Energy & Technology

Technology continues to advance and expand, creating environmental challenges and potential solutions.

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In the News

Announcements

California Public Utilities Commission project on distributed energy resources led by UCLA’s CCSC and LARC

The California Public Utilities Commission has selected the California Center for Sustainable Communities and the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative at UCLA IoES to lead a Data Working Group on Distributed…


Headline

Daniel Swain for SFist — Fresh Heatwave on the Way, Maybe Not as Hot as Last One

UCLA climate expert Daniel Swain spoke with SFist about a new heatwave developing that is expected to bring triple-digit temperatures to inland areas like Sacramento and the Central Valley. “It…


Headline

Edith de Guzman for Grist — The surprisingly simple way cities could save people from extreme heat 

Urban heat islands, exacerbated by concrete and asphalt, pose significant health risks in cities. UCLA researcher Edith de Guzman discusses the urban heat island effect for Grist, highlighting the potential…

Jean-Francois Cardella / Construction Photography / Avalon

Headline

California’s clean energy leap: Easy electrification for most homes

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.

Electrician working on electric panel

Announcements

UCLA to guide the prioritization and evaluation of equity strategies for LADWP’s clean energy transition

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.”

electric bill and calculator

Videos

UCLA’s Comprehensive Sustainability Plan

UCLA has a long history of sustainability leadership — from early energy efficiency efforts and the formation of the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability in the 1990s, to the establishment of…

How Climate Change Will Impact California, Interview with Dr. Alan Barreca

Interview on The Young Turks ScIQ with UCLA environmental economist Alan Barreca by Jayde Lovell about climate change effects on public health, vulnerable communities, and the state of California. They also…

Publications

Quantifying the electric service panel capacities of California’s residential buildings

Eric Daniel Fournier, Robert Cudd, Samantha Smithies, Stephanie Pincetl

Published Work | 2024 | Energy Policy

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Advancing a Net Zero Urban Water Future in the United States Southwest: Governance and Policy Challenges and Future Needs

Courtney Crosson*, Stephanie Pincetl, Caroline Scruggs, Neha Gupta, Rashi Bhushan, Sybil Sharvelle, Erik Porse, Andrea Achilli, Adriana Zuniga-Teran, Gregory Pierce, Dominic L. Boccelli, Charles P. Gerba, Melinda Morgan, Tzahi Y. Cath, Bruce Thomson, Steve Baule, Steve Glass, Mark Gold, James MacAdam, Luke Cole, Mead Mier, Catlow Shipek, and Thomas Meixner

Published Work | 2024 | ACS EST Water

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