South L.A. among communities awarded state grants for climate projects
By Jessica Silver-Greenberg | August 7, 2017
The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday, June 13, awarded more than $100 million to climate and energy projects in Los Angeles. On that day in 2010, Los Angeles was in the midst of an economic recession that left the city’s economy crippled and its public services deteriorating.
Since then, the city has become more energy efficient, as its budget was bolstered by millions of dollars in public and private funding for climate projects, as well as by efforts to educate the public about the importance of cutting emissions, including through campaigns like “100 by 40,” ”Take the Lead” and “Cities and Climate.”
And last month, the city council voted to continue funding projects that have been started or are currently underway to make sure Los Angeles can meet its climate goals.
The city awarded $25 million in total to 13 projects that will use innovative, proven approaches to help Los Angeles reduce its carbon emissions — including: $13 million to the City’s Community Choice Energy Program, a program that provides lower-cost incentives to low-income, environmentally concerned homeowners and businesses for energy efficiency upgrades; $5 million to Project C, which gives homeowners and businesses energy-efficient retrofitting options; $3 million to the Green-e Energy Partnership, which creates energy-saving efficiency projects for homes and businesses; and $1 million to the California’s Energy Commission’s Local Clean Energy Program, which provides loans to low-income homeowners to buy energy-efficient HVAC units.
Los Angeles also received $1.2 million in grants for renewable energy technologies that are expected to save the city money, as well as $3 million to the Climate Impact Fund and $2 million to the California Institute for Energy Research, to study and develop cleaner, cost-efficient
