Headline

Most California homes can achieve electrification with strategic load management, eliminating the need for costly panel upgrades in a majority of cases, according to new research published in Energy Policy. The study, led by Eric Fournier, research director at UCLA’s California Center for Sustainable Communities, analyzed the capacity of existing electrical panels in homes across the state. These panels limit a home’s power draw at any given time, and their capacity is crucial for electrification — increased electric appliance use can strain older or undersized panels.

Announcements

Last year, as part of the study, the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation (LCI) and colleagues provided LADWP with recommendations for robust, long-term solutions to low-income customers’ ability to pay their bills through the clean energy transition. Now, in partnership with the UCLA California Center for Sustainable Communities, our researchers are digging deeper into energy equity issues to guide the agency’s development, implementation, and evaluation of these recommendations. “LADWP has the opportunity to lead the nation in how to achieve a more just energy transition,” said Stephanie Pincetl, director of the UCLA California Center for Sustainable Communities, “and we are honored to help facilitate that possibility.”

Awards

The California Center for Sustainable Communities, along with UCLA research teams and departments, has been selected as a finalist for the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) 2024 Power Player Awards in the Equity category.

Announcements

Founding Director of the California Center for Sustainable Communities and Chair of UCLA’s Environment and Sustainability Ph.D. program Dr. Stephanie Pincetl co-authored a study, “Advancing a Net Zero Urban Water Future in the United States Southwest.” Published in ACS ES&T Water, the research examines the feasibility of Net Zero Urban Water (NZUW) — cities becoming self-sufficient with local water sources. This is crucial for the water-stressed US Southwest, where the Colorado River can’t meet the demands of 40 million residents.

Awards

The Institute of the Environment and Sustainability is proud to announce that Lorena De la Puente Burlando has been awarded a 2024 Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship. The program supports doctoral students in the humanities and interpretive social sciences as…