Dear City Council and staff,
I’m writing about item G-1 (study session with a request for direction).
Please support staff’s request by providing them with direction to pursue a partnership agreement with BlocPower to assist residents and landlords with voluntary conversion of buildings from fossil fuels to 100% renewable electric energy.
According to the staff report, “in 2019, natural gas consumption in buildings accounted for 41 percent of Menlo Park’s greenhouse gas emissions”. This makes it imperative that we convert existing buildings from fossil fuel to clean electric energy in order to achieve our target of carbon neutrality by 2030.
In figuring out how to convert existing buildings, we must design around those who face the greatest challenges.
BlocPower is a social benefit “B-corp” whose mission it is to “green American cities” while centering climate justice. As they state on their website, “United States building energy infrastructure is outdated, unhealthy, and in desperate need of upgrades. We believe that frontline communities, facing the greatest environmental and economic burdens, must be prioritized.”
I look forward to the study session tomorrow, and encourage the city council to give direction to move forward expeditiously to develop a formal agreement with BlocPower using the draft agreement in the staff report as a starting point. With BlocPower serving as a provider of turnkey services and supports, using local partnerships and workforce development, we can facilitate the conversion process for building owners, save money through bulk purchasing and efficiencies, and build pathways into good jobs through local workforce development.
I’m grateful and impressed with the determination and tenacity of Menlo Spark, the Menlo Park Environmental Quality Commission and the city’s sustainability team in taking on the challenge of decarbonizing existing buildings.
This is an opportunity for us all to pull together and achieve something huge and necessary. As a resident of Menlo Park (and planet earth), I am inspired and ready to help in any way I can.
Please move forward with the proposal.
Thank you,
Karen Grove
Menlo Park Housing Commissioner, writing as myself
