Palo Alto, CA. Suspends Ban on Natural Gas in New Buildings

In another positive move for homeowners desires for energy resiliency, the City of Palo Alto has suspended its ban on natural gas hookups in new buildings. The article suggests it is doing so to avoid a costly lawsuit like that which occurred in Berkeley, when it and 70 other cities were forced to reverse their bans on new natural gas hookups.  

As we mentioned in our last Blog post on March 26 about the town folk of Menlo Park marching pitchfork in hand to city hall to bring commonsense change to their local codes, we think the same thing certainly influenced what happened in Palo Alto.  

Mixed Fuel, Commonsense Approach to Energy Resiliency 

The Palo Alto City Council made it clear that it will be all but impossible to get a gas furnace or water heater approved. But buildings will be allowed to get a natural gas hookup for stoves, grills, fire pits and fireplaces, a report from Planning Director Jonathan Lait said. “A mixed-fuel home would require the highest level of efficiency and the addition of on-site solar and storage to meet the standards,” Lait wrote. 

Regardless of why, we applaud the city for adopting this “mixed fuel" sensible approach to energy needs, particularly for those who have or want to build large homes. In simple terms, our energy grid is presently not capable of handling full electrification won’t be for quite some time. 

Whilst you may think we are climate change denialists, we are not. We are pragmatic, as our job is to methodically plot the best course to achieve our client's energy and lifestyle goals. Part of our design logic is having the flexibility of multiple energy inputs to feed single and multi-residence micro-grids. The right design, coupled with intelligent load shedding and adequate solar and battery storage, is what our clients want. Sometimes that mix includes Natural Gas, Propane, and generators.  When the power goes out, our clients still want things to work for extended periods of time. 

Couple this with the California Fire Code changes in CFC 1207.11.4 effective July 2024, which increases the maximum allowable battery energy storage system on residential property to 600kWh, and now people can breathe a sigh of relief as they build a resilient energy system that meets their needs.  

Energy Resiliency Now Measured in Days, Not Hours 

It is no secret that many in PG&E’s service area must now plan for a multi-day utility outage at least once a year, sometimes more depending on where you are and what Mother Nature decides to throw our way.  

Looking back at the atmospheric rivers in the winter of ‘22/’23, (we used to call them the Pineapple Express), much of the Bay Area suffered through 3 or more days without PG&E. In an all-electric home, with no generator and not enough battery storage, people started to realize they had little to no energy resiliency.  

The conversations with our clients has shifted over time, going from wanting several hours of backup, to measuring their energy resiliency in days and they were looking for us to design an autonomous system that would do this, with minimal disruption to their lifestyles. In Palo Alto, adding gas back into the equation goes a long way towards a flexible, well-balanced, and resilient energy system. The Tech CEO trying to build his dream home in Palo Alto we referenced in our last Blog post is jumping for joy right about now!  

More Good News on the Horizon 

There is more good news brewing, which we will share in the next week or two as it makes its way through the legislative process. It would positively impact jobs, energy costs across the socio-economic spectrum, and aid society’s efforts towards reducing carbon emissions. Groups such as the California Solar and Storage Association, the state's largest clean energy business group representing over 650 companies, are constantly working behind the scenes supporting the industry and bringing about change that impacts all of us.