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Eric Fournier, Ph.D.

Research Director

California Center for Sustainable Communities, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability

619 Charles E. Young Drive East
LaKretz Hall – Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Campus Mailcode: 149606

efournier@ioes.ucla.edu

Pronouns: he/him

Eric Daniel Fournier is the Research Director at the California Center for Sustainable Communities (CCSC) within UCLA’s Institute for the Environment and Sustainability. Eric’s background is in the fields of spatial modeling, life cycle assessment, and energy and water systems analyses. Generally, his work focuses on the application of information technologies, and the quantitative methods that they enable, to the resolution of complex environmental problems.

Eric obtained his B.S. in Environmental Science at Bucknell University (2008), where he also minored in Economics and Chemistry. He also holds a M.E.Sc. from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (2010), a M.A. in Geography from the University of California at Santa Barbara (2014), and a Ph.D. in Environmental Informatics from UCSB’s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management (2015).

Dr. Eric Fournier- CV 2020

Projects

Estimating the Energy Impacts of Rebuilding after the Palisades and Eaton Fires

Key Findings from the California Center for Sustainable Communities at UCLA Introduction The Eaton and Palisades fires left a trail of devastation — destroying homes, displacing communities, and disrupting lives.…

California Public Utilities Commission Distributed Energy Resource Program Data Working Group

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) selected the California Center for Sustainable Communities at UCLA, with support from LARC, to facilitate a Distributed Energy Resource (DER) Data Working Group.

Electric distribution and generation in the foreground with natural gas infrastructure in the background.

Mindful Gas Decommissioning

California’s goal of decarbonizing the state’s energy sector by 2045 requires an accompanying strategic approach to the decommissioning of the extensive gas infrastructure.

Electric distribution infrastructure in Los Angeles.

LADWP – LA100 Equity Strategies Initiative

As part of the LA100 Equity Strategies study, CCSC estimated residential service panel capacities throughout the LADWP service territory to assess what upgrades may be needed to support comprehensive electrification.

Equitable Electrification of Existing Buildings: A Pathway to Decarbonization

Building electrification is the most viable solution to reducing building greenhouse gas emissions, with the added benefit of improving air quality. Yet, electrification of existing buildings is difficult. Often times, a homeowner or landlord experiences unexpected complications when trying to retrofit their building.

Community Solar Opportunities Map

Where is the best place to put solar panels in your neighborhood? The solar opportunity map is a web tool built to assist community-based organizations to access data necessary to identify high potential sites for community solar or resiliency centers within LA County.

The Healthy Home Study

As California moves forward with its aggressive agenda to decarbonize its energy system, care must be taken to assess the degree to which its pursuit of various energy system transformation pathways is likely to result in additional benefits for Californians. One extremely important category of benefits is the reduction of health risks that result from exposure to natural gas combustion by-products, both from appliances within homes and from grid scale generation stations.

Los Angeles Sustainability Plan

The County of Los Angeles has developed the first county-wide sustainability plan, and has contracted with UCLA, in collaboration with the engineering firm Buro Happold, and with Liberty Hill Foundation.…

An EPIC Challenge: Accelerating the Deployment of Advanced Energy Communities

In 2016, the California Energy Commission (CEC) awarded an Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) grant to UCLA to accelerate the deployment of Advanced Energy Communities (AECs). In partnership with the…

Climate Change in Los Angeles County: Grid Vulnerability to Extreme Heat

In this project, UCLA and Arizona State University researchers developed a sophisticated and in-depth description of future electricity demand, grid response, and vulnerability due to increased heat events in Southern California Edison territory under current and future climate scenarios. The project's findings enable innovative grid management and operation strategies and identify adaptation guidance.

An aerial view of a single family home neighborhoods on the Westside of Los Angeles.

UCLA Energy Atlas

The UCLA Energy Atlas is the first of its kind interactive web atlas that provides access to the largest and most disaggregated building energy data available in the nation. It now comprises data from both Southern California and the Bay Area.