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Newly constructed building on Los Robles and Colorado Blvd. (Photo – CooloradoBlvd)
PASADENA — ColoradoBoulevard.net:
At the June 13 meeting, Pasadena City Council passed a motion to move forward with an ordinance requiring the electrification of certain categories of newly constructed buildings in an effort to further advance the City’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).
By News Desk
According to the City’s Climate Action Plan, as of 2009, approximately 47% of community-wide GHG emissions are from residential and commercial energy use, with residential energy use totaling 16% and commercial energy use totaling 31%. Pasadena cannot meet its climate goals without shifting away from natural gas use. State policies and lower prices of renewable energy mean that substituting natural gas with electricity is one of the quickest, safest, and least expensive pathways to eliminating GHG emissions from buildings.
New ordinance
The new ordinance will require newly constructed mixed-use buildings, commercial buildings (except food service establishments and commercial kitchens), and multi-family buildings with more than three units to utilize electric energy only. Single-family dwellings, accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and junior accessory dwelling units (JADUs) are exempt from the ordinance, but staff will return to the City Council within a year with a recommendation as to whether these buildings should also be included.
August 11
The ordinance is scheduled for a first reading on July 11 and will go into effect in August 2022. Once adopted, the City of Pasadena will become the 55th city in the state, second in Los Angeles County, and first in the San Gabriel Valley region to adopt an electrification ordinance.
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How will this work out when now were being told to use less energy an being warned of blackouts now. An you want the citizens to go all electric, same with the electric cars. Where is all this electricity going to come from? Has this really been thought through into the future. The price of electricity already is very high. The rents are already very high it looks like it will just create more an more homeless families.
Your concerns are certainly valid. Your first question asks about the source of energy to meet increasing demand. Pasadena Water and Power confirmed that there is enough capacity to meet demand. The second question asks about the future. There is an enormous amount of untapped solar and wind energy in California. Both require investment in infrastructure, but then, unlike coal and gas, the “fuel” is free and will reduce energy costs over time if done correctly–big if, I know. Coal and gas have hidden costs–ranging from environmental toxins like mercury being released to fragile lands like Joshua tree being ruined. That is why local, distributed energy sources make more sense to supplement large-scale solar and wind. Rooftops and already-developed space can be used to cover energy needs and complement the energy from the centralized grid, which accounts for almost a third of electricity costs. Reducing reliable energy costs in this manner will not only reduce the cost of living but increase the quality of our lives by helping us move from fossil fuels that subject the world to wars, blackmail (as in Ukraine and the Middle East), and uncontrolable price escalation by companies taking advantage of their control over fuel supplies (we are seeing this every time we fill up our auto gas tanks).