Marin officials outline ‘electrification roadmap’ for buildings

Marin County has released a draft plan to electrify buildings and thus reduce emissions from natural gas.

The “electrification roadmap,” written by the Marin Sustainability Team and the Marin Climate and Energy Partnership, outlines 10 key actions local jurisdictions can take to electrify old and new buildings. The document proposes implementation by 2030.

“There is no one silver bullet and there is no one entity, be it the county or one city or one group, that is going to solve this on their own,” said Dana Armanino, sustainability planning manager with the Marin County Community Development Agency. “It’s going to take all of us working together and it’s going to take the public sector, the private sector working together and a combination of measures.”

The plan is in response to a Marin County Civil Grand Jury report in 2022 that called for a comprehensive countywide policy guide to electrifying buildings.

Most emissions — around 85% — coming from the built environment can be traced to the burning of natural gas, according to marinclimate.org. This does not include emissions from cars or other transportation.

Electrifying a building can include “smart” thermostats, solar panels, upgraded insulation and air sealing, induction cooktops, heat pump water heaters and dryers, and solar and battery storage. The changes could reduce utility bills.

The 10 actions include: create an accessible central information and resources hub; consider permit discounts and streamlining processes to incentivize converting to electric; advance new and existing green building, electrification, electric vehicle, and electric system standards in line with mandatory code updates.

Also: increase access to low-cost energy, electrification and green-financing loan programs; coordinate with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to improve infrastructure planning and speed up interconnection timelines; and support and improve the growth and quality of the building and electrification workforce.

Lastly: increase engagement, promotion and outreach activities to underserved residents; implement the countywide EV acceleration strategy; explore a time-of-listing energy assessment policy for home buyers and sellers to use; and investigate a pilot electrification and gas infrastructure decommissioning project.

“It’s going to take a combination of measures,” Armanino said. “What we’ve really tried to do with those 10 actions is identify what those measures might be, and it’s not going to be just one of them. It’s going to be a combination of them and we’re going to have to start chipping away at them in the coming years.”

The ideas are meant to move Marin County toward an all-electric and energy-efficient future to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change. Transitioning to all electric also reduces the risk of gas pipeline fires and has a public health benefit, according to the plan. The use of gas appliances can increase the risk of respiratory infection, asthma, heart disease and death due to the pollutants they release. This is especially true for low-income people, seniors and other disadvantaged groups.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has banned the sale of gas space and water heaters beginning in 2027, and the state has banned them beginning in 2030. The county plan, however, does not compel municipalities to implement its suggestions. It only lays out a way to reach these goals.

“The strongest point of this is that it really does provide a road map of how you get from where we are to a future where the building stock is fully electrified,” said David Moller of the Marin-Sonoma Building Electrification Squad. “A road map only has value if you take the trip. If you take the map and then put it on the shelf, then you don’t get anywhere.”

The Marin-Sonoma Building Electrification Squad, part of the nonprofit Climate Reality Project, works to build and adopt policies relating to electrification. It was one of the many stakeholder groups consulted in drafting the plan.

Moller said he believes the roadmap is feasible, but it will take local municipalities adopting and actively working to implement its suggestions — like evaluating every issue, idea and topic against the plan — for it to work. He said he wished the plan was stronger in its reasoning for adopting the measures: the worsening climate crisis.

“We have to make this journey now,” Moller said. “We have the road map, we just need the commitment of the jurisdictions and the communities to implement this change. If we don’t take this journey, we’re just hurting ourselves. ”

Ken Strong, the co-chair of Marin Conservation League’s climate committee, said he largely supports the plan and applauded its collaboration with various stakeholders. He said electrifying everything is an essential tool in trying to mitigate climate change and reduce greenhouse gases.

He said incentivizing people to make the switch to electric, specifically in the permitting process, is a strong point of the road map because it would make the process cheaper and faster. He added that the first task — creating a one-stop place for information — is important.

“It is so hard for your ordinary person to learn what to do as they think about whether or not they are going to electrify their home,” Strong said. “Educating people and informing them about what their options are would make this a lot easier, because right now, it’s a mystery to even those of us who spend a lot of time on it.”

Strong said he wished there were more explicit and “aggressive” measures listed, but said he understood that isn’t the structure of the plan. He would have liked to see a clearer call for rebate, on-bill financing and low-cost financing programs in the plan.

“We think there could be more collaboration between consumer choice aggregators,” Strong said.

MCE, formerly Marin Clean Energy, broadly supports the plan and its focus on reducing emissions and collaborating with communities.

“MCE’s mission is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, so partnership with our member communities on initiatives toward that common goal is always welcome,” said Jenna Tenney, an MCE spokesperson. “We’re proud to be a part of the county of Marin’s efforts to combat the climate crisis.”

The county plan does note some challenges. The cost of transitioning old buildings — three out of four residential buildings in Marin County were built prior to 1980 — to a better and bigger electrical system can cost owners from $3,000 to $25,000, according to the plan. Bolstering rebate programs and other funding resources can help with the costs of transitioning.

Armanino pointed out another challenge to green building: the workforce. Currently, there are only about 60 contractors in this space, she said. She said the county already is working to address the incoming need for more specialized builders, including an electrification career fair in September.

Rick Wells, chief executive officer of the Marin Builders Association, said he supports the county’s efforts to discuss the potential effects of electrification requirements to stakeholders.

“We partnered with the county sustainability team to help host the information gathering sessions at our offices to ensure county leaders have accurate information about the impacts of any new guidelines or ordinances on our local contractors,” Wells said in a statement. “We will continue to partner with the county to share important and relevant information with our community.”

A community survey on the draft is open through Aug. 25. The draft and the survey can be found at bit.ly/3yZTjsb.

Armanino said that in addition to the career fair, the county is planning an online green home tour in October.

“We’ve got the road map, but we’re already trying to implement and do this work now,” she said.