Green Rebuild Initiative (GRI)

Facilitating 100% electric and Net Zero Energy rebuilding with full Solar Microgrid resilience

GRI Slides GRI Webinar

Overview

California residents are experiencing the growing impacts of climate change. In January 2025, fires tore through the Santa Monica Mountains, devastating communities. As residents begin the difficult process of rebuilding, they face crucial decisions around how to rebuild their homes to ensure sustainability and resilience. The Green Rebuild Initiative (GRI) aims to facilitate sustainable and resilience rebuilds by offering super green home designs that serve as templates, featuring 100% electric and Net Zero Energy (NZE) homes that are supported by Solar Microgrids that deliver unparalleled energy resilience.  Additionally, the GRI is curating a corral of green architects, builders, and other collaborators that can implement those designs into new homes for property owners in Pacific Palisades, Altadena, and everywhere beyond.

Mission

The Green Rebuild Initiative (GRI) aims to facilitate sustainable and resilient rebuilds through “Super Green” home designs that are all-electric, Net Zero Energy (NZE), and supported by Solar Microgrids for unparalleled resilience. The GRI also encourages homes to be designed for high energy efficiency and low embedded carbon, while being engineered to withstand extreme weather events and built with non-toxic materials

Roadmap

With a clear 5-step roadmap, the GRI aims to facilitate super green rebuilding:.

  1. Educate property owners, architects, builders, policymakers, lenders, insurers, and everyone else about the superiority of Super Green homes.
  2. Illuminate the economic benefits of Super Green designs, including the associated tax benefits and other incentives.
  3. Provide easy access to specifications associated with Super Green designs.
  4. Share showcase Super Green home designs.
  5. Connect parties for Super Green outcomes, including property owners, architects, builders, and associated experts.

Collaborators

  • John Bello, P.E., President at Bello Global Consulting.
  • Fallon Vaughan, a developer with hands-on experience building super green homes in Paradise, CA, after the devastating 2018 wildfires.
  • Dennis Allen, Founder of Allen Construction and a leading advocate for sustainable homebuilding.
  • Tim Hade, Co-Founder of Scale Microgrids, who will oversee the integration of solar-driven microgrid solutions.
  • Lauren Michele, Owner & Sustainability Consultant, California Home Designs.
  • Ellen Bildsten, Architect and member of the American Institute of Architects.
  • Elisa Garcia, Architect with Garcia Architects.
  • Jonathan Port, Founder and President of Permacity Foundation.
  • Altadena Collective, A group of architects and designers in Altadena who want to work together to get more people to build back, keep the character of Altadena, and use collective power to create more affordable options.
  • Rebuild LA Safe

Beyond the immediate rebuild, a critical goal of this campaign is scaling impact by making these super green designs widely accessible. Through strategic media outreach, key collaborations, and educational webinars, the Clean Coalition will ensure these homes serve as replicable blueprints for future super green new homes.

The campaign is actively engaging high-profile figures and organizations to maximize visibility and support. Notable target collaborators include:

  • Mayor Karen Bass and Steve Soboroff, who are leading LA’s post-fire recovery and reconstruction efforts.
  • Rick Caruso, a respected LA developer and leader of Steadfast LA, a nonprofit focused on accelerating rebuilding efforts in Palisades.
  • The US Green Building Council, Direct Relief, and other key stakeholders who can help scale these efforts beyond the immediate region.

Through media connections and targeted partnerships, the Clean Coalition will amplify awareness of super green building as the future standard for sustainable development.

By transforming disaster recovery into an opportunity for innovation, the GRI is proving that rebuilding after climate disasters can be smarter, cleaner, and more resilient than ever before.

Learn more by watching our GRI Webinar! 

+ Click here for more information

Solar & Solar Microgrids

  • Solar – Harnesses sunlight to produce enough electricity to achieve Net Zero Energy (NZE).
  • Solar Microgrids – Combines energy storage with the solar to deliver an unparalleled trifecta of economic, environmental, and resilience benefits.  On an everyday basis, the energy storage time-shifts solar to optimize economics, and during grid outages, the energy storage ensures the solar stays online and that solar energy is delivered to the most important loads 24x7x365.  All loads can be maintained for significant percentages of time during grid outages, depending on solar production on a given sequence of days.  For lots of details, see the Clean Coalition’s value-of-resilience (VOR) methodology, which is called VOR123.
  • The Clean Coalition’s Electrification and Community Microgrid Ready (ECMR) Guidelines provide recommendations for cost-effective home electrification that would enable a home to be ready to connect to a Community Microgrid if one were to be developed in the community — opening up a trifecta of economic, environmental, and resilience benefits for your home and community.

Net Zero Energy (NZE)

NZE requires the solar to produce at least as
much energy as the home consumes over the
course of a year. Solar needed to achieve NZE
for homes with Title 24 levels of energy
efficiency and two EVs (22,000 miles of home
EV charging per year):

  • 1,500sf home requires 9.8kW of solar
    (24 solar panels).
  • 2,500sf home requires 14.8kW of solar
    (36 solar panels).

California Energy Code Title 24 (Part 6) falls
far short of NZE:

  • 1,500sf home only requires 2kW
    (5 solar panels)
  • 2,500sf home only requires 3kW of solar
    (7 solar panels).

Solar to achieve 2,500 sf NZE home

Total single roof area required to achieve NZE for a 2,500 sf house is 1,000 sf, to accommodate 760 sf of solar (14.8 kW) plus setbacks

  • 21,221 kWh per year is the estimated energy consumption for a typical 2,500sf 4-person household
  • A 14.8kW solar array (assuming 1,512kWh/kW-yr) is required to achieve Net Zero Energy (NZE), which includes charging two EVs
  • Note: an EV driving 12,000 miles per year will require 3,600kWh of energy per year to charge, which can be offset by 6 solar panels. This model also assumes there is a second EV using 10,000kWh per year.
  • Assumes QCELL 410W solar panels, each with dimensions of 6.2 ft x 3.4 ft = 21.1 square feet
  • 36 solar panel required to achieve NZE, requiring 760 sf for the solar layout, and producing 22,223 kWh per year.
  • Total roof area required is 1,000 sf, including setbacks of 3 feet on side edges, 1.5 feet from the ridge, and 0.5 feet from the bottom edge (the bottom setback is needed to ensure proper rain drainage into a gutter).

Electric Appliances

Heating & Cooling

  • Heat Pump HVAC System – Provides both heating and cooling, with unparalleled efficiency.
  • Smart Thermostat – Helps optimize heating/cooling energy use.
  • Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) or Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) – Improves indoor air quality and efficiency.
  • Ceiling Fans – Helps reduce HVAC energy use.
  • Radiant Floor Heating – Optional for additional comfort.

Water Heating

  • Heat Pump Water Heater – Provides hot water for domestic hot water (ie, indoor hot water), with unparalleled efficiency.
  • Pool & Jacuzzi Heat Pump – Provides hot water for a pool and/or jacuzzi, with unparalleled efficiency.

Kitchen Appliances 

  • Induction Cooktop & Stove – More efficient and safer than traditional electric coil or gas stoves (Stovetop rendering designed by Lauren Michele, California Home Designs).
  • Electric Oven – Convection or standard electric oven.
  • Microwave – A quick and efficient cooking option.
  • Electric Toaster Oven/Air Fryer – Helps reduce energy use compared to a full oven.
  • Electric Coffee Maker/Kettle – For boiling water efficiently.
  • Electric Refrigerator & Freezer – ENERGY STAR-rated for efficiency.
  • Dishwasher – Preferably an energy-efficient model.
  • Garbage Disposal – If needed, an electric-powered option.
  • Laundry & Cleaning
  • Heat Pump Clothes Dryer – Uses less energy than a conventional electric dryer.
  • Electric Washer – ENERGY STAR-rated front-loading models preferred.

Lighting & Power

  • LED Lighting – High-efficiency lighting throughout the home.
  • Smart Power Strips & Outlets – Helps prevent phantom energy loads.

Other Home Systems

  • Electric Car Charger (EV Charger) – Level 2 charger for electric vehicles.
  • Electric Lawn Equipment – Mower, trimmer, blower (battery or corded).
  • Electric Fireplace – If there are any fireplaces (Fireplace rendering designed by Lauren Michele, California Home Designs)
  • Electric Water Pumps – If the home has a well or irrigation system.

Additional Considerations

Site Planning: Orientation for maximizing solar benefits for electricity production and passive solar heating in the winter and shading in the summer.

Building Envelope:

  • High-performance insulation (walls, ceilings/roof, and floors).
  • Triple-pane, low-E windows for energy efficiency.
  • Airtight construction to minimize heat loss (Passive House being the gold standard).

Water Efficiency:

  • Low-flow fixtures, dual-flush toilets, and rainwater harvesting systems.
  • Greywater recycling for irrigation and non-potable uses.

Smart Home Integration:

  • Energy monitoring systems for real-time energy use insights.

Links and Resources

Related Media

Column: The Los Angeles fires are no excuse to slow down on clean energy: In this article, the Los Angeles Times explores how recent wildfires in Los Angeles should not be used as an excuse to delay the transition to clean energy. While some critics argue that renewable energy sources like solar and wind are unreliable during extreme weather events, experts emphasize that distributed energy solutions—such as microgrids and battery storage—can enhance resilience and reduce reliance on a fragile grid. The piece highlights how investing in clean energy is not just an environmental imperative but also a strategic move to strengthen California’s energy security in the face of climate-driven disasters.

As LA fires still burn, how can we rebuild?: Climate Capital & Media reports on the Clean Coalition’s Solar Microgrid efforts, highlighting its role in supporting sustainable reconstruction after the LA fires.

 

 

 

Some Los Angeles fires victims are rebuilding their homes without gas appliances: NPR reports on the challenges and opportunities surrounding the rebuilding of homes after the Los Angeles wildfires. With climate activists pushing for a transition to all-electric homes, the debate over whether to install gas appliances or go fully electric has become a key issue. While California aims to phase out gas use in buildings, homeowners like landscape architect Shawn Maestretti are grappling with decisions on energy sources as they rebuild their homes.

Why Fire-Prone Communities Need Community Microgrids Now: The Clean Coalition reports on the crucial need for Community Microgrids in fire-prone regions. Community Microgrids offer a highly promising solution in creating a safe, disaster-resilient power grid. Community Microgrids are localized energy systems that can operate independently or in parallel with the broader power grid to serve a specific community’s energy needs. They typically integrate solar generation, battery energy storage, and smart grid controls to save the community money on energy costs during regular grid operation and provide life-saving backup power when the grid goes down. By combining the generation capabilities of solar and the storage capabilities of batteries, adequately sized Community Microgrids can provide backup power to the areas they serve indefinitely.

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