Welcome to the CEI Webinar Series!
As Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) continue to grow and flourish in California, they are advancing innovative, industry-leading projects and programs. CalCCA’s Community Energy Innovation (CEI) webinar series provides a platform for CCAs and their partners to share experiences in a variety of focus areas, including energy resilience, customer programs, load management, and power procurement. We invite you to join in and participate!
Upcoming Webinars
Check back soon for info on upcoming webinars!
Instructions on how to access CalCCA webinars here.
Past Webinars
Topic: Electrifying! Sonoma Clean Power’s New State-of-the-Art Advanced Energy Center
Description:
In order to meet California’s climate goals, we need to take bold actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Enter Sonoma Clean Power’s newly opened Advanced Energy Center, the first space created to teach customers how to live on renewable energy 24/7. The Advanced Energy Center is an innovation hub in downtown Santa Rosa that showcases clean energy vendor displays, a classroom for events and classes, an induction cooking test kitchen, and children’s play space. Sonoma Clean Power is providing $2 million in incentives, 0% on-bill financing, and hosts an online contractor matching tool to spur market adoption of these carbon-free technologies. In this webinar you will learn about the early successes and lessons learned of the Advanced Energy Center.
Speakers:
Rachel Kuykendall
Programs Manager
Sonoma Clean Power
Chris Bradt
Senior Manager
Frontier Energy
Topic: How CCAs are Plugging the Equity Gap in EV Charging Infrastructure
Description:
California is projected to need between roughly 4-6 million electric vehicle charging ports by 2030 to help provide the infrastructure needed to meet Gov. Newsom’s requirement for all new vehicle sales to be zero-emission within 15 years. Charging access in multifamily dwellings is especially critical to meet that goal as one-third of California residents live in multifamily housing with little or no access to EV charging infrastructure. This webinar updates current efforts to implement new local and state building codes, EV charging incentives and technical assistance to multifamily buildings, which can improve equity in EV charging statewide.
Speakers:
Peter Ambiel
Energy Programs Specialist
Peninsula Clean Energy
Sherry Bryan
Program Manager
Ecology Action
Topic: Innovative Solutions for a Resilient and Equitable Energy Future
Description:
Today’s changing energy landscape requires innovative approaches to solve unique challenges. The steepening of the duck curve, increasing grid stress and congestion, and the recent introduction of wildfire risk induced power shutoffs, have created a growing need for energy storage and customer-focused programs that provide operational flexibility, consumer choice, and enhanced community energy resilience. This webinar focuses on the programs and strategies being implemented by MCE to address these issues that increase greenhouse gas emissions that disproportionately impact historically marginalized communities.
Speakers:
Sean Sevilla
Manager of Customer Programs
MCE
Vi Ibarra
Executive Assistant to the Developmental Disabilities Council
Contra Costa Health Services
Dana Armanino
Principal Planner
County of Marin
Topic: Ocean of opportunity: the latest on offshore wind energy development in California
Description:
For California to achieve the goal of 100 percent carbon-free electricity a more diverse, more reliable mix of clean energy resources is needed. Offshore wind represents a vast untapped source of clean energy in California, one that ramps up power production as demand peaks in the evening and solar drops off. Redwood Coast Energy Authority has taken the lead on coordinating an extensive planning and research process required for what could be California’s first floating offshore wind project off the coast of Humboldt County. This webinar provides the latest news on the status of offshore wind development in California and the probability of a federal West Coast offshore lease auction in 2021. It also includes an overview of how floating platform technology works so that turbines can be located twenty miles and more offshore; how the price of offshore wind power is declining dramatically; and what issues must be addressed for successful offshore wind development. Be part of a discussion on how CCAs are helping to advance this new industry that promises high-wage jobs and significant economic development opportunities for California.
Speakers:
Matthew Marshall
Executive Director, Redwood Coast Energy Authority
President, CalCCA Board of Directors
Walt Musial
Manager Offshore Wind
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Tyler Studds
Head of Offshore Wind Business Development, West
Ocean Winds
Topic: A Sweeter Deal: Making Social Impacts Count in Power Purchasing
Community choice energy providers are playing an increasingly significant role in meeting California’s renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals. They are the main drivers of new clean energy procurement in California, having signed long-term power purchase agreements totaling more than 6,000 megawatts with new-build solar, wind, geothermal and energy storage facilities. As CCAs continue to rapidly secure the clean energy resources California needs to meet ambitious decarbonization and climate change goals, they are also leveraging power purchasing to deliver additional benefits to their customers and to residents in the communities where clean energy projects are built. This webinar focuses on the steps San Francisco’s community choice energy provider, CleanPowerSF, is taking to consider positive local benefits in the power procurement process, in collaboration with their contracting partners.
Speakers:
Erin Mulberg
Origination and Power Supply
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Power Enterprise
Tracy Zhu
Social Impact Partnership Manager
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Jim Shandalov
Vice President
NextEra Energy Resources
Topic: Unlocking the Environmental & Financial Benefits of Distributed Energy Resources (Introducing NavigaDER)
Our communities need clean, affordable, and reliable electricity. Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), such as solar PV, battery energy storage, and electric vehicle charging systems, have the potential to provide incredible environmental and financial value to communities and the organizations that supply their electricity, including Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) and other load serving entities. But how can energy providers identify cost-effective, scalable and replicable programs for deploying DERs on a community scale? In this webinar, speakers from MCE and TerraVerde Energy introduce an innovative software application, NavigaDER, that unlocks the full potential of DERs, and provide a case study of how MCE used NavigaDER for its solar + storage program.
Speakers:
Brett Wiley
Customer Programs Manager
MCE
David Burdick
Executive Vice President
TerraVerde Energy
Topic: A new tool to assess the potential value of battery backup power for commercial customers
Description:
As Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events and natural disasters such as wildfires become regular occurrences in California, having a reliable source of backup power has become a necessity for many businesses. Navigating the options and choosing the right solution can be complex. This webinar focuses on Sonoma Clean Power’s Energy Resiliency Audit Program (ERAP). Through ERAP, commercial customers can receive a complimentary backup energy audit, which will help answer difficult questions including how much storage would be needed to power critical electric loads during a shutoff, whether battery storage is financially feasible, and how storage could be integrated into existing operations to benefit businesses year-round.
Speakers:
Nathan Kinsey
Commercial Accounts Manager
Sonoma Clean Power
Nelson Lomeli
Program Manager
Sonoma Clean Power
John Woolsey
Principal Engineer
Center for Sustainable Energy
Topic: How local energy providers are advancing community resilience with solar+storage
Description:
Power outages are a new normal in California. Community choice energy providers are teaming up with solar and battery providers to launch innovative programs that will bring needed clean backup power resources to homes and businesses. In this webinar, speakers from Peninsula Clean Energy and Sunrun will share information about a new program that is meeting customers’ backup power needs with clean energy, while simultaneously delivering a critical grid capacity resource. This webinar provides an overview of the program, how it advances the mission of local energy providers, highlight opportunities & best practices, and keys to deployment in California’s rapidly evolving energy landscape.
Speakers:
Peter Levitt
Associate Manager, Distributed Energy Resources Strategy
Peninsula Clean Energy
Michael Norbeck
Director, Business Development, Grid Services
Sunrun
Topic: Integrating Environmental Stewardship Principles into Power Procurement
Description:
California’s community choice energy providers are the main drivers of new clean energy procurement in California, having signed long-term power purchase agreements totaling more than 3,600 megawatts with new-build solar, wind, geothermal and energy storage facilities. As CCAs continue to rapidly secure the clean energy resources California needs to meet ambitious decarbonization and climate change goals, how do they ensure a power project delivers multiple benefits for air, water, and nature while avoiding impacts to environmentally sensitive lands and species? This webinar focuses on the steps Clean Power Alliance (CPA), California’s largest community choice energy provider, has taken to integrate environmental stewardship principles into its procurement process with the help of The Nature Conservancy.
Speakers:
Natasha Keefer
Director of Power Planning & Procurement
Clean Power Alliance
Erica Brand
Energy Strategy Director
The Nature Conservancy
Topic: Accelerating Decarbonization and Local Investment Through Better Data Access
Description:
Getting a quote for a solar installation, an EV charger or energy efficiency upgrade has typically been an exercise in frustration for both solution providers and customers alike. Until now, even if a customer authorizes a provider to access their utility billing and usage data, the data may not be available for several days, and often doesn’t arrive in a usable form. This Community Energy Innovation webinar focuses on Silicon Valley Clean Energy’s Data Hive pilot project with UtilityAPI. SVCE’s Data Hive makes initiating clean energy projects quicker and easier for everyone involved by providing instant, authorized and secure access to standardized energy data, expanding the ability of service providers to participate in the market, and giving customers energy products and services they desire. It’s a win-win that can also help to reignite business in the state’s post-COVID 19 recovery.
Speakers:
Aimee Gotway Bailey
Director of Decarbonization and Grid Innovation
Silicon Valley Clean Energy
Devin Hampton
Chief Executive Officer
UtilityAPI
Topic: How California Communities are Driving Investment in EV Charging Infrastructure
Description:
Near-term transportation electrification is essential to achieving local human health objectives and California’s climate policy mandates. To enable ongoing market potential for EVs, the state is investing in the deployment of 250,000 charging stations by 2025. However, to reach this goal challenging permitting environments must be addressed to make the process of installing charging stations simple and cost effective. This webinar focuses on the steps California communities are taking to leverage the state’s investment in essential, regional fueling services for EVs, and how they are working with the Governor’s GO-Biz team to come into compliance with California’s permit streamlining law, AB 1236, which passed the Legislature in 2015. The following topics are covered: California’s permit streamlining law (AB 1236); city/county compliance with AB 1236; impacts of COVID-19; planning and site selection; best practice permitting timelines; common permitting problems; CALeVIP program (California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project); requirements for 2021 CALeVIP projects; East Bay Community Energy (EBCE) CALeVIP efforts, co-funding; Alameda County EV charging gaps; local benefits (emissions reductions and load/revenue growth; EBCE technical assistance; Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) and CALeVIP; status of CCA projects.
Speakers:
Jessie Denver
Program Manager
Transportation Electrification and Community Resilience
East Bay Community Energy
Kielan Rathjen
Special Advisor
Zero Emission Vehicle Policy
Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz)
Topic: Cleared for Takeoff: Humboldt County’s Airport Microgrid Project
Description:
CalCCA’s first CEI ‘webisode’ focuses on the Redwood Coast Airport renewable energy microgrid project at Humboldt County’s main airport. The microgrid will include a 2.5-megawatt solar array, battery energy storage system, and an advanced microgrid control system. Redwood Coast Energy Authority is partnering with the Schatz Energy Research Center (SERC) at Humboldt State University, Pacific Gas & Electric, and the County of Humboldt to build the microgrid. The webinar provides a comprehensive overview of this cutting-edge project, including project motivation and objectives; funding sources; microgrid design and modes of operation; creation of a replicable business model; unique ownership structure; tariffs and agreements; CAISO market participation; technical innovation; lessons learned; and next steps.
Speakers:
Matthew Marshall
Executive Director
Redwood Coast Energy Authority
Jim Zoellick
Managing Research Engineer
Schatz Energy Research Center at Humboldt State University
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