Finding Free Green to Fund the Green Idea City

I don't need to tell you how tight money is today. The economy may technically be "in recovery," but everyone I know has been spending less, cancelling services, delaying big purchases and taking another staycation. Even the banks are playing it frugal, extending little credit and approving few loans.

So the new and innovative  AB 811 — property assessed clean energy bond program — scheduled to roll out this month, looked like a godsend with its easy-to-get loans for property owners to fund energy improvements, including solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to generate renewable green power, for example.

I've been writing about this program since 2008, just a few months after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill. I've attended conferences across the state, learning the details, and writing about the progress of the first cities and counties to make loans to their citizens, and giving presentations locally to update the South Bay.

As someone who wants to see every possible roof in Hermosa filled with solar panels, generating free electrical power from the sun, and raking in state rebate money along with the 30 percent federal tax credits, I was excited about the potential for this Green Idea City to get these loans from Los Angeles County. 

But at the end of June, we discovered that lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were throwing a monkey wrench into the system, refusing to allow homes they funded to participate and grinding the entire PACE program to a hard stop nationally. 

I could spend an entire column writing about this classic snatching of defeat from the jaws of victory, but I'd rather make lemonade out of these sour lemons.

Sure, the loan money for the big ticket items like solar PV systems or new high SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio)-rated HVAC systems is no longer on the table, but the biggest bang-for-the buck opportunities are still there through the L.A. County Energy Program - and Hermosa Beach now has a chance to move quickly and score a triple-money win before most people even hear about this opportunity:

Money Win No. 1 — Up to $4,500 in rebates and tax credits are available to each homeowner for making energy efficient improvements to their home, with another $450 per year realized in annual energy cost reductions.

Money Win No. 2 – Thousands of good-paying, green jobs are created for local contractors in L.A. County who do the program's testing, the upgrade work, and the confirmation of results. Every building contractor in Hermosa is eligible to get certified right now and become part of the first wave of this new green army.

Money Win No. 3 – There are many positive impacts these energy efficient improvements deliver for our environment. By cutting home energy use we reduce production of smog and greenhouse gas emissions and shrink our carbon footprint. We also reduce the amount we spend constructing new power plants and paying for the impacts of climate change.

Energy experts estimate that the typical house in Hermosa, and throughout the County, needs $4,000 to $4,500 in energy efficient upgrades to achieve 20 percent in energy savings.

If you spent that much, at least $1,000 would come back to you in direct rebates and another $1,500 would come back as a federal tax credit.  Another $450 per year in energy savings would also go into your pocket instead of to Edison and the Gas Company.

So, how does Hermosa Beach take the preemptive lead in this program and get more than its fair share of the money?

By making its move and getting to the head of the line right now while the entire program is unknown and still under the radar screen.  It's as simple as signing up for a free account on the "prelaunch" website.

Whether you're a single family homeowner, a small multi-unit building owner or a contractor who wants to become part of the green jobs program, you should go to the County's website and click on "sign up to receive email updates."

Then fill out that form, opt yourself into the system and let's show the entire County of Los Angeles that, as the Green Idea City, Hermosa Beach knows how to jump on a great green idea when we see one.

Joe Galliani is a member of the Hermosa Beach Carbon Neutral City Committee and writes a weekly column about local environmental issues for Hermosa Beach | Patch.