West Village Project

One of the EEC’s most exciting projects has been UC Davis West Village.  West Village is a community scheduled to open in Fall 2011.  The EEC has been instrumental in elevating this environmentally and energy-conscious community to the next level: becoming the nation’s largest Zero-net-energy community(ZNE).  Through the application of deep energy efficiency measures and on-site solar generation, the community produces enough energy to have a net-zero impact on the grid.

History of EEC Involvement

In 2007 UCD commissioned the EEC to issue a comprehensive energy strategy for West Village.  Written with Davis Energy Group, the report outlined technology-packages that included efficiency measures and renewable generation to minimize energy demanded from the grid. 

The EEC also formed a project advisory committee that would oversee the research effort and achieve two goals:

1. To go above and beyond the recommendations and achieve ZNE.
2. Develop a living laboratory within West Village.

Organizations represented on the council included:

• UC Davis
• WVCP (West Village Community Partnership)
• DEG
• Chevron Energy Solutions
• PG&E
• SunPower

West Village’s developer (WVCP) hired Chevron Energy Solutions to conduct a feasibility study on ZNE.  Eventually WVCP embraced the ZNE goal, and the EEC was an integral player in securing state and federal grants to support the West Village Energy Initiative.

The EEC has had an ongoing role as a bridge between West Village and industry. In 2008 the EEC partnered with experts from UC Davis’s California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC) and Western Cooling Efficiency Center (WCEC) to offer a West Village Technology Contributor’s Forum.  This forum provided an opportunity for leading industry experts to meet with campus and developer teams to explore cutting-edge technology to use in West Village.  The Center for Water Energy Efficiency and the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Research Center have also been engaged for similar forums.

Looking Forward

As West Village opens its doors, the Energy Efficiency Center continues to be involved.  In particular, it has taken on an important role in promoting the energy efficiency and zero-net achievements of the UC Davis West Village.  Through various outreach efforts, and by continuing to convene partners from the academic, regulatory and private sectors, the EEC makes it a priority to tell the story of West Village and to make use of it as living laboratory for campus researchers.