Regional Energy Strategy
Energy impacts nearly every fact of daily life—lighting, cooling and heating, business and industrial operations, transportation, and more—and is therefore fundamental to the regional economy and the quality of life of San Diego residents.
The Regional Energy Strategy (RES) serves as the energy policy blueprint for the San Diego region through 2050 to support decision-making as the region strives to meet the energy needs of the growing population. It establishes long-term goals in topic areas such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, distributed generation, transportation fuels, land use and transportation planning, border energy issues, and the green economy. SANDAG and local governments identified six early actions to focus on in the near term.
- Pursue a comprehensive building retrofit program to improve efficiency and install renewable energy systems.
- Create financing programs to pay for projects and improvements that save energy.
- Utilize the SANDAG-SDG&E Local Government Partnership to implement the RES at the local level. SANDAG will work with local governments to identify opportunities and implement energy savings at government facilities and throughout their communities.
- Support land use and transportation planning strategies that reduce energy use and GHG emissions.
- Support planning of electric charging and alternative fueling infrastructure throughout the region.
- Support use of existing unused reclaimed water to decrease the amount of energy needed to meet the water needs of the San Diego region.
In 2014, a technical update of the RES was completed to inform the development of the 2021 Regional Plan. This technical update demonstrates progress toward attaining the RES goals, updates existing conditions and future projections data, and recommends priorities for moving forward.
Energy Engineering
Between 2010 and 2020, SANDAG provided energy assessment and management plans, or “Energy Roadmaps,” at no cost to member agencies. Each Energy Roadmap provides a framework for a local government to reduce energy use in municipal operations and in the community. The Energy Roadmaps support enhanced economic savings and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions. SANDAG also offered project management support for energy efficiency retrofits, technical support and procurement assistance, training and recognition feasibility studies, and performance and GHG emissions–reductions monitoring.