The U.S. Department of Energy awards The City of Chula Vista an energy grant of $10 million to help improve energy efficiency and decrease greenhouse gases.
The City of Chula Vista is the only local government in Southern California to earn the energy grant. The funding will address the development of educational toolkits and other resources to help building owners with low-to-no-cost upgrades.
“Chula Vista has long been a leader in the climate planning world, developing the first Climate Action Plan in the region in 2000,” said City Manager Maria V. Kachadoorian. “With this funding, we can do even more to improve our environment by increasing energy efficiency in our largest buildings.”
Moreover, the grant will be distributed over the next nine years to improve the performance of Chula Vista’s 750 multifamily, commercial, and industrial buildings 20,000 square feet or larger.
There are older multifamily buildings in the city that were not built with the proper insulation or air conditioning, which has led many occupants to experience being exposed to extreme heat over the years and potentially living through public health threats.
“Ultimately, this will also improve our building stock so that over time people who want to buy or lease will look for more energy efficient buildings,” said Chula Vista Environmental Sustainability Manager Coleen Wisniewski, overseeing the grant.
For more information on the local energy plan, visit the city’s official website.