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<br />December 21, 2009 Section 3: Building Energy Use <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Page 22 <br /> Provide incentives for businesses that achieve “green business” accreditation with <br />organizations such as the Bay Area Green Business Program. The Bay Area Green <br />Business Program is a cooperative effort that assists businesses and public agencies to <br />come into compliance with all environmental regulations, and take steps to prevent pollution <br />and conserve resources. Certified green businesses and public agencies may display the <br />Green Business logo on their premises and in their advertising. Incentives may include <br />preferential processing of business license applications. <br /> Include and promote additional literature on energy efficiency at the City permit <br />center and planning services website. The permit center is located in the first floor at City <br />Hall, and is a key location where development proposals for the community are reviewed. <br />The Planning Services Division website currently includes a link to green building programs <br />and a Green Building kiosk is at the entrance to the permit center. The website may include <br />additional links to PG&E energy efficiency rebate programs and fact sheets. <br />3.3 Goal: Increase residential, commercial and industrial <br />renewable energy use <br />On-site renewable energy systems offer another important lever for reducing emissions. <br />Renewable energy systems should be installed only after all cost-effective efficiency measures <br />have been implemented. Generally, the best options for Bay Area residents are solar hot water <br />heating and roof-top photovoltaic (PV) systems. The largest barrier to on-site renewable energy <br />is high up-front financing costs and long cost recovery periods. PG&E and the State of <br />California offer incentive programs that help defray the initial investment of energy systems. A <br />recently passed California bill which implements a feed-in tariff that will pay small renewable <br />energy generators for the electricity they generate. <br />To encourage on-site renewable energy, one common strategy employed by other local <br />governments is to offer expedited permitting procedures for renewable generation and green <br />buildings. In the City of San Leandro, however, permits are already processed in a relatively <br />short timeframe. Therefore, recommended actions towards meeting the goal of increased <br />renewable energy use centers around financial assistance to interested property owners. <br />The actions for consideration listed below are related to supplementing existing incentive <br />programs with additional rebates and launching an education campaign to inform the community <br />about available funding for renewable energy systems. <br />