Month: June 2024

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Energy Efficiency Outreach Project Report

Report to Clean Virginia on
Climate Action Alliance of the Valley/Community Housing Partners
Energy Efficiency Outreach Project
August 2023 – May 2024

Bottom Line

  1. Clean Virginia awarded $35,000 grant to Climate Action Alliance of the Valley (CAAV) to support a local initiative to help potentially eligible community residents learn about and apply for no-cost weatherization and energy efficiency (EE) services to lower their energy bills.
  2. CAAV partnered with other local environmental non-profits and with Community Housing Partners Energy Services (CHP). CAAV used a Small-Grant RFP process to identify four local community service non-profits whose clients are potentially eligible for CHP services.
  3. These four organizations worked for five months to help their clients apply for CHP’s services.
  4. Through this grant, $35,000 has been converted into around $164,000 (Average job cost: $8,200) of tangible improvements for 20 energy-burdened homes. These improvements will save households money not just this month, or next month, but for the next 15+ years –saving residents hundreds of dollars each year on their energy bills.
  5. Critically, the funding through the Clean Virginia grant has helped spark an important ‘de-siloing’ of area organizations who serve low‑to‑moderate income (LMI) households in and around Harrisonburg. Centering energy burden with money to support agencies in signing up their clients to reduce it has not only helped connect important programs with households in need, but has helped us build a foundation for more cross-missional work.

Details

Background

CAAV’s mission is to limit the impact of humans on Earth’s climate and minimize the effects of inevitable climate change to protect the future for Earth and its inhabitants. Our vision is to create and nurture climate action in our Shenandoah Valley community so we can become a regional leader in promoting climate change mitigation and resilience. Our two primary goals:

Goal 1: Train and mobilize community members to engage in local and regional efforts that promote climate change mitigation and resilience.

 Goal 2: Achieve policies and legislation that enable and advance the systemic changes required to promote climate stabilization and resilience. Founded in 2008, we are a small non-profit; we do not have official 501(c) (3) status.

Our project supported CHP)’s program to provide EE and weatherization services to low and middle income (LMI) residents of Harrisonburg, Rockingham County, and surrounding counties. This work is headed locally by CHP’s Outreach Coordinator Everett Brubaker. CHP coordinates over 20 income and age qualifying programs providing EE improvements and weatherization, as well as select home repair/improvements, throughout Virginia.

As funding at the Federal, State, and Utility levels for EE and weatherization programs has continued to grow, CHP sought assistance from local groups to assist in connecting LMI households to these programs. The initial effort was the result of CAAV’s joining with several other local non-profits to assist CHP in efforts to contact potentially eligible households. Other participating organizations were: Harrisonburg Unitarian Universalists (HUU), 50×25 Harrisonburg (50by25), and Shenandoah Valley Faith and Climate (SVFC). Many of the likely households eligible for CHP’s services experience multiple challenges that may make access to EE programs difficult, including barriers around language, mental or time capacity, awareness of programs, distrust of federally funded programs, and more. The coalition that came together determined that the best way to advance EE in our community with the Clean Virginia grant funds was to support building capacity at existing non-profit community organizations. Such organizations have direct ties to and involvement and credibility with those individuals CHP seeks to assist. The initial effort was funded by a one-time grant of $3,500 from HUU. We entered into an agreement with COSPU (Comité Salvadoreño Paisanos Unidos), a local non‑profit that serves our large Hispanic community.

Based on the results of COSPU’s prior, briefer effort in 2023, CAAV concluded that more time, more money, and more organizations were needed to reach adequate numbers of potentially eligible households. Clean Virginia awarded CAAV the requested $35,000 grant to enable further development of a model.

Grant Distribution Process

CAAV consulted with several local non-profits and then developed a Request for Proposals (RFP) for interested non-profits to submit. We identified about 35 organizations in the Central Shenandoah Valley that serve disadvantaged renters and homeowners. Using several criteria to assess the efficacy of the proposals received, CAAV selected four organizations on November 29, 2023 to receive grant funding to connect their members with CHP Energy Solutions’ Programs. The organizations selected were:

These organizations serve populations of varying sizes and their client loads vary from relatively small to fairly large. Based on their individual requests and client workloads, CAAV distributed the grant money in early January 2024. From January through May 2024, each organization provided outreach to their clients to encourage and help them apply for CHP services. CAAV and CHP provided training and guidance throughout the process. The recipient organizations submitted periodic reports.

Outreach Efforts

Each organization developed its own approaches. CHP provided English and Spanish language materials (see included examples) and the area outreach coordinator conducted several meetings and training sessions. Approaches varied and included:

  • Notices on social media, emails, letters, and personal contacts.
  • Tabling at events.
  • Case manager contacts with individual clients.

During this time, CHP’s outreach coordinator helped to “spread the word” further via local TV stories, other media news articles, and by inviting the organizations to visit local CHP worksites to better understand the weatherization and EE improvements it was providing. CAAV project team members were also interviewed, as were some of the participating organizations’ leaders.

Selected Coverage of the 4-month Effort:

Local News Coverage of Clean Virginia Grant to CAAV: https://www.whsv.com/2024/01/12/climate-organization-gives-35000-grant-affordable-electric-bill-project/

National Highlight of Effort by Energy News Network (3 25 24) and Nexus Hot News (3 26 24):
https://energynews.us/2024/03/25/look-for-the-helpers-virginia-climate-volunteers-connect-with-service-providers-on-weatherization-effort/
https://nexusmedianews.com/author/nexus/

Facebook Post Highlighting United Way Visit to CHP Weatherization Project in Harrisonburg: https://www.facebook.com/UnitedWayHR/posts/pfbid02RB5cKNPCC9ieNKMB6spJoaBVH6Xvj7KWcfmokmckAJWpwrp6FackK2VJCXArJRLBl

A Community Spotlight Video by Kline May Realty Highlighting Weatherization with CHP ES Director Meghan McMillen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jmApeT_vgU&ab_channel=KlineMayRealty

Results

From January through May 2024, the four grant-supported organizations meaningfully connected with dozens of households across their respective footprints. Through one-on-one meetings, phone calls, events, and more, they successfully assisted 24 households in applying for programs through CHP. Of those 24 households, 12 have been approved with another 7 eligible, but submitting final documentation.

We anticipate 20 households receiving services as a direct result of this grant‑funded outreach effort. Based on CHP data from 2023 for single family homes served in Central Virginia, along with national surveys, we expect each household to realize average projected savings* of $61 per Month, $723 Per Year, $12,800 Lifetime.** Across all 20 households, we expect total average projected savings of $1,220 per Month, $14,460 per Year, $$256,000 Lifetime.

* Savings are calculated through a DoE Approved Modeling Software that utilizes specific household data for each individual measure installed and the state approved average fuel costs. Savings may also include improvements funded through additional programs, such as LIHEAP and utility-sponsored programs. Actual realized savings are impacted by climate, seasonal changes, and resident behavior. For more on how Savings to Investment Ratio (SIR) is calculated and other operational requirements in Virginia related to Weatherization, see: https://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/sites/default/files/Docx/weatherization/wap-operations-manual.pdf

** Lifetime refers to the average lifespan of the installed measures, averaging 15-20 years across all installed measures)

Map of approved households in line for services through the 2024 EE Outreach Grant

Every home that qualifies for weatherization through CHP receives a comprehensive energy audit prior to work being completed. Performed by a BPI certified energy auditor, this audit provides the foundation and modeling that determine what measures can be installed at a client’s home. With a few exceptions often related to health, safety, and funding source, every measure, from pipe wrap and insulation, to LEDs and Heat Pump Installs, must pay for itself at least once in realized household savings over the lifetime of the measure. For example, if insulation costs $2,000 to install and has a lifetime of 15 years, that client must save at least $2,000 in energy costs over 15 years to justify installation of that measure. All savings are projected via a comprehensive modeling software managed by the state of Virginia. This software allows CHP to provide data-driven savings estimates for households.

Additional Improvements:
With over half of homes usually needing additional home improvements and upgrades before receiving EE improvements, another $150,000 to 200,000 (Across 10+ homes) is expected to be invested in HVAC, roof, plumbing, and environmental remediation. This work improves the health, safety, and affordability of those homes, and helps keep needed housing stock available.

Lessons Learned

  • Non-profits have budget, time, and staff constraints that, despite grant funding, limited their outreach efforts, especially because of the relatively short time period.
  • Non-profit staff were quick to understand the implications of their clients’ reduced energy bills.
  • CAAV and partner non-profits were both heartened by the opportunity the grant money and the outreach presented and daunted by the scope of the effort, though enthusiastic about anticipated outcomes.
  • Non-profit staff, despite their ongoing relationships with clients they approached, met with some skepticism about the “no-cost-to-you” aspect of the CHP programs. There was also some hesitation from client renters, and concern about ‘bothering’ their landlord, or how their landlords might perceive the program/ask.
  • Despite CHP’s and the non-profit organizations’ efforts to streamline, explain, assist, and follow-up with clients during the application process, clients’ response times and rates were below what had been hoped for. CHP’s further follow-up efforts with applicants were too often not successful and some applications were closed without completion.

Conclusions

Even with the constraints and learnings listed above, the four organizations supported through this grant were able to line up 20 households for EE and other home improvements through CHP. With an average investment of $8,200 per home, this grant will invest $164,000 in EE improvements to LMI households in the Valley. With over half of homes usually needing additional home improvements and upgrades before receiving EE improvements, another $200,000 ($20,00/home across 10 homes) is expected to be invested in HVAC, roof, plumbing, and environmental remediation.

There was significant learning through this process, with unexpected challenges and constraints that will help inform future efforts. First we will need to focus more on effective methods to address and overcome cultural and language barriers in target populations. We recognize that more consistent follow up with households is critical to reach approval, and we began exploring ways to address client attrition. We also recognized a significant need to fund administrative work and communications tasks that are part of administering a grant like this. Finally, more time is needed, and seasonality matters, as our outreach missed many of the summer events and good weather that help support effective outreach.

Finally, the funding through the Clean Virginia grant has really helped spark a ‘de-siloing’ of area organizations who serve LMI households in Harrisonburg. Agencies with specific missions serving seniors, immigrants, persons with disabilities, and other populations have begun connecting and collaborating in important ways. Centering energy burden with money to support agencies in signing up their clients to reduce it has not only helped connect important programs with households in need, but has helped us build a foundation for more cross-missional work. This work is critical as both needs and funding increase.

Every agency we worked with has momentum and interest in building on this work. A case manager with Valley Program for Aging Services shared, “Thanks to this grant I was able to offer my clients a solution to their energy/weatherization problems rather than throwing money toward over inflated energy bills due to poor insulation and equipment. I have had several clients come back to me after receiving services from CHP stating they have experienced a drastic reduction in their energy bills and are enjoying being able to use their home’s heating and cooling systems without worrying about high energy bills.”

We are excited to build on this momentum as we look toward additional funding.

Respectfully submitted,

Joy Loving on behalf of Climate Action Alliance of the Valley
June 7, 2024

PDF version here: https://climateactionallianceofthevalley.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2024-clean-virginia-report.pdf

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Climate and Energy News Roundup – June 2024

A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic [living] community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.  —Aldo Leopold

Our Climate Crisis

From flooding in Brazil and Houston to brutal heat in Asia, extreme weather seems nearly everywhere in the past month. It’s unprecedented to have so much of the world with its weather in overdrive at the same time. Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist for the Nature Conservancy, comments, “Climate change is loading the weather dice against us in every part of the world.”

One of the most rapid sea level surges on Earth is besieging the American South. Sea levels across the region are at least 6 inches higher than they were in 2010—a change similar to what occurred over the previous five decades.

The severe thunderstorms and high winds that recently swept through Houston and the Gulf Coast left all the destructive traces of a hurricane. As our planet warms, severe storms of all kinds are likely to deliver even bigger payloads of rain because warmer air holds more moisture. The resulting heat energy released into the atmosphere feeds thunderstorms.

The climate refugee crisis is here. Catastrophic flooding in southern Brazil recently forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. This is not a one off. Floods in Pakistan in 2022 displaced an estimated 8 million people. Floods in Ethiopia in 2023 and Kenya this year forced hundreds of thousands more from their homes.

Local Climate News

An informal Creation Care/Green Team mixer is being planned at the outside pavilion at Harrisonburg Mennonite Church on Saturday, June 22, at 7 pm. This mixer is an outgrowth of the Ecumenical Earth Day Worship Service, and is open to all creation care groups, green committees, and interested individuals. It will be helpful for planning purposes if you RSVP to Steve Pardini at: pardini.steven@hotmail.com.

Local nonprofit GiveSolar launched a National Solar Seed Fund Campaign at the beginning of this year. This is an effort to scale the solar programs of Habitat for Humanity and make them available to all appropriate Habitat homes nationally.  The campaign has now received a $500,000 donation from the EPA Solar for All grant designed to help low-income households to access solar. To date, the campaign has raised $614,580 toward its goal of raising $1M by July.

The Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission and RideShare joined the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation in promoting May as Bike Month—a time to celebrate the joys and benefits of cycling! This promotes biking as a viable and eco-friendly mode of transportation.

The declining number of fireflies in our region is likely due to rising temperatures, housing and commercial development with closely cut lawns, and the use of pesticides. To have more fireflies in your yard and to help the insect population thrive, Virginia Tech entomologist Eric Day recommends that homeowners stop spraying their yards with pesticides and herbicides, tolerate weeds, and mow less.

Community Climate Collaborative—also known as C3—based in Charlottesville, is helping businesses reach carbon neutral emission goals. It involves energy efficiency measures such as sealing up buildings, upgrading lights or replacing appliances using fossil fuels with modern ones. Upgrades can be funded through C-PACE, an innovative way to finance clean energy and resiliency projects on commercial, multifamily, and nonprofit buildings.

Politics and Policy

During Trump’s dinner meeting with Big Oil executives at Mar-a-Lago last month, he asked them to raise $1 billion for his campaign as he outlined his pro-fossil fuels agenda for a second term. Industry officials have already begun drafting the text of executive orders to start reversing the Biden administration’s green policies on day one of a Trump presidency.

In an effort led by Gov. DeSantis, Florida—perhaps the most vulnerable state to sea-level rise and extreme weather—has stripped the term “climate change” from much of state law. The state will, instead, make energy affordability and availability its main focus.

The Vermont state Senate recently passed legislation that would require all utilities to provide 100% clean energy by 2035. This puts Vermont on track to be among the first states to fully decarbonize its power grid. This new standard will underpin other parallel state climate efforts such as electrifying its home heating sector.

In a win for Governor Youngkin, the budget deal he cut with General Assembly negotiators dropped a measure to renew the state’s membership in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Democrats claimed that Youngkin insisted the RGGI language come out “under threat of veto” but environmentalists fault them for folding without a fight.

The U.S. Interior Department announced that it will end new coal leasing in the Powder River Basin, which produces nearly half the coal in the United States. This is one of the biggest steps yet to keep fossil fuels in the ground with major implications for U.S. climate goals.

President Biden announced major tariffs on Chinese clean technologies that they fear will flood the U.S. market and undermine our emerging clean manufacturing. He imposed tariffs of 100% on Chinese EVs, 50% on Chinese solar cells, and 25% on Chinese lithium-ion batteries. The Washington Post editorial board claims that this will slow progress against climate change and provide next to nothing in return. Economist Paul Krugman, however, sees it as unfortunately necessary given the fragile state of our U.S. green energy transition.

Energy

Across the U.S., power companies are increasingly using giant grid batteries the size of shipping containers to address renewable energy’s biggest weakness: the fact that the wind and sun aren’t always available. Over the past three years, battery storage capacity on our grids has grown tenfold. This year, it is expected to nearly double again, with the biggest growth in Texas, California and Arizona.

New York–based startup Voltpost has announced the commercial availability of its curbside EV charging station technology package—creating modular, street-proofed systems, utilizing power from streetlights, that it hopes to deploy in cities later this year. Tapping the power already at light posts is a workaround to the high costs of installing underground electric cables for chargers in urban settings.

The surge in data center power demand in the U.S. is expected to double from 2022 levels by 2030 and reach up to 7.5% of total energy consumption—equivalent to the energy consumption of nearly a third of American homes. Virginia has the biggest data center market in the world and the exponential increase in power demand has created a huge challenge for the goal of decarbonizing its electric grid. Some Virginia lawmakers have tried to hold data centers accountable for their impact on the environment but their proposed legislation was postponed until 2025, effectively killing it.

China has a huge lead over other countries in building the technologies of the energy transition. Around $200 billion was invested in clean technology manufacturing worldwide in 2023—a 70% increase from 2022. China alone accounted for three-quarters of this investment.

Climate Justice

Norfolk, Virginia, is experiencing a double-whammy effect of climate change. Not only are storm related deluges more intense, but sea levels are rising faster here than anywhere else on the East Coast.  One climate resilience project—a winding “blue greenway”—aims to reimagine a neglected, flood-prone poor neighborhood along the city’s neglected east-side waterfront.

Virginia was all in on midsized solar installations on schools, hospitals, churches, and municipal buildings until Dominion Energy dramatically raised prices and changed the rules on interconnection fees. This now makes many of these projects economically unviable. Dominion denies that it is putting up barriers in order to maintain its market share in solar energy.

Internal oil company documents released before a congressional hearing reveal that oil executives promoted natural gas as green even when they knew it wasn’t. This evidence could end up supporting state attorneys general who are suing the fossil fuel industry. Oil companies are currently facing around 30 lawsuits for deceiving the public about the consequences of burning fossil fuels.

New coal mines continue to open each year, and oil and gas companies are still exploring new parts of the world. People—especially Indigenous communities—are, however, increasingly saying no to new fossil fuel developments on their land. And they’re using courts and legislatures to fight back and achieve some significant victories.

The new United Nations “loss and damage fund” to assist developing countries with climate related damages had its first board meeting where it sought to finalize operations and its partnership with the World Bank. The big question is who will pay. Former U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said that the world will “never see a dime” from the U.S. for anything that sounds like an admission of liability or smacks of compensation.

Small island nations won a big climate victory when the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea unanimously ruled that governments that signed on to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea have an obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This includes several of the world’s top emitters: China, India, the European Union, and Russia. The United States, also a big polluter, is not a party to the convention.

Climate Action

A growing number of ecological innovators around the world are reimagining landscapes, communities, and the way we live. Individuals and organizations are embarking on a hands-on rethinking of the future in projects that range from “ecovillages” in sub-Saharan Africa to regenerative agriculture coworking spaces in Europe, to permaculture projects in Barbados.

The Ulkatcho First Nation in remote British Columbia is installing what will likely be the largest off-grid solar project in Canada. It will provide 64% of their electricity which is currently entirely generated by diesel. Corrine Cahoose, one of their elected councilors, said, “We have to be the stewards of the land. We have to protect in every way, and this project is one of the ways.”

The Bezos Earth Fund, launched in 2020, aims to give away $10bn of the Amazon founder’s $200bn personal fortune to combat the climate crisis and biodiversity loss by the end of the decade. Some in the climate and environmental community are concerned about the level of influence this gives Jeff Bezos over critical environmental institutions. They claim that the projects do not address the key issues of the climate crisis.

Is buying carbon offsets for air flights worth it? Many of them don’t work and some might even be harmful. Better alternatives include flying less and choosing an economy seat when you do fly (premium seats contribute about four times more emissions). And, when you fly, you can donate $1,000 per ton of carbon emitted to your favorite environmental organizations.

The race is on to build California’s 220 mph high-speed bullet train network. When completed, the train network will be a major convenience for people traveling around California as well as a major win for our planet. According to one study, the trains will produce only one-seventh as much greenhouse gas emissions as commercial air travel.

Heating water gobbles energy, leading to higher utility bills and more planet-warming emissions. It’s responsible for more than 10% of annual residential energy use—the biggest share after air conditioning and heating. One way to cut down our energy consumption is to wash our laundry in cold water because heating water consumes about 90% of the energy it takes to operate a washing machine. Also limit taking long, steamy hot showers.

Earl Zimmerman
CAAV Steering Committee