Monthly Archives: February 2023

Native Tree Planting 3/11

Everyone Welcome!

Saturday, March 11 from 8:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Join us to make our region greener and our air cleaner!

The Sacramento Tree Foundation invites us to join in their upcoming event to plant over 100 Native seedlings along the Franklin Creek Trail in Elk Grove. The Tree Foundation provides all the necessary tools and supplies to care for trees.

Participants will receive a short, hands-on training on site. After learning the tools and techniques, participants will split up into groups and begin planting trees throughout the site. This is a great way to get outdoors and make a difference.

Register now to secure a spot and learn more: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/elk-grove-native-tree-planting-registration-523089253037?discount=sierraclub. The Sacramento Tree Foundation will send you an email with logistics and directions to the site.

City of Sacramento launches new custom energy modeling platform Xerohome

Xerohome is a free platform available to residents of single-family homes in the City of Sacramento. Folks can visit https://xerohome.com/app/#/ and type in their address. The tool will then show you the carbon footprint of your home, and a breakdown of how your home is using energy. Users can add additional information to make the model “smarter,” and then choose from a menu of upgrades such as a heat pump hot water heater or heat pump HVAC and see the estimated costs, available rebates, and projected utility bill savings. It’s a user-friendly way for people to understand what electrification could mean for their individual home. The results are really encouraging here in Sacramento—100 % of single family homes are projected to see utility bill savings with electrification.

If people are interested in checking out the tool but don’t live in a single family home within the City limits, they can use the address 222 Demo street to try it out.

The City of Sacramento will also be holding two virtual workshops focused on their Existing Building Electrification Strategy—one on 3/1 focused on Residential buildings, and one on 3/8 focused on commercial. Registration links can be found on the project webpage.

ECOS Support for City of Sacramento Transportation Infrastructure Adaptation Plan Grant Application

On February 22, 2023, ECOS submitted a letter of support for the City of Sacramento Transportation Infrastructure Adaptation Plan Grant Application to The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program.

Below is an excerpt.

Sacramento is one of California’s oldest cities and our city’s transportation infrastructure is some of the oldest in the region. Sacramento is also home to over a half million people and three-quarters of the region’s disadvantaged communities. This older infrastructure is not ready for the current and worsening strain of climate change. Award of this funding would allow the City to begin the necessary work to ready our community’s transportation network for the increasing risk associated with climate change and ensure a high level of service to our most vulnerable community members.

Click here to read the letter.

Solar Panels Over Parking and Sheep

Photo by Sean Nealon, Oregon State University

New French law will blanket parking lots with solar panels

French parking lots could soon generate as much electricity as 10 nuclear power plants, after a law is expected to win final passage on Tuesday requiring canopies of solar panels to be built atop all substantial lots in the country.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2023/02/06/france-solar-parking-lots/

Combining solar panels and lamb grazing increases land productivity, study finds

Land productivity could be greatly increased by combining sheep grazing and solar energy production on the same land, according to new research by Oregon State University scientists.

https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/combining-solar-panels-and-lamb-grazing-increases-land-productivity-study-finds

Wrangling over renewables: Counties push back on Newsom administration usurping local control

“It’s a humongous task,” said Siva Gunda, vice chair of the California Energy Commission. “We’ve had 100 years to build the grid the way it is today and we’re redoing it in the next 20 years. At least we have a plan. We are digging ourselves out of a hole.”

https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/08/renewable-energy-california-counties/