Getting to Zero: San Mateo County's Approach to ZNE

Sage co-founder and CEO Tom Williard has published an article with essential insight into how a large Northern California county focused and implemented its ZNE planning:

San Mateo County has set ambitious building energy goals that exceed California’s current Title 24 regulations for commercial buildings and LEED Certification. The County’s Municipal Green Building Policy requires all new County building projects over 10,000 square feet to meet specific LEED certification requirements, and to achieve ZNE within a financial feasibility test.
San Mateo retained Sage to assist in updating their Municipal Green Building Policy to introduce ZNE and LEED requirements, and anticipate and exceed upcoming changes to state building regulations for commercial construction. Sage created a return-on-investment test for ZNE compliance, balancing energy efficiency and renewable energy production with financial feasibility for onsite and adjacent siting of assets such as solar arrays and battery storage.

The article details how the County, with Sage’s help, has pursued aggressive emissions reduction targets while reserving precious capital for its mission critical facilities.

Read the Article