San Mateo moving to all-electric future

The community meeting will be to discuss more electrification requirements for home renovations, new construction and electric vehicle infrastructure, with a focus on home renovations. The city’s current reach codes expire this year, with San Mateo’s Infrastructure and Sustainability Commission interested in further restrictions on gas appliances to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The proposal for new home renovations calls for electric appliance outlets in all single-family kitchen and laundry renovations and installing a new heat pump for air conditioning and water heater for new installation or replacement. Panel replacements would also require space for future electrification. Outdoor equipment like electric or solar pool heating is required, while no gas infrastructure for fire pits, grills and pools would be allowed.

The proposal calls for any new construction to be all-electric, strengthening the city’s current requirement that all new residential and office buildings be all-electric. Exceptions would be available for commercial kitchens and hotel and motel laundry services.

The city also recommends enhanced electric vehicle charging infrastructure requirements for new construction projects. It suggests single-family and townhomes have at least one level two electric vehicle space per unit and one level one space if a second space is available, with infrastructure like electrical panel space, circuits, attachment plugs and other power outlets required. A level two charging station offers a higher and faster charge than its level one counterpart, which comes with a car when bought. However, significant cost barriers come with electric vehicle infrastructure. A level two charging station costs around $500 to $700, and labor for installation can cost an extra $1,000 or more. Upgrades to electrical systems can cost more.

The move to electric vehicles coincides with ambitious state plans to get 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on California roads by 2025. The state recently announced it will ban the sale of new gasoline cars by 2035, with interim stages to phase out gas cars, increasing the need for more electric vehicles and the infrastructure to maintain them. According to Peninsula Clean Energy, a joint powers authority providing energy to San Mateo County, California hopes to have 250,000 publicly available EV charging stations by 2025. As of October 2019, California had around 18,500 public level two charging ports. San Mateo has around 121 public charging stations, of which four are free, according to PlugShare, an app designed to find charging stations.

The city is making recommendations based on findings from the Bay Area Reach Codes team, a coalition of various government organizations like Peninsula Clean Energy, Silicon Valley Clean Energy, East Bay Community Energy and the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability. The groups have played a part in helping craft ordinance languages for other Peninsula cities, with Belmont and Half Moon Bay recently passing stricter electric reach codes aimed at new construction and remodels.

San Mateo’s current reach codes expire Dec. 31 and were adopted in 2019. The city will adopt new codes this fall, starting on Jan. 1, lasting three years. According to the city, transportation accounts for 50% of greenhouse gas emissions in San Mateo, followed by electricity and natural gas use in buildings at 34% of emissions.

The virtual webinar discussion is 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30. People can go to cityofsanmateo.org/4638/Proposed-Green-Building-Reach-Codes for more information about the meeting.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 102