Los Altos, Calif. — August 9, 2023 — The city of Los Altos received a Community Resilience Grant from Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) in the amount of $125,713 to implement the “Cool Pavement” coating pilot project. The pilot program will be located on the 100 block of State Street, between 3rd and 4th Streets.
Cool Pavement, which involves the application of a coating over roads, sidewalks, parking lots, and/or recreational spaces, lowers land surface temperature by reflecting solar heat instead of absorbing it.
“It’s exciting for the City to pilot the Cool Pavement coating technology in Los Altos, especially on a block where numerous summer events take place and restaurants operate, bringing people to downtown,” said Mayor and SVCE Board Member Sally Meadows. “We appreciate that SVCE, through its Community Grants, has offered Los Altos this opportunity. If this technology helps keep temperatures down, we can consider expanding its use, which will work toward our Climate Action and Adaptation goals.”
After the Cool Pavement coating is applied to the designated area, City staff will collect temperature data and solicit feedback from residents, vendors, and/or attendees of State Street events to discern if there is a measurable reduction of temperature on that block.
“The SVCE Community Resilience grants are designed to help communities prepare for extreme heat and weather events,” said Girish Balachandran, SVCE CEO. “The Cool Pavement coating pilot project is one of many projects throughout Silicon Valley that aims to make our region more energy resilient in the face of our changing climate.”
Work is scheduled to occur intermittently between Monday, August 14, and Tuesday, August 22; vehicle access to the 100 block of State Street will be limited most of Tuesday, August 15.
For more information, contact:
City of Los Altos Public Information Officer Sonia Lee at (650) 947-2611 or slee@losaltosca.gov
Silicon Valley Clean Energy Principal Communications Specialist Michaela Pippin at (408) 549-2690 or Michaela.pippin@svcleanenergy.org
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About Silicon Valley Clean Energy
Silicon Valley Clean Energy is a not-for-profit, community-owned agency providing clean electricity from renewable and carbon-free sources to more than 275,000 residential and commercial customers in 13 Santa Clara County jurisdictions. As a public agency, net revenues are returned to the community to keep rates competitive and promote clean energy programs. Silicon Valley Clean Energy is advancing innovative solutions to fight climate change by decarbonizing the grid, transportation, and buildings. Learn more at SVCleanEnergy.org.
