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October 29, 2018

Peninsula Clean Energy Awards Six Grants Totaling Nearly $450,000 for Local Community Pilot Projects

REDWOOD CITY, CA – October 29, 2018 – Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE) of San Mateo County has awarded grants of up to $75,000 each for six innovative local pilot projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support low-income customers, and advance electric transportation. The Community Pilot Program awards will fund programs within the county to repair homes for low-income residents, promote access to electric vehicles, switch appliances from gas to electric, provide backup power for emergency shelters, and ensure safe appliance recycling.

“Peninsula Clean Energy is committed to investing in our local communities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by advancing programs to electrify transportation and buildings,” said CEO Jan Pepper. “These are our first applicants to receive funding, and we look forward to promoting even more innovation in the future.”

A project with Build It Green in partnership with the non-profit El Concilio of San Mateo County, Hayward Lumber, GRID Alternatives, and Owens Corning will upgrade up to 16 low-income homes in Daly City and East Palo Alto with healthy home remediation and roof repairs to qualify the homes for energy efficiency improvements.

“We are excited to be able to leverage Peninsula Clean Energy funds to address critical home needs of some of the most vulnerable members of the community,” said Karin Burns, Executive Director of Build It Green.

Two awardees are focused on promoting the use of electric vehicles (EVs). Envoy Technologies will introduce a creative on-demand EV car sharing program in a disadvantaged San Mateo County community. The San Mateo County Office of Sustainability will develop the Roadmap for Municipal Green Fleets clean fuel toolkit to assist local governments in replacing traditional gaspowered fleets with electric vehicles.

Emergency preparedness and community resilience will be enhanced by a solar installation and energy storage project in up to five centrally located faith-based institutions throughout the county by the California Interfaith Power and Light (CIPL) organization. All residents will have access to these locations in the event of an emergency such as a major earthquake.

The Peninsula Climate Comfort pilot project from Ardenna Energy will demonstrate a scalable program model for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by replacing natural gas usage with clean electricity in five qualifying homes.

ARCA Recycling Inc. brings 40 years of experience to its pilot program in San Mateo County for responsible appliance recycling and disposal, especially for outdated refrigerators. This program prevents the escape of refrigerants into the atmosphere where they act as potent greenhouse gases.

PCE’s Community Pilot Program is intended to assess innovative program approaches, develop partnerships and inform future programs. The proposals were carefully evaluated by PCE staff with input from its Citizens Advisory Committee on criteria including the projects’ benefit to multiple communities in the county, support for low income customers, greenhouse gas reduction, and qualifications of the applicants. More information on Peninsula Clean Energy’s Community Pilot Program is available at our Community Pilots webpage.

Media Contacts

Peninsula Clean Energy
Kirsten Andrews-Schwind
kandrews-schwind@peninsulacleanenergy.com
M: 650.260.0096

Agency Contact
Tom Mertens
tom@krause-taylor.com
M: 408.234.6881