code changes, for example). These four actions will require further study and City ordinance development before being implemented:
Eight, out of the total 28, CAAP actions are related to building energy. The CAAP’s other 20 actions address decreasing carbon emissions in the areas of transportation, land use, water conservation and more. The City is looking to decrease emissions across sectors, not only in housing or buildings.
The CAAP proposes voluntary electrification requirements for the present, based on education and outreach efforts. The City is working to secure funding for incentives and/or rebates for Davis residents to electrify their properties.
How to Electrify Existing Buildings
There are multiple options for replacing gas appliances with electric. The development of the Davis building electrification strategy through implementation of the actions above will include a phased ‘roll-out’ of requirements relating to various home appliance systems.
Development of the electrification strategy using the systems above requires solving many complex issues such as panel capacity, age of house and age of units to potentially be replaced. Active engagement of the Davis community will be sought in any ordinances or other requirements before adopting electrification actions.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
The City of Davis CAAP prioritizes equity and inclusion. Every action in the CAAP, including electrification, includes equity considerations and development of financing and incentives to help all community members, including low-income and other socioeconomic groups. The City is pursuing a variety of grant funding opportunities and regional collaboration to assist with implementation and outreach. More information about funding strategies can be found in the CAAP’s Appendix B: Funding and Financing Tools.
To read the CAAP document or get additional information about the community engagement process, visit: https://www.cityofdavis.org/sustainability/2020-climate-action-and-adaptation-plan-caap.
To submit your comments, concerns, and other input during the community review period ending October 10, please visit: https://cityofdavis.org/davis-CAAP-survey.
The City will organize and present the input received on the Draft CAAP to the City Council and will utilize this input to help inform modifications, clarifications and recommendations to the City Council as the City Council considers adoption of a Final CAAP later this year.
Disclaimer: the views expressed by guest writers are strictly those of the author and may not reflect the views of the Vanguard, its editor, or its editorial board.
Energy Affordability: Gas prices are expected to rise significantly in the future. Switching to electricity protects residents from unaffordable energy prices.
Not according to my recent electricity bills which are already becoming unaffordable.
“The City of Davis is clarifying …”
“Gas prices are expected to rise significantly in the future. Switching to electricity protects residents from unaffordable energy prices.”
Gas prices peaked with the invasion of Ukraine and have been trending down since after a long multi-year period of low prices. Electric prices have been rising consistently in California for the last several decades. The quoted statement is complete nonsense and reveals the bias of the authors. If whoever wrote this is so sure they could make a fortune in the energy markets or then again they might go broke.
“When the CAAP is re-evaluated in 2025, the City will assess which voluntary actions may necessitate consideration of being required actions (depending upon the status of State Building Code changes, for example).”
This would be a good question for the candidates, who, if elected in November, will be addressing mandatory upgrades when remodeling or at time of sale.
What I really resent is that when reviewing the proposals in 2021 the City Council was clear that they didn’t want to pursue mandatory upgrades to get a permit when remodeling or at time of sale. Yet somehow this remains in the proposals. It is a wonder why something that the CC wasn’t interested in pursuing remains. The question becomes whether the staff and their consultants listen to the elected leaders at all? One other thing, it was also pointed out at the time the need for a cost benefit analysis of any such requirement, but there is none provided.
I fully support the Council’s and the State’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gases and the disastrous effects of climate change. Climate change is occurring every day not just in California, but around the world. Urgent action is required, no matter the cost. The lives of future generations are literally at stake. Otherwise this planet will eventually become uninhabitable by humans.
Climate change is occurring every day not just in California, but around the world.
True story, that has literally been true for millions of years… just ask a dinosaur…
Urgent action is required, no matter the cost.
Whose cost? Besides the financial costs, there are the ‘costs’ of sole reliance on the electrical energy grid… like that has worked out well…
Perhaps everyone should have solar generators, battery storage… but who pays for that? Gotta’ make sure rural areas and the poor have it paid for ‘by others’, right? Social justice and equity!
We should ban all sources such as natural gas, propane, butane, methane (no more meat anywhere!), wood, breathing, etc. “No matter the cost”… just rely on solar, which must be manufactured solely by solar in the mining, manufacturing, distribution of the panels, batteries, distribution, AND make sure that all the costs are borne by other than the poor, rural, disadvantaged!
“There are multiple options for replacing gas appliances with electric. The development of the Davis building electrification strategy through implementation of the actions above will include a phased ‘roll-out’ of requirements relating to various home appliance systems.
Heat Pump Heating/Cooling: gas furnaces can be replaced with electric heat pumps in one unit. Heat Pump Water Heaters: electric water heaters can be over 300% more efficient. Induction Stoves: high-performance electric induction stoves have better temperature control, heat water faster and are safer than gas stoves. Heat Pump Clothes Dryers: electric dryers do not require venting of hazardous exhaust. Solar Rooftop Photovoltaics (PV) and Battery Storage: Costs for operating electric appliances can be largely offset by installing solar PV. Battery storage helps keep the electricity generated on-site until it can be used.”
OK… get your drift… get out your wallet…
I see today where CA is going to mandate that only electric furnaces and water heaters can be sold in CA after 2030. How much will it cost homeowners to retrofit their homes from gas to electric appliances. Several thousand$ of dollars. And that doesn’t even include the cost of the heaters. On top of that it costs much more to heat your house with electricity.
The heaters requirement was met with comments from the public, including opposition. Retired engineer Michael Kapolnek said the saved emissions don’t justify the cost to homeowners forced into expensive retrofits, such as upgrading electrical service.
https://www.npr.org/2022/09/23/1124511549/california-plans-to-phase-out-new-gas-heaters-by-2030
Climate change is happening at an unprecedented rate going back at least several million years and no civilization has faced this rate or magnitude of change. We are entering unknown territory. The ecological impacts will also be enormous and our well being depends on the well being of our environment. We can’t buy our way out of that.
There are numerous studies showing how electrification is cost effective over natural gas. The City’s Reach Code that was updated in 2019 is based on these analyses. The utility grid needs to be upgraded in any case. (The City wide outage on September 6 was due to local grid failures, not rolling blackouts.) And there are good solutions to managing household loads that will hold down costs. Regardless, we don’t have a choice in the matter–the climate change train that we’ve created is bearing down on us and we need to act or civilization as we know it will likely end.
BTW, natural gas prices are still near recent highs, which are higher than they’ve been since 2008. Those prices likely will go back up in this winter. The understanding is that the fracking boom has run its course and prices will now trend upward. https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/natural-gas
Gas prices are high right now in large part because of the Ukraine war and the U.S. producers shipping much of our natural gas to Europe. Historically natural gas has been a much cheaper way to heat ones home than electricity.
But you are not accounting for costs such as climate change – severe weather, sea level rising, fires, floods, etc.
Climate change is happening at an unprecedented rate going back at least several million years and no civilization has faced this rate or magnitude of change.
That’s funny, did they keep records back then, a million years ago?
the climate change train that we’ve created is bearing down on us and we need to act or civilization as we know it will likely end.
Nothing we do in CA or in Davis will mean a thing in the overall scheme of things.
“That’s funny, did they keep records back then, a million years ago?”
https://www.science.org/content/article/500-million-year-survey-earths-climate-reveals-dire-warning-humanity
I don’t have a problem with converting as appliances reach the end of useful life but proposals where a homeowner is required to spend lots of money under duress to get a permit or at time of sale is oppressive. I’m all for subsidies and incentives. I’m for carrots and oppose sticks.
Also we need to focus on the big issues. Transportation is the biggest greenhouse issue we have. Flying in jet planes has a giant greenhouse footprint. Messing with people in private homes seems like misplaced overkill. We need some good cost benefit analysis to guide us to use our efforts wisely..
What happens to the really-annoyingly situated methane transmission equipment concentrated near the corner of 2nd St. and L and underground roughly north (and south?) from there that also serves as part of the justification for not pushing for Post-Methania to be-developed? Can you imagine how important a very dense mixed -use project can be here, only steps away from the future electric high-speed rail station?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
The Vanguard provides the Davis Community with incisive in-depth coverage of local government on a wide variety of issues. Since 2006, The Vanguard has provided Davis and Yolo County with some of the best groundbreaking news coverage on local government and policy issues affecting our city, our schools, the county, and the Sacramento Region.
The People's Vanguard of Davis PO Box 4715 Davis , CA 95617 Phone: (916) 970-3131 info@davisvanguard.org