California Might Seek $5 Billion Bond for State Buildings Upgrades
California Treasurer Bill Lockyer wants Governor Schwarzenegger and the state’s legislature to agree to add a $5 billion bond measure to the November 2008 ballot that would fund solar installations and energy efficiency upgrades for state buildings
California Treasurer Bill Lockyer wants Governor Schwarzenegger and the state’s legislature to agree to add a $5 billion bond measure to the November 2008 ballot that would fund solar installations and energy efficiency upgrades for state buildings. Of that $5 billion, $3.5 billion would fund 450 megawatts of solar panels, $900 million would fund fuel cells, biofuels and other renewable technologies, and $600 million would be dedicated to retrofitting and retrocommissioning the state’s 206 million square feet of building space, Lockyer says.
Investing in energy efficiency should reward taxpayers nicely, Lockyer says. He cites studies that say for every $600 million spent to make its buildings more efficient, the state could reap $863 million in energy savings over 10 years. The proposal would complement and expand efficiency improvements under way as part of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Green Building Initiative, the executive order that commits state buildings to reduce energy use 20 percent by 2015.
The California Commissioning Collaborative, on behalf of the state’s Green Building Action Team, recently released a
road map for achieving the commissioning goals in the green building executive order.
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