Community Energy Labs (CEL) has been awarded a California Energy Commission Bridge Grant for Bringing Rapid Innovation Development to California ratepayers. CEL’s proposal, “Smart Control Automation and Learning for Energy (SCALE),” was one of eight selected for funding (out of 65). The project at the core of the proposal reflects the company’s commitment to protecting the grid and keeping people comfortable using intelligent automation.

With the CEC Bridge Grant funding, CEL will be able to deploy its solution in 10–50 K-12 campuses. The project is designed to demonstrate the commercial scalability of an affordable solution for public schools, including those in lower income and disadvantaged communities. This will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support renewable energy integration, reduce energy burden, and advance the state’s progress in achieving its climate and energy goals.

“Advanced building energy controls are a natural solution for keeping schools within a comfortable temperature range, but districts aren't using them because they lack the expertise or the budget to implement them,” says CEL CEO Tanya Barham. “The CEC Bridge Grant allows us to go into the schools and deploy this automation for them.”

Several school districts voiced their support of CEL’s application. These include Fremont Union High School District, Antelope Valley Union High School District, Temecula Valley, Unified School District, and Montebello Unified School District.

Other grant finalists include Coreshell Technologies, Inc., Tandem PV, Inc., Tyfast Energy Corp., Verne Inc., SirenOpt Inc., The SolarAPP Foundation, and Indian Energy.