Local Clean Energy Alliance of the Bay Area

Job Posting: Operations Manager

LCEA is seeking an experienced Operations Manager, who is passionate about social justice, to provide administrative, financial, and communication functions to support our organizing and policy work.

The position is 30 hours per week and pays a base salary of $35.00 per hour, plus benefits. It could evolve to 40 hours per week. For more information about the position and how to apply, click here.

 Local Clean Energy Alliance (LCEA), the California Alliance for Community Energy, and 10 other organizations signed onto a “Friends of the Court” amicus brief, filed on December 20, with the California Supreme Court by a legal team at the Environmental Law & Justice Clinic.

The brief is in support of the original petition by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), Environmental Working Group, and Protect Our Communities Foundation. The petition objected to the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) Net Energy Metering (NEM) 3.0 decision and the refusal of the CA Appeals Court to consider that case.

 LCEA, in collaboration with Reclaim Our Power (ROP) and other partner organizations, is actively fighting against corporate greed and injustice in California’s energy system. On December 19th, just before the Christmas holiday, LCEA joined ROP and various organizations to rally outside the CPUC building in San Francisco to demand they vote against a proposed rate hike that keeps Aliso Canyon gas storage facility and Diablo Canyon Nuclear power plant open.

Challenges, Victories, and Movement Building Highlights

In 2024, where one door closed, many more opened. The Local Clean Energy Alliance (LCEA) rose from mourning the loss of long-time LCEA Coordinator Al Weinrub to find itself reinvigorated with new staff and a firm footing in growing energy democracy. With your support, we advanced community driven resilience hubs, advocated for equity in electrification, challenged the state’s gutting of rooftop solar incentives and fought against false solutions like nuclear energy.

Karinuelle Krisdiva is a Research Analyst Intern at the Local Clean Energy Alliance. She holds a Master’s in International Relations from San Francisco State University, graduating summa cum laude and receiving the Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence. Her academic focus has been on the intersections of international political economy and energy policy.

Kathy Liang is currently an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley. She is passionate about research, advocacy and community work around fostering an equitable clean energy transition. She joined LCEA in October, 2023 and has then worked on energy policy analysis, energy equity campaigns, home electrification education for underprivileged communities, and resilience hub planning. She enjoys gardening, reading, and playing tennis in her free time.

Jesse Gutierrez (he/him), is a returning LCEA intern who is now part of the Sustainability Leadership program at California State University (CSU) East Bay. He will assist us in advancing a program for resilience hubs in Ava Community Energy territory. He is a dedicated public health professional, passionate about protecting our planet's health by building a sustainable future, advocating for a just transition to renewable energy, and preserving nature.

Ava Board Majority Votes to Accept Nuclear From PG&E

On September 18th, the Ava Community Energy Board voted on whether to take nuclear power offered by PG&E from the Diablo Canyon Power Plant. This vote has been a long time coming, and Local Clean Energy Alliance (LCEA) and our key partners put up a good fight against accepting PG&E's nuclear power since 2019. Many people cited that this was the wrong step for Ava Community Energy and would lead to more dependence on Diablo Canyon as a power source, and would distract from Ava's commitment to truly clean energy.

Previously in May, the Community Advisory Committee voted against taking the nuclear power (5 against, 1 in favor, 2 abstentions). Sadly, the Board of Directors this September voted to accept the nuclear power and chose the option of Scenario 2 (accepting nuclear power, reducing their "unspecified" power sources, and offsetting that with hydroelectric power).