Does GRID Alternatives Impact Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Targets in Central Coast Climate Action Plans?

<p>As of March 2016, GRID Alternatives’ 179 solar electric system installations on low-income housing contributed 103 metric tons of carbon (MT CO₂e) emissions reduction for the climate action plans’ <em>Energy</em> or <em>Renewable Energy</em> c<em>limate action measures</em> that pertain to solar electric installations in the cities of: Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Paso Robles, and San Luis Obispo and San Luis Obispo County.</p> <p>In 2007, the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) created a team of government agencies to design climate action plans (CAP) that met the emission reduction goals set out by AB 32 and the 2008 Climate Change Scoping Plan (Rincon Consultants, 2014, p. 1-2).</p> <p>Each CAP outlines its greenhouse gas (GHG) baseline emissions and GHG emissions reduction targets in metric tons of carbon (MT CO₂e) and identifies <em>climate action measures</em> to reach GHG emissions reduction targets. The <em>climate action measure</em> that pertains to <em>Energy or Renewable Energy<strong>,</strong></em> specifically solar electric system installations, is examined in this study.</p> <p>GRID Alternatives, a non-profit solar installer that implements its Solar Affordable Housing Program, was selected by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in 2008, to serve as the statewide program manager for the California Solar Initiative’s $108 million incentive program called the <a href="http://www.gridalternatives.org/sash/">Single-family Affordable Solar Homes (SASH)</a> program, which is the country's first dedicated solar rebate program for low-income families (GRID, 2016a, p. 2). In 2010, GRID Alternatives opened its Central Coast office in Atascadero to serve five central coast counties and tracks CO₂emission reductions for each installation.</p> <p>My objective is to determine the impact that GRID Alternatives’ solar electric installations in the cities of Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Paso Robles, and San Luis Obispo and in San Luis Obispo County have on their respective CAPs’ GHG emissions reduction targets for the <em>Energy</em> or <em>Renewable Energy</em> <em>climate action measure</em> that pertains to solar electric installations.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of City and Regional Planning

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

City and Regional Planning

Year dc:date.available

2016

Author dc:creator

• Knapp, Sandra V

Contributors dc:contributor

• Michael Boswell

• California Public Utilities Commission
• Air Pollution Control District
• EnergyWise
• EPA Emission Factor
• PG&E Emission Factor
• Architecture
• Urban, Community and Regional Planning

Identifier

10.15368/theses.2016.81

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.calpoly.edu:theses-2791