Through its investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, smart grid, and other clean energy technologies, the LADWP expects to serve as a catalyst for economic growth in green jobs and industries.

Green Industry

LADWP played an instrumental role in Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa’s plan for a CleanTech Manufacturing Center in Los Angeles in partnership with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), University of Southern California (USC), Caltech, and Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL). LADWP’s Economic Development Group is working closely with the Mayor’s office and the CleanTech Alliance to attract clean tech industries, including prospective solar equipment manufacturers, to Los Angeles. They will utilize the downtown industrial core as an incubator for green jobs, technology and the growth of the city's economy. Toward this end, the LADWP’s Board of Water and Power Commissioners (Board) has established a local manufacturing bid preference to incentivize new manufacturers to locate in Los Angeles. LADWP also offers additional incentives to customers who install solar equipment manufactured in Los Angeles County. Other efforts include the re-launching of the electric vehicle program to help the city and region become “EV ready”; targeting prospective solar equipment manufacturers and offering additional incentives who install solar equipment manufactured in Los Angeles County.

LADWP Clean Technology Center – In April 2010, the Board authorized the first step in the creation of the La Kretz Clean Technology Center (Center). This business incubator is expected to create 350 new jobs which will help develop and commercialize new energy and water technologies and perform Smart Grid and electric vehicle research and development.

The Board approved the purchase and sale agreement of a commercial property to be occupied by the LADWP for its proposed Innovation Campus (Campus). The property has approximately 77,090 square feet of building space on a 3.16-acre site. Plans for the proposed Campus include a lab space and offices for the Center; office space for the City of Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency's Clean Technology Business Incubator; and shared facilities such as administrative offices, drop-in office space for venture capital firms, a conference center, meeting rooms, storage space, parking, and a prototype manufacturing facility. The Center will streamline and expedite the process by which new and innovative energy and water technologies are matured and commercialized. The Center will work closely with UCLA, USC, and JPL in partnerships and are envisioned to combine the LADWP’s experience in utility operations with the partner’s technical project management and engineering expertise for the Center.

 

Transportation

Getting SoCal Plug-In Ready

To help Los Angeles further shrink its carbon footprint, the LADWP is also playing an instrumental role in ensuring that Los Angeles and the Southern California region become “plug-in ready” for a new generation of electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEV) expected to hit the market.

To ensure Los Angeles and its customers are plug-in ready, the LADWP has re-launched its EV Program with the following key objectives:

  • Prepare customers and Los Angeles for the commercial launch of electric vehicles and associated products
  • Provide those who drive electric vehicles in Southern California the ability to travel seamlessly across service territories and city boundaries

The Electric Vehicle Program aims to foster integration of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) into the electric grid, develop a plug-in ready electric charging infrastructure, and stimulate customer participation through numerous incentives. Specific elements include customer incentives, such as enhancing an existing EV discount rate, streamlining the permit process for home charging installation, and expanding and upgrading the LADWP’s existing network of 400 public charge ports in the city.

LADWP has also taken the lead in the Southern California Regional Plug-In Electric Vehicle Plan (SoCal EV), a collaboration of cities, utilities, automakers, local and regional government agencies, businesses, and others in the Southern California region.

As part of the $60 million Smart Grid Demonstration Project, the LADWP will work with UCLA and USC to research and test the integration of electric vehicles into the electrical grid. The demonstration project will help determine where public charging stations will need to be installed, how much energy will be consumed by customers using EVs and PHEVs, how it will impact customer load, or demand for energy as well as the impact on existing electric distribution equipment.

Greening the Fleet

LADWP will lead by example by procuring EVs for its fleet and working with other City Departments to strategically transition EVs within their respective fleets, including light, medium, and heavy duty vehicles.

For more information, go to the EV Charger Rebate Program.

Greening By Example

Green Building Initiatives

LADWP has a special responsibility to demonstrate best practices in water and energy conservation and other green building practices. In striving towards sustainability throughout its organization, the LADWP is incorporating a number of green building initiatives to achieve the efficient use of utility services not just in our own facilities but promoting the same practices in the public and private sector while at the same time reducing our carbon footprint.         

Below are some water conservation and energy efficiency efforts at the LADWP facilities that can serve as examples and be emulated in the rest of Los Angeles. This would not be possible without the review and evaluation of new products and opportunities for water and energy conservation with respect to plumbing, mechanical, electrical, solar, building, and energy codes.         

Water Conservation at LADWP Properties:

  • Reduced water consumption at the LADWP Headquarters, the John Ferraro Building (JFB), by 54% from 2007 to 2009 (about 105 AFY or 34 million gallons) by installing high efficiency plumbing fixtures and other on-going related efforts.
  • Re-planted landscaping at its facilities with drought-tolerant and native plants, demonstrating that such landscaping beautifies without the need for excessive watering and maintenance. More than 600,000 gallons of water are saved annually through the installation of smart controllers, artificial turf and drought-tolerant plants.
  • Promoted high efficiency plumbing fixtures used at the LADWP facilities as a model for the rest of Los Angeles.
    • Estimated to conserve at least 453,000 AF in the city throught the use of technological innovations by 2029 and 43,200 AFY every year thereafter.
  • Ongoing retrofit of about 600 LADWP buildings with high efficiency plumbing fixtures.

Alternative Energy and Energy Conservation at LADWP Properties:

  • Implemented energy conservation efforts at LADWP facilities
    • To date, over 50% energy savings have been achieved with a new JFB HVAC system and 2 GWh savings for other LADWP facilities.
  • Installed high energy efficiency mechanical systems
  • Utilized renewable energy from the sun to power the JFB’s 150 kilowatt carport results in a savings of 135,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of solar power each year that otherwise would be produced through fossil fuel generation.
  • Integrated sustainable planning, design, and construction practices into all LADWP facilities.
  • Expanded on the Green Building Ordinance to encourage the private sector to adopt sustainable building practices

Changing Our Material Use and Recycling Practices

Recycling practices increased

LADWP seeks to reduce waste throughout its operations throughout the workplace and encourages source reduction, recycling, composting, and reuse programs. the LADWP's recycling program diverts 80% of its waste stream from landfills since 2004. This amounts to over 365 tons of paper, aluminum, plastic, and glass are recycled each year. Throughout its facilities, the LADWP maintains recycling bins/containers for bottles, cans, white computer paper, and mixed paper.

In 2010, recycling at the LADWP headquarters switched to a commingled program collected by the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation. The new program offers several advantages including increased recovery rates for recyclable and use of existing city resources rather than a private contractor.

Using environmentally sensitive materials

The on-site cafeteria complies with the City policy on exclusion of expanded polystyrene. The cafeteria promotes "green dining" with reusable plates, silverware, cups. There are no polystyrene products for customer usage. All polystyrene products have been replaced within biodegradable/compostable products.

For more information, go to Green Building Initiatives.

Education and Awareness

LADWP hosts a number of programs and events to educate and inform our employees, neighbors, customers, and students about energy efficiency, water conservation, and the importance of implementing sustainable practices. The following list a few efforts of the past year:

  • Annual Earth Day Event – On April 22, 2010, the LADWP celebrated the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. The event drew almost 1,000 participants. Children and adults learned methods to conserve water, power, and natural resources and challenged their knowledge with Earth Day quizzes.
  • Adopt-a-school + K-6 curriculum
  • Carbon Calculator – Posted prominently on our website, it will allow our customers to easily calculate their carbon footprint, and implement their own measures to contribute to the solution of reducing GHG emissions. Go to the Carbon Footprint Calculator
  • Lunchtime lectures for employees to provide information on topics of interest, including purple pipe programs, renewable power, etc.

Paperless Billing

LADWP has begun offering customers the option of enrolling in paperless billing service. Paperless billing is convenient and safe. It reduces the consumption of paper, saves customers the cost of a postage stamp, is good for the environment, and helps us to live simpler. If you are an LADWP customer, you can sign up for Paperless Billing Service

If you are an LADWP customer, you can sign up for Paperless Billing Service

Green Products

LADWP is committed to green purchasing through its Buy Recycled Program, adopted by the Board in March 2000. The program promotes the purchase of goods, supplies, and equipment containing recycled-content materials and gives a 10% bid preference to prospective vendors whose products contain more than 25% recycled material.

LADWP has implemented a Green Cleaning supply program that reduces cleaning supply packaging and utilizes products certified by “Green Seal”. Up to 60 LADWP locations will be equipped with dilution stations which results in a reduction of packaging through the use of concentrates at these stations.

LADWP is implementing an Environmentally Preferred Purchasing program which will include mechanisms to ensure the environmentally preferred products have an overall cost lower than conventional non-environmental equivalents. This will be done by taking into account upfront costs, and associated costs and savings realized during the life of the product. The savings can include lower energy costs, water savings, lesser or no final disposal costs, and many other factors.