Building Energy Climate Action Plan (CAP) Programs
In January 2024, the Hayward City Council adopted an updated Climate Action Plan (CAP) with over 180 actions the City will take over the next few years to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We understand some of you may not be eager to read the 110-page CAP document so this article, the first in a series, will provide an overview of some of the key elements of the actions or programs aimed at achieving the City’s goal to reduce emissions 55 percent by 2030. Here we provide a summary of the Building Energy programs in the CAP, and how they can benefit you. For more information about the CAP, please see our article in the January edition of the Leaflet. The full CAP can be found here.
Greenhouse gas emissions from buildings account for over a quarter of emissions in Hayward. Most of these emissions come from everyday appliances such as stovetops, furnaces and water heaters. The Building Energy sector of the CAP aims to reduce emissions from buildings through six Measures, which are supported by 37 Actions. Measures are goals that will reduce Hayward’s emissions in alignment with City and State targets, and Actions are the specific steps and programs that will achieve those goals. The six Building Energy Measures are listed below:
Building Energy (BE)-1: Continue the all-electric requirement for new residential construction.
BE-2: Electrify existing single-family residential buildings.
BE-3: Decarbonize existing commercial and multi-family buildings.
BE-4: Support Ava Community Energy in providing 100% carbon-free electricity by 2030.
BE-5: Continue to promote energy efficiency improvements.
BE-6: Generate carbon-neutral electricity on City facilities.
Most Measures will begin with Actions that call for outreach to receive feedback from the community and conducting feasibility studies. Actions are categorized as one or more of the following “pillars” of the CAP: a Structural Change, Equity-centered, Funding, Partnership, Feasibility Study, and Education. You can browse all CAP Actions and view the Pillars and Timeframes starting on page 70 of the CAP.
There are several CAP Actions in the Building Energy Sector that will provide financial and educational assistance to residents to electrify their homes. Notably, the City will work with energy providers to incentivize all-electric retrofits through on-bill financing (action BE-2.12), review incentives, rebates, and financing options and ensure incentive programs are being equitably distributed to the community (BE-2.13), ensure discounted electric appliances are offered to lower income households and upfront rebates are available for zero-NOx furnaces and water heaters (BE-2.6), and leverage other partnerships to provide community electrification and finance support (BE-2.14). There are also several actions that provide electrification education including providing technical resources, webinars, and hosting workforce development training to contractors, installers, developers, local businesses, and more (BE-1.4, BE-2.7, BE-3.6, BE-5.2).
Please visit the Ava incentives finder to see if you qualify for electrification rebates and/or incentives.
