Convening the Sierra – Fall 2026
September 25, 2026
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Join SBC at these Upcoming Events Across the Region
Last year, Sierra Nevada Energy Watch (SNEW) worked closely with Amador County to assess their energy usage and analyze the benefits of their solar installations. SNEW developed a building energy benchmarking report to help the County better understand its energy usage. In this comprehensive no-cost report, SNEW provided a detailed analysis of energy usage at Amador County’s 10 main facilities. The report is being used to determine how the County can further reduce their energy usage and costs. SNEW also completed AB802 benchmarking for buildings over 50,000 square feet for Amador County.
As part of these services, SNEW presented its findings to the Amador County Board of Supervisors. The presentation included an analysis of the County’s energy and cost savings from a recent solar installation.
Karen Warburton, Senior Administrative Analyst at Amador County, worked closely with our team through this process. Her role is focused on capital improvements and economic 
development, and said this about the program:
“We recently collaborated with Sierra Nevada Energy Watch in Amador County to directly engage with a CivicSpark Fellow. Our experience was highly favorable and proved to be incredibly advantageous for the County and its residents. Through this partnership, we gained valuable insights into the optimal investments for our future endeavors, aiming to save costs and make a positive environmental impact, and there was no cost to us. I would recommend that anyone eligible connect with this program. There really is no downside.”
After having a positive experience with the program, Karen has been instrumental in connecting SNEW to other public agencies in Amador County. She has also shared information about SNEW services with the small businesses in the Amador County Chamber of Commerce.
SNEW services have recently expanded to include a wider variety of benefits, including assistance with solar and storage projects, presentations to boards of supervisors and city councils, and comprehensive greenhouse gas inventories and climate action plans. The SNEW team is flexible and interested in working on a wide range of projects based on a public agency’s needs. If you would like to learn more about SNEW’s no-cost services, please email us at snew@sierrabusiness.org.
Join SBC at these Upcoming Events Across the Region
Two SNEW services that are often requested by Sierra Nevada public agencies are energy benchmarking (sometimes including AB 802 reporting for buildings
California’s 2026-27 legislative session wrapped up September 1 after a turbulent final week of negotiations over wildfire policy, funding, and the state budget. While a last-minute proposal on wildfire liability ultimately stalled, the Legislature did restore and increase funding for climate resilience through Proposition 4 and the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF)—a meaningful outcome for Sierra communities amid a challenging state budget year.
The final plan includes $329.5 million for wildfire and forest resilience through Prop 4 and $118 million for wildfire prevention through GGRF. While these investments are an improvement over the June budget, wildfire resilience funding remains near historic lows, with no clear plan for sustained investment in future years.
Read more about the final budget, Prop 4 and GGRF allocations, and what’s next for wildfire and climate resilience in the Sierra.