Decarbonization Showcase
BayREN’s Decarbonization Showcase uncovers the path to cleaner, more sustainable public buildings across the Bay Area. By enrolling a select group of public buildings in various climate zones, the Showcase provides tailored support to help facilities decarbonize their operations and serve as a model for others.
Showcase projects will implement recommended measures for energy efficiency, distributed energy resources, electrification, demand response, and other types of energy-related measures. These projects aim to demonstrate practical solutions for reducing or eliminating emissions from public buildings and the full impacts that can result from building decarbonization projects.
Please check this page regularly for future updates.
Showcase Goals
- Collect and share real-world data on decarbonization approaches across design, construction, and operation stages for public buildings in a variety of climate zones.
- Offer free technical and financial support to participants, with a focus on projects serving equity priority communities.
- Share findings and insights through case studies, peer network calls, and webinars, while developing metrics to communicate the full range of decarbonization impacts.
Timeline, Eligibility, and Evaluation Process
- January 21, 2025 - Application period opens
- March 18, 2025 - Application period closes
- April 7, 2025 - Final projects selected to participate in the Showcase
- Applicant Type
- Applicants must be local governments or special districts located within the nine Bay Area counties.[1]
- Applicant’s Utility
- Applicants must be a current Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) customer who receives electricity and/or gas distribution service. Applicants that purchase electricity through a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) are eligible to participate.[2]
- Site Ownership
- Project Sites must be existing public buildings owned by local governments or special districts.
- Site Characteristics
- Project Sites must not have any known physical, ownership, or operational barriers that would limit the implementation of recommended building decarbonization upgrades.
- Commitment
- While this program does not require a letter of commitment at the outset, the expectation is that the applicant intends to implement the recommended building decarbonization upgrades and fully decarbonize the nominated building. To support project implementation, the applicant will be expected to provide internal funding and/or apply for funding from external programs. If selected to participate in the Decarbonization Showcase, a letter of commitment will be required in order to receive BayREN gap funding.
[1] Eligible local government entities include city/town governments and their departments, county governments and their departments, and special districts. The nine Bay Area counties include Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma Counties.
[2] Local governments and special districts receiving electricity from one of the following municipal electric utilities are eligible to participate: Alameda Municipal Power, City of Healdsburg Electric, Water, & Wastewater Department, Hetch Hetchy Power, and Silicon Valley Power. The City of Palo Alto has their own utility that provides both electricity and gas distribution and therefore is not eligible to participate.
To evaluate all Decarbonization Showcase project applications, BayREN will organize an Evaluation Committee that consists of BayREN staff and consultants. Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Project need and value
- Availability of project site information
- Potential for replicability
- Project feasibility
- BayREN gap funding availability
- Building type diversity
- Geographic diversity
- Project Site is located in or serves an Equity Priority Community, per the Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission's (MTC) Equity Priority Communities Framework (which is available at https://mtc.ca.gov/planning/transportation/access-equity-mobility/equit…)
Decarbonized Public Building Examples
Many local governments in the Bay Area are taking action to decarbonize their buildings. Browse through previous and ongoing examples to gain insights into successful approaches for implementing decarbonization projects in public buildings.