Energy use from the building stock accounts for roughly 30% of carbon emissions in our region. Transitioning away from combustion appliances is essential to decarbonizing our world, bolstering energy security, and improving the health and comfort of residents. However, natural gas infrastructure is already deeply entrenched in California’s built environment. Building electrification will require diverse strategies and approaches. This panel presents a variety of pathways toward existing building electrification that are accessible to diverse attendees. In Santa Barbara County, most building electrification policy is focused on new construction. Brian Reyes will speak to his experience working on existing building reach codes to lend his expertise to policymakers on the Central Coast. Most homeowners don’t know the resources available to them to make fuel switching affordable. April Price will present the 3C-REN incentive program and a case study from the new Gas Water Heater Loaner pilot. Densification is an increasingly popular subject that encourages the creative repurposing of existing building space. Anne Wyatt will share the story behind her non-profit and how tiny homes and ADUs can contribute to a more energy-efficient future while curbing urban sprawl.
Speakers
Gray Gautereaux (Moderator) is a Program Manager for the County of San Luis Obispo Planning & Building Department (Energy Section) and Tri-County Regional Energy Network (3C-REN). Gray earned their BA in Politics from Willamette University after completing an independent research thesis on the political economics of renewable energy at the national and sub-national levels. Gray holds a Graduate Certificate in Renewable Energy from the University of Nevada, Reno, and served a yearlong term as an AmeriCorps CivicSpark Fellow working on reach codes in the Central Coast. They are passionate about outreach, engagement, and program designs that catalyze a decarbonized future.
Brian Reyes is a Sustainability Planner on the Marin County Community Development Agency's Sustainability Team. He received his undergraduate degree in Soil and Water Science at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and a Master's degree in Environmental Science and Management at the University of San Francisco. Brian joined the County of Marin staff in May 2021, where he currently implements and coordinates the County's climate protection, green building, low carbon concrete, efficiency, and energy programs.
April Price is the Energy Portfolio Manager with the County of Santa Barbara where she manages the County’s Energy Assurance Services program and supports renewable energy and resilience projects. She also manages 3C-REN’s Home Energy Savings Single Family program, focused on engaging contractors in a Normalized Metered Energy Consumption (NMEC) incentive marketplace to grow energy efficiency and electrification opportunities for residents in the tri-county. April has broad experience in managing local distributed energy programs, leading stakeholder engagement, and supporting local government energy planning efforts. April has a Master's in Environmental Science and Management from UCSB’s Bren School.
Anne Wyatt is a housing policy planning consultant and Executive Director of Smart Share Housing Solutions, a San Luis Obispo non-profit affordable housing provider. She writes on housing and housing policy for the national magazine Planning and is on the board of the Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens (Area Agency for the Aging), Housing Trust Fund of San Luis Obispo County, National Shared Housing Resource Center, and is a County Planning Commissioner.