Success Stories: Decarbonized Public Buildings
Bay Area local governments are leading the charge in decarbonizing public buildings, setting an example for sustainable and energy-efficient infrastructure. Below, you'll find a list of public building projects that have already embraced decarbonization or are actively working toward this goal.
Showcase applicants are encouraged to explore these projects for inspiration and guidance as they pursue their own decarbonization efforts.
If you know of other decarbonized or in-progress public buildings in the Bay Area that should be included on this list, we’d love to hear from you. Please email us at publicbuildings@bayren.org to share your suggestions.
Completed Projects
Alameda County – Fremont Downtown Event Center
The City of Fremont's Downtown Event Center is the City's first all-electric building with zero dependence on fossil fuels. The 15,000-square foot building features a solar photovoltaic (PV) array, deep roof overhangs, drought-tolerant plant landscaping, and a high performance envelope with significant daylighting throughout. Construction of the building and accompanying 40,000 square-foot plaza was completed in 2021.
Alameda County – Hayward Library & Community Learning Center
The City of Hayward's Library and Community Learning Center is one of the largest Net Zero Energy public libraries in the country, powered by 100% renewable energy produced by onsite solar panels. The three-story, 58,000-square foot building was awarded the LEED Platinum certification and conserves drinking water by capturing, filtering and storing rainwater for non-potable uses such as flushing toilets and irrigation. Construction of the new library and Heritage Plaza on the site of the old main library was completed in 2019—a combined $60 million project—and was financed through the Measure C half-cent sales tax passed by Hayward voters in 2014.
Alameda County – West Berkeley Public Library
The City of Berkeley's West Berkeley Public Library is the first Net Zero Energy public library in California. The 9,000-square foot building showcases an integrated design approach combining passive strategies, advanced technologies, and complex energy modeling. The library features a highly efficient building envelope, a cool roof, a hydronic radiant slab for both heating and cooling, natural ventilation, and an onsite solar photovoltaic (PV) array that produces more energy than the building consumes annually. Construction of the library was completed in 2013.
Contra Costa County – County Administration Building
The Contra Costa County Administration Building is an all-electric facility located in downtown Martinez. The four-story, 72,000-square foot building serves as the home for county administrators and connects to a new state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center. The County installed a 448 kW solar system over the employee parking lot across the street to offset the energy used by the building. Complementing this effort, there is additional space pre-wired on the roof of the building for additional solar capacity needed to reach Zero Net Energy consumption. Construction of the building was completed in 2020 at a cost of $110 million.
Contra Costa County – County Administration Building B & Plaza
The Contra Costa County Administration Building B & Plaza in Martinez is the first government building in the world to achieve TRUE Gold certification for Construction. The four-story, 65,000-square-foot building is an all-electric facility that was also awarded a LEED Gold certification. The site features significant materials that were salvaged and reused from the demolition of the Old Administration Building at 651 Pine Street as well as the Jail at 650 Pine Street, with 95% of construction waste being diverted from landfills.
San Mateo County - Atherton Library
The Town of Atherton's library is an all-electric, Net Zero Energy-ready facility. The 9,600-square foot building features a 100 kW rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) system, air source heat pump heating and cooling, heat pump water heaters, LED lighting with dimming controls and plug load controls, as well as passive design strategies such as daylighting. Construction of the new library was completed in 2022.
San Mateo County - Burlingame Community Center
The City of Burlingame's Community Center is an all-electric, Zero Net Energy facility. The two-story, 36,000-square foot building features an onsite 215 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) system, an induction cooktop, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, Energy Star appliances, and a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) HVAC and Dedicated Outdoor Air System (DOAS) with heat recovery. Construction of the project was completed in 2022.
San Mateo County – Colma Town Hall
The Town of Colma’s historically significant Town Hall was renovated in 2018 to become an all-electric facility. The renovation project was designed with PG&E to meet the standards of the Savings by Design Program (now replaced by the California Energy Design Assistance program) and involved adding new construction of 10,300 square feet, installing two electric vehicle (EV) chargers, and using Bay Friendly Landscaping guidelines. The Town Hall is powered entirely by 100% renewable energy through Peninsula Clean Energy and is Certified Green through California’s Green Business Certification Program.
San Mateo County – Half Moon Bay Library
The City of Half Moon Bay's Library is an all-electric facility that is in the process of becoming a certified Zero Net Energy building. Upon certification, the library is expected to be the fourth largest Zero Net Energy library in the nation. The two-story, 22,000-square foot building features an onsite 488 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) system, heat pump powered hydronic radiant floor heating, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, a living roof, and an integrated system that controls lighting, window blinds, and cooling systems. More than 50% of the project's construction waste was diverted from the landfill. Construction of the new library was completed in 2018 at a cost of $24 million.
San Mateo County - County Office Building 3
The County of San Mateo's County Office Building 3 or COB3 is the new all-electric, Zero Net Energy facility for County employees in historic Redwood City. The 5-story, 208,000-square foot building is constructed of Mass Timber, featuring wood columns, beams, and Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) floor decks. The County is proud to construct the first Civic Building in the nation that boasts CLT construction and Net-Zero energy design. The building features a 1,038 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) system, heat pump water heaters, and heating and cooling provided by an air-source heat recovery chiller plant.
Santa Clara County – Sunnyvale City Hall
The City of Sunnyvale’s City Hall is the first city hall in the country designed to be LEED Platinum certified and Net Zero Energy. The four-story, 120,000-square foot building features over 1,600 solar panels, a battery microgrid for emergency use and a back-up generator, 11 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, and vegetated terraces for outdoor enjoyment. Construction began in 2020 and was completed in 2023.
Projects In Progress
Alameda County - Piedmont Aquatics Center
The City of Piedmont is constructing a new aquatics center that will feature pools fueled by an all-electric heat pump system. The aquatic center will include a combination of solar photovoltaic (PV) thermal and PV panels to help offset the site's energy demand.
San Mateo County - Atherton Civic Center
The Town of Atherton is constructing a new Civic Center to house city administration, public works, community meeting spaces, and the police station. The project also involves renovating the existing historic Town Hall and constructing a new modern library (see Completed Projects above for more information).
San Mateo County - Redwood City Veterans Memorial Building/Senior Center
Redwood City's Veterans Memorial Building/Senior Center is a joint project with the YMCA of Silicon Valley, replacing aging facilities at Red Morton Park. The 43,800 square-foot building will feature an all-electric commercial kitchen, solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, and a microgrid.
San Mateo County - South San Francisco Wellness Center
The South San Francisco Wellness Center will be a new health center and office building located in South San Francisco. The building will be an all-electric, Zero Net Energy facility built with Mass Timber and Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) construction.
Santa Clara County - Campbell Library
The Campbell Library is being renovated to become an all-electric facility. Upgrades will include a new emergency generator to provide back-up power to the entire building in the event of a power outage.
Santa Clara County - Mountain View Aquatics Center
The City of Mountain View is constructing a new aquatics center that will feature an all-electric hot water system powered by a large array of heat pumps and solar photovoltaic (PV) thermal and PV panels.
Santa Clara County - Mountain View Senior Center
The City of Mountain View is electrifying the City's Senior Center with grants from Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE). The project will convert the building's water heaters and kitchen to all-electric systems.