Following Climate Week Mayor Bass Highlights Progress Towards A Greener LA

LOS ANGELES — Mayor Karen Bass Sept. 25 announced recent progress in the fight against climate change following Climate Week NYC. The mayor highlighted efforts taken during her tenure to further electrify Los Angeles’ transportation system, decarbonize power generation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from commercial and residential buildings. 

Electrifying the Transportation System

• In August, Los Angeles launched the first 100% electric full size street sweeper in the United States.
• The city has installed nearly 100 level 2 chargers and 12 fast chargers throughout Los Angeles.
• In line with the city’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions, more than 25% of new cars sold in Los Angeles County are electric vehicles.
• The Los Angeles Department of Transportation or LADOT added 18 electric DASH buses across Los Angeles this year. The fleet continues to grow.
• The city has put out a Request for Proposal to create a 100% public EV truck charging depot at the Port of Los Angeles expected to be in service by 2025.

Increasing Energy Affordability with Energy Efficiency and Building in a Cleaner Way

• There are more than 100 projects and 9,500 housing units in the pipeline in the Comprehensive Affordable Multifamily Retrofits or CAMR Program that LADWP created to support low-income, multifamily property owners and residents who want to expand their energy efficiency and install local solar on their rooftops.
• LADWP relaunched the Cool LA program, which through rebates, is designed to help Angelenos better manage the impacts of extreme heat caused by climate change, especially for older adults, income-qualified families, and those living in underserved communities where hot weather has an especially significant impact with nearly 5,000 AC units and more than $1,100,000 in rebates.
• LADWP launched the zero by design construction program that encourages high efficiency buildings for commercial and high-rise residential projects.
• LADWP is providing $4.6 million in community emission reduction grant programs that fund the installation of cool roofs, solar arrays, electric vehicles and charging stations.

Progress Towards Running On 100% Clean Power

• LADWP became the first municipal utility to establish science-based targets for greenhouse gas reduction as work continues to limit climate change throughout the world.
• LADWP applied for approximately $825 million in federal funding to advance clean energy goals to further electrify the transportation system, decarbonize power generation, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from commercial and residential buildings.
• LADWP completed six major transmission infrastructure upgrades that will allow for Los Angeles to import more renewable power.

• This year, Los Angeles added 35 megawatts of rooftop solar power, which now totals 665 megawatts of new solar power installed – that’s the equivalent of  77,000 homes and businesses participating in LADWP solar programs. Los Angeles remains a leader in solar energy.
• LADWP launched the Commercial Energy Storage 2 Grid or CES2G pilot, which allows for large energy storage and elective vehicle owners to provide energy storage services.
• LADWP continues to work on the green meadows project, which will serve as a resiliency hub for the community of Watts. The project will feature solar, energy storage, and EV chargers and will provide grid resiliency and a cooling center during heat storm events. The estimated project completion is August of 2024.