News

Do you have a solution to cut emissions and advance resiliency? Apply for up to $100,000 in grant funding!

Applications are now open for Silicon Valley Clean Energy’s Innovation Onramp. This program grants funding to cutting-edge projects that address key technical, market and policy barriers to achieving significant carbon reductions in our community and beyond. Depending on the stage of the project, grant funds up to $100,000 are available for demonstrations and $75,000 for proofs of concept.

For Spring 2020, applications focused on energy resiliency solutions with the potential to achieve significant carbon emission reductions will be prioritized. But all relevant projects are still welcome to apply! Projects may take the form of innovative hardware technologies, software and data, policies and programs or education and outreach. Project evaluation is based on community value, emissions impact, scalability, equity in service and core role for SVCE.

For program criteria and to apply visit their website.

Applications accepted until April 30, 2020.

On Sunday, February 23, the City hosted a third Cool Block Leader Training. There are now roughly 20 Block Leaders who will be forming teams in the coming weeks! Everyone had their unique reason for joining, but it was great to see so many people gathered together with a shared commitment to improving their neighborhoods and communities.

One Block Leader wrote about his experience with knocking on his neighbors doors to start his Cool Block team -- read his article here for a heartwarming story and firsthand look at what it's like to be a Cool Block Leader.

There will be one FINAL training on March 15 -- RSVP here!

On Monday January 13, we held the first of three Cool Block Information Sessions, officially kicking off the launch of the program in Mountain View. Read more about the program in this article, which appeared in the Los Altos Town Crier on January 15. Thank you so much to all of the passionate and interested residents that came to the first information session! Anyone can sign up to attend a Block Leader training HERE and learn how to create a Cool Block team in their neighborhood.

Exciting news! At its October 22 meeting, the City Council adopted Sustainability Action Plan 4 (SAP-4). The plan outlines 81 new actions and 79 already-approved actions for City staff to implement through Fiscal Year 2021-2022. The plan includes funding for active transportation programs and infrastructure designed to encourage the community to choose alternatives to driving, as well as programs aimed at supporting electric vehicle adoption. SAP-4 includes several programs and incentives that help residents and businesses reduce both their energy bill and carbon footprint through energy efficiency measures and the use of clean energy. Additionally, there are numerous programs that will help residents and businesses get the tools they need to take action on climate, save money, and engage with the broader Mountain View community. These programs range from community challenges to neighborhood disaster preparedness to civic engagement to green business certification. SAP-4 also provides support for plant-based diet community education and engagement, and funding for programs aimed at increasing the City’s tree canopy cover. You can read more about all of the actions in the attachments here.

City Council approved the Zero Waste Plan at their October 29, 2019 meeting. The Plan describes actions the City can take to meet a 90% diversion from landfill goal by 2030. It will serve as a guide for the preparation of new collection, processing, and landfill service agreements to replace the City’s current agreements, which expire in 2021.

Development of the Plan involved input and valuable feedback obtained from stakeholder interviews, a public workshop, and a City Council study session. There are 39 initiatives outlined in the final Plan, ranging from short- to long-term through 2030. You can read the full plan here.

Some short-term initiatives that will be implemented in the next few years include: a Foodware Packaging Reduction plan to reduce disposable foodware packaging, food scraps composting for multi-family residents, increased technical assistance to schools to improve diversion, and measures to reduce food waste and increase edible food donation. Stay tuned for updates from the Recycling & Zero Waste division as new initiatives are implemented Citywide.