A glimpse into the work of BayREN that greens the Bay Area

Led by the Association of Bay Area Governments, BayREN (Bay Area Regional Energy Network) is a regional collaboration of the Bay Area's nine counties and supports a greener Bay Area while tackling local issues such as housing, affordability, and resilience.

Through events, tours and programs, BayREN offers ways to participate and learn about its goals and mission. Events include:

• On Wednesday, Sept. 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Leininger Center in San Jose, celebrity chef Tú David Phu will hold a free live cooking experience. Chef Tú will explain the benefits of switching from natural gas cooking to electric induction through a fried rice recipe. Information about resources and rebates to go electric in a kitchen will be provided. The event will be hosted in English with live Vietnamese translations. Register here for the event.
• State and local policies are pushing toward all-electric buildings in order to save energy and reduce climate impacts. On Wednesday, Sept. 20 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Learn more about an all-electric future and hear about building and community scale solutions that can help create a resilient built environment for everyone, including energy efficiency, load shifting, demand response strategies, and more. The forum is free and open to all and will be in a hybrid format with options to attend in person or virtually. Register here for the event.
• And last month, the BayREN team, joined by staff of the Association for Energy Affordability and members of the California Public Utilities Commission, embarked on a tour of some of BayREN's projects in Oakland. The tour encompassed visits to the St. Mary’s Garden Affordable Senior Housing Community and the headquarters of Rising Sun Center for Opportunity. Tours like these underscore the essential role that BayREN plays in fostering energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, and community well-being. Keep reading for more information.

In it's 10 years of existence,  BayREN has helped mitigate 156 tons of carbon, upgraded 60,695 housing units and provided $55.4 million in incentives to make help make the region more environmentally friendly.