The City of Palo’s Development Services Department received the 2016 Energy Champion Award from the California Energy Efficiency Industry Council (CEEIC) in recognition of the city’s leadership role in advancing energy efficiency. Palo Alto received the award after the approval of it’s Zero Net Energy “Reach Code.” The Energy Reach Code was developed as part of the city’s “ZNE Roadmap”, a plan that shows just how important green buildings are to reduce overall energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
The Palo Alto reach code ordinance offers two pathways for commercial, multi-family, and single family buildings to meet or exceed Title 24 minimum standards for energy efficiency, depending on the presence of the photovoltaic solar panels, and is an important step in the city’s plan to help the state of California meet its goal of ZNE for commercial buildings by 2020 and residential buildings by 2030. The “Reach Code” ordinance goes into effect January 1, 2017, and affects single-family, multi-family, and commercial buildings. Palo Alto is one of only three cities in California that has an energy reach code ordinance that goes beyond energy efficiency required by the State Building Standards Code.
The California Energy Efficiency Industry Council is a non-profit organization that supports energy efficiency and advocates for policies that support green jobs and green industry growth.
Integrated Design 360, as a strategy consultant for the city, has provided the expertise in green building policy to develop and implement the Energy Reach Code Ordinance. For more on ID 360’s role in the City of Palo Alto’s Energy Reach Code ordinance, see our previous blog post.