Energy efficiency and savings for the biotech industry
Improve production, lower costs and save energy
Take advantage of PG&E’s proven experience in helping biotech companies like yours. Our specialized programs and products for the biotech industry can help you:
- Overcome the technical constraints of research and manufacturing
- Decrease energy costs and reduce maintenance fees to free up resources
- Identify opportunities for new energy efficiency equipment
- Optimize existing buildings and systems
- Find cash-back solutions for your biotech buildings
Get information on the Industrial Recommissioning Program
Capture and sustain energy savings by identifying deficiencies of existing systems that require little to no capital investment to correct. Incentives are capped at 50% of the full measure cost or 100% of the incremental cost.
Learn about the Heavy Industry Energy Efficiency Program
Qualify for cash incentives when you implement process-oriented and other energy-efficiency upgrades. Reduce energy usage, operations and maintenance costs for biotech facilities. Download the PG&E Biotech Buildings Brochure (PDF, 1.4 MB).
Get the most out of your HVAC package systems
PG&E’s Commercial Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) Optimization Program offers generous incentives for enrolling in a single-year, air-conditioning (A/C) maintenance service agreement and installing option unit retrofits.
Ready for a freezer upgrade?
PG&E offers cash-back rebates for high-efficiency (–80 °C) Ultra-Low Temperature (ULT) Freezers. Receive up to $600 per unit.
Find the right PG&E rebate or other incentive
Explore PG&E rebates
PG&E offers a variety of rebates to help biotech firms save energy and money.
Install advanced rooftop HVAC controls, including an advanced digital economizer control (ADEC), demand control ventilation (DCV) and enhanced ventilation control (EVC) for packaged HVAC units (PDF, 3.0 MB)
Add Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) for HVAC Supply/Return/Exhaust Fans (PDF, 3.0 MB)
Explore all rebates by product type
Understand the difference between rebates and customized incentives
Find out which option is best for your project. Note that Customized Incentives require pre-qualification from PG&E before you begin your project.
Visit the rebate and customized incentive FAQ
PG&E Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP)
PG&E provides financial incentives for business and residential customers installing new, qualifying equipment for generating and storing energy. The Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) applies to both renewable and non-renewable technologies.
Visit energy storage and generation Incentives
Learn about other services available for the biotech industry
PG&E 0% interest loans
PG&E offers 0% interest loans for replacing old and worn-out equipment with more energy-efficient models. Get financing up to $4,000,000 when you upgrade to energy-efficient equipment or optimize existing systems.
Find out if your project is eligible
Benchmarking tools and resources
- Learn how to benchmark your building. Our Building Benchmarking Portal is a free tool for all building owners in our service territories.
Visit building benchmarking - Download a tool to determine Energy Performance Indicator (EPI) score of your pharmaceutical manufacturing plant.
Visit Energy Star Pharmaceutical Manufacturing EPI
PG&E billing, usage data and other online services
Sign up for a PG&E online account to conveniently take care of tasks including paying your bill, requesting payment extensions, starting or viewing service and setting up electric outage notifications.
Register now
Useful links
Learn about managing your usageStart or stop service
Get electric outage updates via text, email or phone
Learn about payment installments and payment extensions
Compare rate plan options
Share My Data (SMD)
SMD is an API platform that allows PG&E customers to either access their own interval data or share the data with a third party. The following data elements can be provided through SMD in two business days:
- Electric Meter Interval Data (15-minute)
- Gas Therm Usage (Daily/ Hourly)
- Billing Data – Monthly
View a video about SMD by EnergyAi
Learn more about Share My Data
PG&E's Stream My Data
PG&E Stream My Data provides real-time electricity data through an energy-monitoring device.
- Monitor your real-time electricity usage (kilowatt [kW])
- See your real-time price (kilowatt [kW])
- Get an estimate of costs-to-date an estimated electric bill for the current month
- Billing Data – Monthly
Visit Stream My Data for more information
Tools, education and training
Get information on Sustainable Labs.
Visit International Institute for Sustainable LaboratoriesEstimate annual fume hood energy use and costs.
Visit Laboratory Fume Hood Energy ModelDecrease Energy Usage in the Laboratory with the Next Generation of Sustainable Ultra-Low Freezers
Listen to the podcast: Exploring the Nexus of Sustainability and Research with My Green Lab
Learn about a world-leading life sciences innovation.
Visit California Life Sciences AssociationLearn about policies that forward the interests of the California Biomedical Community.
Visit CA Healthcare Institute (CHI)Read success stories for biotech best practices
How to Overcome Energy Management Barriers for Commercial & Industrial Customers
Nature, the weekly scientific journal on Thinking Outside the Icebox on Lab Sustainability (PDF, 893 KB)
The energy consumed by high-tech/bio-tech industries and institutions represent an attractive and often untapped opportunity for energy savings.
Learn about High-Performance Buildings for High-Tech / Biotech industriesDownload Biotech Success Story: Genentech – PG&E (PDF, 217 KB)
Download Building a Green Research Facility (PDF, 176 KB)
Download Case Study for Injection Molding (PDF, 161 KB)
Download PG&E's Fact Sheet on Fume hoods (PDF, 334 KB)
Conserve energy every day
Think strategically about your energy use. Creating an energy-conscious work environment is important to the biotech industry:
- Educate technicians to keep fume hood sashes closed when they're not in use. Consider installing or converting to variable-air-volume (VAV) fume hoods.
- Install face velocity setback and limit for fume hoods.
- Install low-pressure drop air delivery systems to reduce air changes per hour while maintaining safety codes and guidelines.
- Install an air-flow setback in your lab to save energy when the lab's not in use.
Explore additional information. Visit Tips and How-To's.