Businesses
Retrofitting your business can be a great way to save money, reduce health risks, and help the environment! Follow the links below to find funding, savings, and free assistance for different types of sustainable building improvements.
Building upgrades
Save money on your utility bill and reduce environmentally-damaging emissions by upgrading your building’s energy efficiency and resilience to extreme weather. See below for specific programs and incentives for different kinds of upgrades and improvements.
- BayREN Business — For qualified small businesses, BayREN offers incentives and technical assistance to upgrade to more energy efficient HVAC, water heating, lighting, refrigeration, and more. See here for eligibility and to apply.
- PCE FLEXmarket — Any business installing energy efficiency measures can get up to 20% of the value of their upgrades in cash upfront, along with additional rebates for future energy saved
- Commercial Building Tax Deduction — All business buildings qualify for a tax deduction of up to $1 per ft2 of area for energy efficiency upgrades that decrease energy use by more than 25%
- Emergency Load Reduction — For businesses which can reduce their electricity use at high demand times (4-9pm in summer months), you can get $2 per kWh saved
- Energy use data — Access your building's energy usage data to find more opportunities to save
Business-specific programs
Development and design
Many programs exist to support more sustainable building practices. Energy efficient building design can increase energy savings for the future and increase the resilience of buildings to extreme conditions.
- PCE Design technical assistance — PCE & TRC offer free technical assistance for all-electric building designs and EV charger planning for all building design projects in San Mateo County
- California Energy Design Assistance program — The state offers free technical assistance and financial incentives (depending on project type) for incorporating energy efficiency and emissions reduction into building design
- PCE residential electrification resources — List of contractor and designer resources for electrifying buildings
Landscaping and gardening
Electric yard equipment is quieter and avoids the toxic nitrous oxide emissions from gas powered versions. As of 2024, all new yard equipment sold in the state must be electric, and the neighboring City of Menlo Park is set to ban the use of gas-powered yard equipment starting July 2024.
- Menlo Park rebate — Landscaping and gardening businesses that operate in Menlo Park, even those that aren't based there, qualify for up to $1,000 to replace gas-powered leaf blowers, lawn mowers, trimmers, and more
Vehicles
See the Electric Vehicles section for more information
Renewable energy
While most electricity used in the city is renewable and has about 90% lower emissions than the state average, residents have the option to upgrade to PCE's ECO100 electricity which is 100% renewable energy for about $4 per month. See here for more details on the program.
