Celebrating Climate Action - 2021 Year in Review

December 28, 2021

min

Hammond Climate Solutions

Collage of Hammond Climate Solution Foundation climate events

The Hammond Climate Solutions team is excited to celebrate our second year creating a more just and livable future together! Since our social enterprise was founded by Tara and Justin Hammond in 2020, we have been on a mission to combat the climate crisis and climate injustices through leveraging dynamic solutions through climate project management, advocacy and policy. The past two years have brought incredible growth, positive impact and community building, and we are grateful to reflect on all that we have collectively created just within the past year. Feel free to check out our blog post from last year that celebrated our first year’s accomplishments.

Before jumping into reflections on our efforts, we’d like to highlight our newest team member, Maya Steinberg! Maya joins the Hammond Climate Solutions team as our Climate Justice Development Manager, and is helping us generate a greater positive impact through managing clean energy programs and projects, and seeking funding opportunities to enhance current and future initiatives. We’re thrilled to have her onboard, and are excited for the impact she’ll have on fulfilling our mission.

We also want to sincerely thank our clients, partners, climate champions and climate activists for your dedication and contributions to lessening the impact of the climate crisis.

Clean Energy Initiative Management & Consulting

Over the past year, our team has been a part of 406 solar projects that have collectively deployed 213,525.9kW of solar across 37 states and Puerto Rico. This translates into 5.3 megatons of carbon offset, ensuring clean air and creating healthy communities that have reduced reliance on dirty fossil fuels while supporting green jobs and stimulating the economy.

In 2021, thanks to our client Left Coast Fund, we had another $1 million budget for the Solar Moonshot Program, a no-fee grant initiative we manage that helps nonprofit organizations afford the switch solar. This year alone, the Solar Moonshot Program supported 42 nonprofit organizations in adopting a combined total of 1,116.5kW of solar power and three solar thermal projects. Each grant allows the receiving organization to reinvest in its mission, reduce local greenhouse gas emissions and climate injustices, improve the quality of life of its community members and educate the community about the feasibility and importance of solar in combating the climate crisis. We secured additional funding for the Solar Moonshot Program to continue in 2022, thanks to clients Left Coast Fund and BQuest Foundation. Read more about the Solar Moonshot Program’s impact in 2021 by checking out our recent blog post here.

We continued management of the e-bike “ride off” programs with Climate Action Campaign and Business for Good San Diego, where riders are loaned an e-bike and every mile ridden is $1 off of the loan. The goal is for participants to own the bike for no money out-of-pocket by successfully riding off the mileage. This helped increase adoption of e-bikes as a form of clean energy transportation, reducing thousands of vehicle miles travelled since the programs began. Hammond Climate Solutions has been involved with Pedal Ahead, an e-bike ride off program that was formed by San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, in partnership with Rider Safety Visibility, with the e-bikes generously funded by our client, Left Coast Fund. Through this program, e-bikes are available for those living in San Diego County Supervisorial District 4. Since the program began in September 2020, over 160,000 miles have been ridden by participants, averaging 10 miles per day, which translates into over 160,000 vehicle miles offset, and communities that are healthier, have cleaner air and can enjoy a greater quality of life.

Late last year, we helped a local foundation apply for $42,000 in rebates from the California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program (CALeVIP) for electric vehicle charging stations to help expand access to clean transportation for communities of concern. This summer, five electric vehicle chargers with eight total charging ports were installed at two campuses for a San Diego nonprofit organization that has a mission of maximizing self-sufficiency with families and individuals through high-quality programs and advocacy in communities.

We provided clean energy development services for engineering firms such as Black & Veatch, financing companies such as Fellowship Energy, and contractors such as Aloha Solar Power. We also worked directly with a number of nonprofits, businesses and a special district to provide independent energy analyses, feasibility studies and request for proposal (RFP) support for their clean energy endeavors. The projects we served ranged from small scale commercial (under 30 kilowatts) to large scale multi-facility (over 1 megawatt) sized jobs. Learn more about these services here.

Pushing for Climate Policy

Hammond Climate Solutions has had the pleasure of providing our climate policy expertise to local solar companies that are seeking to stay ahead of changes to policies like net energy metering, California’s rooftop solar agreement that has allowed solar to make sense financially for 1,300,000 California families, businesses, cities, schools, nonprofit organizations and multi-family property owners. In addition to our policy advising, our team has been working tirelessly over the past year to help pass policies that would advance climate justice. Most recently, we have been fighting for an equitable future solar agreement in California, net metering 3.0 (NEM 3.0), the latest update to the solar policy, through advocacy on the local and state levels. Last year, we helped the Solar Rights Alliance start a local and statewide coalition, now known as Save CA Solar, to fight for an equitable and sustainable rooftop solar industry in California by advocating for a strong NEM 3.0 policy. This year, we helped grow that coalition through releasing almost 10 blog posts, creating and sharing toolkits with calls to action, participating in countless meetings and webinars, and presenting to community groups, organizations and elected officials whenever possible. Check out our most recent blog post on this critical issue, written by our Climate Justice Policy Advisor, Karinna Gonzalez.

Through participating in over 1,000 meetings, calls and public comments and signing onto over 30 letters in the past year alone, we fought for local and statewide policies that would create a more just and livable future and against those that would hinder our progress. Some of the climate policies we advocated for include building electrification ordinances across the San Diego region to electrify new construction, updates to Climate Action Plans within the County of San Diego and cities in the region to move us to zero carbon, resolutions advocating for a more environmentally sound solar agreements, funding related to stormwater infrastructure, franchise agreements in the City of San Diego, defeating the “anti-solar bill” Assembly Bill 1139 and more. Read more about our climate policy efforts over the past year, which also include advocating for policies to achieve zero carbon via Climate Action Plans, Community Choice Energy and building electrification, as well as world class transit, in the recently-published blog post written by our Climate Justice Policy Advisor, Karinna Gonzalez.

Climate & Climate Justice Advocacy

Hammond Climate Solutions is a proud member of 15 nonprofit organizations and an active member of various coalitions. Our team is pleased to have served in various leadership roles in 2021:

Vice chair, San Diego Community Power Community Advisory Committee
Steering committee member, San Diego Green New Deal Alliance
Executive committee member, Surfrider Foundation San Diego
Board member, Climate Defenders Action Fund
Board member, GRID Alternatives San Diego
Steering committee co-chair, San Diego Building Electrification Coalition
Justice, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resource Development chair, San Diego Green New Deal Alliance
Chair, California Solar & Storage Association, San Diego
Member, California Solar & Storage Association Policy Committee
Co-lead, South Bay Eco Justice team, SanDiego350
Member, California Green New Deal Coalition Storytelling Working Group

This year, we continued to work alongside fellow members and community partners within the San Diego Green New Deal Alliance to achieve our collective goal of reaching zero carbon by 2035 through advocating for community-based solutions like a world-class clean transportation system, family-sustaining union jobs and a just transition, transit-oriented housing solutions and building electrification. In partnership with other members of the San Diego Green New Deal Alliance, we helped organize events around these critical solutions and issues, including President Joe Biden’s budget reconciliation bill, bike lane expansions in San Diego, holding polluting corporations like Sempra accountable for greenwashing and ensuring energy democracy through community choice energy with our regional provider, San Diego Community Power.

We also helped organize four San Diego Climate Hub events in 2021, which virtually brought folx together from across the country to discuss potential solutions to pressing climate issues such as housing and the climate crisis, transportation, water issues and a just transition. Be sure to follow the San Diego Climate Hub on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date on upcoming actions and events, and save the date for the next quarterly Climate Hub event, which is taking place on 3/31/2022.

Awards & Recognitions

Hammond Climate Solutions is grateful to have been recognized for the efforts we have undertaken thus far in climate leadership, advocacy, clean energy program management and policy. This year, Hammond Climate Solutions’ founders Tara and Justin Hammond were honored with awards for their climate leadership, from Business for Good San Diego’s Environment Champion Award given to Tara Hammond, to the Hometown Heroes award, which Justin was named by his local town council. Read more about the recognitions that were received in our recent blog post.

Looking Ahead to 2022

In addition to continuing our climate advocacy, policy efforts and existing climate programs like the Solar Moonshot Program and e-bike ride off programs, two key initiatives to look out for include the “Fossil Fuel Free Pledge,” an initiative with the San Diego Climate Hub, which recognizes nonprofit organizations that are refusing to accept money from fossil fuel corporations, and the “San Diego Climate Report Card,” which we’re launching in partnership with Climate Defenders Action Fund and League of Conservation Voters San Diego to bring accountability to elected officials in the City of San Diego and County of San Diego for their climate action results. We are hopeful that in 2022 the Climate Hub organizations will be able to work together under one roof at the solar-powered Climate Hub in Hillcrest, San Diego, as originally planned prior to the pandemic.

We’ll be sharing details on other programs for 2022 in the coming weeks, some of which will serve as pilot programs and proof of concept to lay the foundation for bigger programs for cities, community choice programs and legislation.

Stay tuned for an exciting announcement that we will be sharing in early 2022! Connect with us on social media at Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter, and to ensure you receive updates in the future, sign up for our newsletter by heading to our website.

We look forward to working with all of you in 2022 to create a more just and livable future!

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Meet the San Diego County Leaders Advocating to Protect Rooftop Solar and Expand Equitable Access

Advocacy

December 2, 2021

min

Meet the San Diego County Leaders Advocating to Protect Rooftop Solar and Expand Equitable Access

As the year-long battle to save rooftop solar in California nears a final decision, local advocates are sending a loud and clear message: San Diegans want to protect rooftop solar and expand equitable access to solar and storage.

A year-long battle to save rooftop solar in California is nearing a final decision. Although going up against the monopoly utility companies and their allies has not been easy, local advocates have been successful in sending a loud and clear message: San Diegans want to protect rooftop solar and expand equitable access to solar and storage. A proposed net energy metering (NEM) decision is expected to be made in December with a final decision expected by February from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which will decide the future rooftop solar agreement in California, known as net energy metering 3.0 (NEM 3.0).

Along with our partners in San Diego, we helped grow a coalition of over 40 local environmental, climate justice and advocacy organizations, five cities, the state’s second largest community choice energy program, schools and local elected officials to weigh in on the net energy metering proceeding to advocate for the continued growth of rooftop solar. Over a year ago we reached out to San Diego-based solar advocates and helped establish and co-lead the Save California Solar coalition with the Solar Rights Alliance, which meets monthly and has many San Diego-based and statewide organizations involved.

The City of Solana Beach led the charge in September, becoming the first city in the region to adopt a net metering 3.0 resolution, which specifically called out the investor-owned utilities’ proposal and its potential to disrupt the market. The vote at Solana Beach’s Climate Action Commission and city council were unanimous after hearing many local organizations speak in support during public comments.

“I am completely in support of the resolution,” said Solana Beach Deputy Mayor Kristi Becker. “Everything we do on the city council, at the Climate Action Commission for the Clean Energy Alliance, we've all been trying to encourage renewable energy so we need to make sure that it remains affordable and we also have to make sure it is affordable for those in our communities of need.”

Following the Solana Beach resolution, the Chula Vista City Council and Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina sent letters to Governor Gavin Newsom, both advocating for the CPUC not to make any drastic changes to the current net energy metering policy, which has been very successful in finally making solar accessible to communities of concern.

In November, the City of San Diego, America’s second-best solar city, became the largest city in the state to weigh in on the proceeding. San Diego Councilmember Raul Campillo, who was one of the first elected officials in the state to issue a letter to Governor Newsom advocating for a solar-friendly net metering 3.0 agreement, called out the importance of this resolution during his remarks. “This {resolution} ensures that the City of San Diego has communicated its priorities to the state on this matter, and we cannot afford any changes to this {net metering} policy that slows down the process or limits accessibility to clean energy. This resolution speaks loudly and clearly that the City of San Diego wants to protect the environment, create good paying, high-skilled jobs, improve our energy resiliency and save ratepayers billions of dollars."

Shortly after San Diego’s resolution was approved, the City of Encinitas weighed in with a letter from the city council and Mayor Catherine Blakespear, which stated “the City of Encinitas was proud to be one of the first cities in the region to join a community choice energy program, San Diego Community Power (SDCP), and we have plans for our program to benefit the community in various ways, and net metering plays a role in our impact. The solar fees that are being proposed by the IOUs are fees that SDCP will not be able to avoid, meaning that rooftop solar for our community choice energy program customers may still be inaccessible despite SDCP’s solar-friendly NEM rate, which is bad for our community members, makes it harder and more expensive for SDCP to reach 100 percent clean energy and takes away from potential program opportunities to benefit the community.”

It is very clear that the organizations, elected officials and San Diego Community Power understand the impacts that a bad NEM 3.0 decision could have on the climate as well as local and statewide clean energy goals. In all of the local advocacy in meetings regarding net energy metering, SDG&E has been the only opposition, citing concerns over equity, which we believe are not only disingenuous, but unfounded. Very credible studies show that rooftop solar reduces rates for everyone because it reduces the cost of maintaining long distance power lines as well as wildfire costs associated with those power lines. A recent study by Vibrant Clean Energy shows rooftop solar can save California ratepayers $120 billion! Rooftop solar threatens the monopoly utilities’ profits, and that is their true motivation for advocating for reform. California’s investor-owned utility companies have not only tried making solar less accessible to all, they have also blocked efforts for community choice energy, community solar, on-bill solar financing and other tools to make solar more accessible.

The battle over the future of rooftop solar in California continues, but we hope that the CPUC commissioners will consider all of San Diego’s advocacy surrounding this issue and that the proposed decision released next month will reject elements of the IOUs’ proposal that would make it harder for communities of concern to go solar, namely high monthly solar fees, decreasing export compensation and instantaneous netting.

None of this work would be possible without the dedication and commitment from local advocates, the majority of which volunteer their time for this cause. Rooftop solar is a key climate solution, and with the devastating effects of the climate crisis already occurring throughout California, now is the time when we should be discussing how to incentivize more people, especially in communities of concern, to adopt solar and storage. A big thank you to the following organizations, schools, elected officials and cities:

San Diego Community Power
City of Encinitas
City of Chula Vista
City of San Diego
City of Solana Beach
Mayor Serge Dedina
Councilmember Raul Campillo
Carlsbad Unified School District
San Diego Democratic Socialists
San Diego Urban Sustainability Coalition
I Am Green
Citizens Climate Lobby San Diego
San Diego Green New Deal Alliance
Unitehere! Local 30
Associated Students of San Diego State University
Center for Sustainable Energy
GRID Alternatives San Diego
Climate Action Campaign
San Diego Climate Hub
San Diego Coastkeeper
Environmental Centers of San Diego
North County Climate Change Alliance
Samuel Lawrence Foundation
Surfrider San Diego
Bike San Diego
Protect Our Communities Foundation
League of Women Voters San Diego
San Diego Green Building Council
SanDiego350
South Bay Sustainable Communities
Climate Reality Project San Diego
BQuest Foundation
Business for Good San Diego
San Diego Energy District Foundation
CleanEarth4Kids.org
Uptown Tavern
San Diego County Democrats for Environmental Action

We appreciate all of our partners in this effort and would like to give a special shout out to Climate Action Campaign, SanDiego350 and San Diego Urban Sustainability Coalition, along with the Solar Rights Alliance, which have attended countless meetings and presentations to move all of the aforementioned efforts forward.

More details about the NEM 3.0 proceeding can be found at www.HelpCleanEnergy.org.

Screenshot of the San Diego City Council's virtual meeting on the NEM 3.0 proceeding

San Diego Becomes the Largest City to Advocate for Continued Access to Rooftop Solar

Advocacy

November 15, 2021

min

San Diego Becomes the Largest City to Advocate for Continued Access to Rooftop Solar

On November 15, the City of San Diego became the largest city in the state to weigh in on the net energy metering proceeding, which is currently underway at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). A proposed net energy metering (NEM) decision is expected to be made by next month on the future rooftop solar agreement in California, known as net energy metering 3.0 (NEM 3.0).

The net metering resolution, which urges the CPUC to create a structure that will keep rooftop solar growing sustainably while expanding solar access to low-and-moderate income communities, was approved unanimously by the San Diego City Council today after receiving unanimous support during the San Diego Environment Committee last month. Local organizations SanDiego350, Climate Action Campaign, Protect Our Communities Foundation, CED Greentech and the San Diego Democrats for Environmental Action joined the Hammond Climate Solutions team in making verbal comments in support of the resolution today, emphasizing the importance of this decision in the middle of a climate emergency. Last month over 60 people made comments in favor of the resolution.

“Rooftop solar is a lynchpin in the city's legally-binding Climate Action Plan,” said Matthew Vasilakis, Co-Director of Policy with Climate Action Campaign. “We need to incentivize rooftop solar and storage with a strong NEM program and paired investments in communities of concern. That's how we build a climate resilient 100 percent clean energy system.”

Councilmember Raul Campillo, who was one of the first elected officials in the state to issue a letter to Governor Newsom advocating for a solar-friendly net metering 3.0 agreement, called out the importance of this resolution during his remarks today.

“This {resolution} ensures that the City of San Diego has communicated its priorities to the state on this matter, and we cannot afford any changes to this {net metering} policy that slows down the process or limits accessibility to clean energy. This resolution speaks loudly and clearly that the City of San Diego wants to protect the environment, create good paying, high-skilled jobs, improve our energy resiliency and save ratepayers billions of dollars."

Beyond the obvious carbon emissions reduction, local grid reliability and cost savings that come from the increased adoption of rooftop solar and energy storage, the San Diego region has thousands of local jobs at stake with this decision. Jake Marshall, Operations Manager with CED Greentech San Diego, a distribution company out of Mira Mesa, called in to support the resolution. Marshall’s comment highlighted the potential massive job loss that could result if the industry is forced to slow down.

“I personally employ 75 people in Mira Mesa, we have run the numbers and with the {investor-owned utilities’ anti-solar} proposals, our numbers will go down to 22 people.”

The resolution states that the City of San Diego “supports a CPUC NEM 3.0 decision, which emphasizes the sustainable growth of customer sited solar electric and energy storage facilities in order to meet California’s clean energy targets, particularly residential customers in disadvantaged communities” while also advocating to “reject elements of any proposal which will stifle sustainable growth of customer sited renewable generating facilities including high monthly fixed charges and avoided cost models which insufficiently account for the societal value of customer sited renewable generation.”

The resolution includes strong equity provisions, and Councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe highlighted the importance of making solar jobs more accessible to communities of concern.

Council President Jennifer Campbell ended the discussion by calling out the intentions of the investor-owned utility companies.

“It's clear the investor-owned utilities are working hard to hamper solar energy growth, which is very short-sighted of them, as they could utilize this extra energy obtained to provide energy for other people in geographic areas that do not have as much sunshine as we have. The cost shifting that {the investor-owned utilities} are proposing will hurt our climate action goals, will hurt our green job growth and the affordability of those who wish to push solar on their roofs. Unfortunately it seems that their immediate bottom line is more important to them than a cleaner, green San Diego in which all income levels can participate in our abundant sunshine. Let the {C}PUC know that San Diego stands on the side of rooftop solar, especially in communities of concern, and all the benefits of it, from good paying local jobs to healthier neighborhoods and increased clean energy production as solar energy brings.”

Once again, the only comment that was not emphatically in support of protecting rooftop solar was from one San Diego Gas & Electric employee who urged the council to meet with the Natural Resources Defense Council, an organization who is known to side with the utilities on this issue (learn more in this blog post, How an Environmental Group Aligned with Monopoly Utilities to Squash Rooftop Solar).

The City of San Diego weighed in just in time before the anticipated proposed decision by the CPUC in December, while other cities and organizations in San Diego county have already gone on the record in support of protecting access to rooftop solar and energy storage. In September, the City of Solana Beach became the first city in the state to issue a resolution standing up for a strong net energy metering with a unanimous vote. San Diego Community Power, the community choice energy program for the cities of San Diego, Imperial Beach, Encinitas, La Mesa and Chula Vista, also submitted a letter jointly with San Jose Clean Energy, which highlighted the fact that the net metering proposal by the investor-owned utilities would result in fees that community choice energy customers would not be able to avoid. Earlier last week, the City of Chula Vista voted unanimously to send a letter and approve a resolution calling for the CPUC to create a policy in which solar is able to continue to grow, and this week, Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina released a letter in support of a strong net metering 3.0 agreement.

As the proposed decision by the California Public Utilities Commission rapidly approaches and the final decision expected by February of next year, local activists are hoping this resolution will lead to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria weighing in as well to leverage his existing relationship with Governor Gavin Newsom.

For latest information and up-to-date calls to action, visit our net metering toolkit at www.HelpCleanEnergy.org

The City of San Diego’s Environment Committee Stands up for Rooftop Solar

Policy

October 21, 2021

min

The City of San Diego’s Environment Committee Stands up for Rooftop Solar

Today, the City of San Diego’s Environment Committee took a huge step in supporting rooftop solar by passing a resolution that advocates for a strong net energy metering 3.0 (NEM 3.0), the future solar agreement in California that is being determined by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). If the resolution is adopted by the full city council, the City of San Diego could be the second city in the state, following Solana Beach, to issue a resolution that advocates for the continued growth of solar, rejecting the investor-owned utilities’ proposal to extend payback periods for all solar projects, even in communities of concern, and impose the highest monthly solar fees in the nation.

The resolution passed unanimously in a 4-0 vote, urging the CPUC to reject any proposal that would stop rooftop solar from continuing to grow while urging the commissioners to consider alternatives that would expand solar access in communities of concern. Over 60 public comments, both written and verbal, were heard from local organizations that were overwhelming in support of a strong net metering, including comments from representatives of Climate Action Campaign, SanDiego350, GRID Alternatives San Diego, San Diego Democrats for Environmental Action, Protect Our Communities Foundation and others, all of which urged the committee to approve the resolution. The key role NEM 3.0 has in increasing the adoption of rooftop solar and moving away from consuming dirty, harmful fossil fuels was noted by speakers.

The draft resolution states that “San Diego City Council supports a CPUC NEM 3.0 decision, which emphasizes the sustainable growth of customer sited solar electric and energy storage facilities in order to meet California’s clean energy targets, particularly residential customers in disadvantaged communities” and urges the CPUC to reject any proposal that undervalues the societal benefits of renewable generation.

Today’s vote is a big win for over 30 local San Diego environmental and advocacy organizations, schools, cities, student organizations and equity groups who are working tirelessly to advocate for a strong NEM 3.0 to keep rooftop solar as a key climate solution and a tool to reach 100 percent clean energy targets. Rooftop solar also provides local green jobs, supports the regional economy, offers grid resilience and helps ratepayers avoid rate increases from additional utility infrastructure, which the IOUs get a guaranteed return on investment from. A recent Vibrant Clean Energy Study shows that California ratepayers can save $120 billion from rooftop solar while reducing the risk of wildfires, which ratepayers now must pay for.

This decision comes just after the San Diego Community Power Board of Directors issued a letter to the CPUC commissioners and Governor Gavin Newsom stating similar concerns over the high fixed monthly charges included in the IOUs’ proposal and the devastating impacts that could have on rooftop solar adoption. The resolution is now headed to the full city council for a vote, which is anticipated to take place before the CPUC’s proposed decision is released by mid-December of this year. The City of Chula Vista is expected to vote on a similar resolution in the coming weeks.

For latest information and up-to-date calls to action, visit our net metering 3.0 toolkit.