Program areas at Prospect Silicon Valley
For more information please visit www.prospectsv.org/our-workBuilding Decarbonization Policy SupportProspectSV is supporting nationwide policy research with LBNL, to characterize how industry tools, services, programs, and finance may or may not support compliance with Building Performance Standards (BPS) for smaller buildings and small portfolios. Our work includes researching BPS-relevant software tools for owners of underserved buildings who have limited resources and internal expertise. Activities under this task include conducting outreach and interviews with product providers, developing overviews of capabilities and benefits of products reviewed, and distributing results in a snapshot analysis to target audiences. Also, ProspectSV is conducting a landscape study of financing mechanisms related to decarbonization investments for small businesses and under-served buildings, with a focus on building performance standard compliance and electrification. In addition, ProspectSV is engaging BPS stakeholder working groups that will help inform LBNLs BPS Policy Technical Assistance efforts by identifying specific building owner needs. We engage owners, capital entities, and other CRE stakeholders on policy impacts, trends, and risk assessment approaches. The impact of this work will be tailored approaches to engage small building CRE to accelerate market-achievable decarbonization and efficiency improvements nationwide.Decarbonization Advisory SupportProspectSV designed and delivered Decarbonization Technical Assistance for Fleet and Building Electrification/Decarbonization to 30 public institutions, including cities, counties, and school districts. Building and Fleet managers face challenges with staffing and resources to effectively plan and implement decarbonization efforts, even under the best of conditions. We provide assistance that helps institutions gain valuable insight and a path forward with fleet and building projects, with an eye toward clear asset inventories, rational project development, and a long-term financial outlook and highest ROI on carbon emissions reduction.For building owners, we provide insight on priority system replacements and highest benefit, and a strategic review of their portfolio, including key decarbonization considerations for each building analyzed, and relevant funding and incentives. For fleet managers, we develop priority replacement and EVSE options, including comprehensive lifecycle cost evaluations. We also map funding opportunities from State, Federal, and Utilities/CCAs. Where appropriate we provide insights on emerging solutions and upcoming opportunities to gain operational efficiencies leveraging new technology.Our strategic support practice is intended to address the needs of institutions who are impacted by decarbonization policy and regulations, as well as those early movers who wish to scale their programs quickly, leveraging financial and technical advantages available to them. With partners, we bring critical planning, strategy, finance, and design expertise to help clients shape and launch scalable decarbonization efforts.Clean Mobility in SchoolsProspectSV is partnering with Twin Rivers Unified School District (TRUSD) and other organizations on the California Air Resources Board (CARB)-funded California Capitol Pilot Project: Showcasing Zero-Emission Mobility in Schools Project (Clean Mobility in Schools). The project will support transformative emission reduction strategies at TRUSD, located in disadvantaged communities (DACs), and will showcase a comprehensive array of zero-emission mobility solutions for schools throughout California. ProspectSV is providing overall program management and administration in conjunction with TRUSD as the prime grant recipient.The grant includes:Zero-emission school buses with managed charging, and a solar installationZero-emission maintenance and landscape equipmentZero-emission van pool and car-sharing programs for district and community useWorkforce training, outreach, and events in the school and surrounding communityOther project partners include: Climatec, InCharge Energy, Enterprise Van, Fairway EV & Tropos Motors, FordPro, Hilmar Rentals, Lion Electric, Aura Planning, Breathe California, Climate Action Pathways for Schools (CAPS), Sacramento Clean Cities Coalition (SCCC), Sacramento Metro Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD), Sacramento Employment and Training Agency (SETA), Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), and Los Rios Community College.Equitable MobilityDecarbonizing transportation requires a monumental, transformative effort with the promise of lower carbon emissions, higher performance, social benefit, and improved quality of life. Yet, for those in underserved and disadvantaged communities, the promise of zero-carbon mobility remains elusive. Transforming transportation options from fossil fuel to electric, particularly in underserved communities, requires a new set of approaches to operations and infrastructure, a redefinition and expansion of roles, and additional financing. ProspectSV is partnering with Project Climate at UC Berkeley's Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) to form a multi-stakeholder effort for local coalitions to address the barriers and needs of underserved communities with respect to the expansion of clean mobility infrastructure, plans for public charging and vehicle access in community-appropriate locations, and pilot projects to see those plans through. Project Climate and ProspectSV will work with an advisory body of local representatives, small business owners, lower-income multifamily property owners, and EV infrastructure and private finance experts to craft financing strategies to accompany and propel the infrastructure deployment plans developed in the project. This effort serves as a focal point for long-range planning, and is co-supported by corporate and public partnerships focused on data, energy, and mobility.Technology Demonstration SupportProspectSV partners with technology innovators, R&D, Corporate, Operations and Engineering partners to demonstrate innovative technology applications to address known, broad scale barriers to mobility, building efficiency, decarbonization, and other quality of life factors. Our work in this area includes advising and supporting startups with innovative solutions and challenges in commercialization. We partner broadly to pursue funding opportunities from public sector programs including the California Energy Commission EPIC Program. To date we have conducted technology demonstrations and pilots in buildings and transportation sectors, and have conducted a program (Empower Procurement) aimed at process and policy improvements for institutional entities adoption of energy related hardware and services including fleet, building, and distributed energy resource technologies.