UCSB Launches Clean Energy Optimization Pilot with Southern California Edison and CSU Campuses
On April 25, the California Public Utilities Commission approved the four-year, $20 million pilot program that provides financial incentives to select CSU and UC locations to identify and implement actions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. UC Santa Barbara will be joining four other UC campuses and medical centers and two California State University campuses on this first-of-its-kind, performance-based GHG reduction program.
The collective effort is designed to reduce GHG emissions while lowering operating costs. Its success is measured on natural gas and electricity reductions at the campus level rather than the standard method of measuring reduced energy use for specific building systems such as lighting fixtures and heating or cooling equipment. This approach rewards the universities for focusing on actions that help the environment the most.