| Prepare for the Cooler Season | | | | Don't Let Your Waste Haunt You! | | | Don't let your waste haunt you! Compost your Halloween pumpkins and keep them out of the landfill. Use your green organics cart and give your pumpkin a new purpose. If you have a home compost system, let them decompose in your backyard.
Keeping your pumpkins out of the landfill will reduce the amount of methane (a fast-acting greenhouse gas) released into the air from pumpkins and yield rich dark soil for use in gardens and landscapes. The same is true of your kitchen scraps and yard waste, which currently make up about one-third of the waste stream in Alameda County.
Review our composting resources below for helpful tips and guides about how you can compost and reduce your food waste at home: | | | Slay Energy Vampires in Your Home! | | | | Looking for more ways to save on your utility bills this fall? Slay your home energy vampires by plugging electronics into power strips and then turning the whole power strip off when the electronics are not in use.
With Rising Sun, a local nonprofit and City partner, Fremont residents can receive a free energy efficiency kit that includes an advanced power strip and other measures. To receive your energy efficiency kit, fill out Rising Sun's online survey or call Rising Sun at 510-665-1501 ext. 300. The kit includes the following measures to install in your home: - Advanced power strip ($50 value)
- LED light bulbs, standard and floodlight
- High-efficiency bathroom and kitchen faucet aerators (same pressure, less water)
- High-efficiency shower heads (same pressure, less water)
- Toilet leak detection tablets
Rising Sun will also send you information about energy-saving programs, including: Please note that if you participated in Rising Sun's Green House Call service in the last five years you do not qualify. For questions or more information, please email Rising Sun. | | Energy customers enrolled in PG&E's CARE utility bill assistance program now have an additional way to save on their energy bills through a collaboration between East Bay Community Energy (EBCE), Fremont's community choice energy provider, and OhmConnect, an application that tracks home energy use and rewards participants when they save energy at home.
CARE-qualified residents that sign up on the OhmConnect platform will receive free "smart plug" devices for their outlets through this EBCE program, helping them reduce their energy usage. Participants will also receive a small bill credit on their utility bills for doing their part to save energy.
Not sure if you qualify or looking for more information on the program? Contact local-programs@ebce.org for more information.
Regardless of your status as a CARE customer, all Fremont residents are encouraged to sign up with OhmConnect to track and optimize their energy use and get rewarded for energy savings! | | | EBCE Resilient Home Program | | | | Thinking about installing a new solar + battery backup system but don't know where to start or think it's just too expensive? East Bay Community Energy's new Resilient Home program is here to help!
The City has partnered with East Bay Community Energy (EBCE), Fremont's electricity provider, to launch a solar and battery backup program for homeowners. Resilient Home pools the power of individual participants to get more competitive pricing, with an additional incentive that provides even better savings. EBCE has done the upfront legwork and selected an experienced installation partner, Sunrun, to make adding a new solar + battery backup system to your home simple and more affordable than ever. | | | Sunshares Webinar November 10 | | | Bay Area SunShares aims to make it simpler and more affordable to go solar and/or add battery storage to your home by pooling the buying power of homeowners.
The program's goal is to use the power of community to increase clean energy adoption and fight climate change. Studies show that we have the technology to build a world powered by 100% clean energy. However, many people still think that solar or electric vehicles are too costly or too complex to incorporate into their daily lives.
Join SunShares for their next introductory webinar on November 10 at 5.p.m. During the session, they will explain how the SunShares discount works, the basics of solar technology, and what incentives and rebates are available. Pre-vetted solar providers will also be present so participants can receive additional, in-depth information about how solar and battery storage will work for their home. Register today! | | | Electric Vehicle Incentive Programs | | | | Fremont is one of the leading cities in electric vehicle adoption! If you're interested in joining this trend and becoming an electric vehicle or hybrid vehicle owner, there are several incentive programs available to residents, including some additional options for those who are income-qualified: - Drive Clean Bay Area: Drive Clean Bay Area offers discounted pricing for EVs through a nonprofit partnership with Cartelligent. Sign up for their current round of EV Preferred Pricing available from November 11 through December 5, 2020.
- California Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CRVP): Offers residents up to for $4,500 eligible hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs), $2,000 for battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), and $1,000 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), with increased incentives of up to $7,000 for income-qualified individuals. Explore vehicle options and program eligibility requirements.
- Clean Vehicle Assistance program: Offers grants and loans for income-qualified Californians to purchase or lease a new or used hybrid or electric vehicle. Find out more about the process on their website.
- PG&E Clean Fuel Rebate: Provides an $800 incentive to EV owners or lessees for use of electricity as a clean transportation fuel, helping to offset the cost of a Level 2 home charger. Learn more and apply for a Clean Fuel Rebate.
- Federal Tax Credit: A federal income tax credit of up to $7,500 is available for the purchase of new battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The total credit amount issued is based upon the capacity of the battery used to power the vehicle. Learn more and search for eligible vehicles at fueleconomy.gov.
| | | Home Energy Webinars for Real Estate Professionals | | | PG&E is hosting energy education webinars in November for real estate professionals to help them build their expertise around high performance home features, gain competency in valuation, and expand their services as a trusted advisor for home energy improvement plans. These classes offer continuing education hours for realtors and appraisers through CA DRE, CA BREA, and Build It Green.
At these Selling High Performance Homes webinars, realtors will learn new routes to increased profits as they guide clients to homes that are superior on several levels: healthy, safe, comfortable, durable, high quality, and with lower costs of ownership.
If you are a real estate professional and interested in attending, find more information and register on PG&E's website. | | | Know of sustainability-related events or other eco-activities happening in Fremont in 2020? Please let us know by emailing us at sustainability@fremont.gov. | | | | |
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