Electrification, Microgrids, & the Future of Buildings with Jordan Lerner

✅ The Green Impact Report

Quick take:

Electrification isn’t just about swapping out equipment — it’s about rethinking how buildings, transportation, and infrastructure work together. In this episode, Schneider Electric’s Jordan Lerner shares how microgrids, fleet electrification, and creative funding strategies are transforming schools, cities, and public facilities.

🙋‍♂️ Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion

Jordan Lerner is a sustainability and energy infrastructure leader at Schneider Electric, where he oversees teams designing and delivering energy efficiency, electrification, and resiliency projects across the western United States.

Over his career, Jordan has helped implement more than $1 billion in energy efficiency and sustainability projects, particularly for schools, cities, and public sector buildings.

🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building

In this episode, Jordan Lerner explores how electrification, microgrids, and innovative financing are reshaping sustainable infrastructure.

🧨 Key Insight #1: Electrifying Transportation Infrastructure

• The Challenge: Traditional school buses run on diesel, producing emissions directly at child breathing height and requiring fossil fuels to operate.
• The Solution: Deploy electric bus fleets supported by new electrical service infrastructure, including fast-charging stations and grid upgrades coordinated with utilities.
• ROI: Cleaner air for students, reduced operational costs, and future capabilities like mobile Wi-Fi hubs for communities during emergencies or remote learning.

🧰 Key Insight #2: Microgrids for Community Resilience

• The Challenge: Wildfires, extreme weather, and utility shutdowns are increasingly causing power outages that disrupt critical services like schools and food storage.
• The Solution: Deploy microgrid systems integrating solar, battery storage, and backup generators to maintain power during outages.
• ROI: Facilities can operate independently from the main grid for extended periods — protecting food storage, keeping schools running, and safeguarding community infrastructure.

🎯 Key Insight #3: Funding Sustainability Through Operational Savings

• The Challenge: Many sustainability projects stall due to limited capital budgets for infrastructure upgrades.
• The Solution: Energy-based contracting that converts operational savings — like reduced energy costs — into funding streams for capital improvements.
• ROI: Grants, incentives, and energy savings combine to finance projects that otherwise wouldn’t happen, enabling schools and cities to modernize without new tax burdens.

🎙️ Sustainable Soundbite

“Electrification isn’t just swapping equipment — it can mean redesigning the entire electrical backbone of a building.”

— Jordan Lerner

🧩 Your Green Building Action Plan

Transform your next project with these steps:

1. This Week: Evaluate where energy waste exists in your facility — lighting, HVAC, or electrical distribution are common starting points.

2. This Quarter: Explore electrification opportunities such as EV infrastructure, heat pumps, or renewable integration.

3. This Year: Develop a resilience strategy using microgrids or energy storage to protect operations from outages.

🔗 Connect & Learn More

🌿 Access full episode resources: https://gbes.com/podcast/

📄 Read the transcript here

👩🏻‍💻 Connect with Jordan Lerner:

• Website: http://seadvisoryservices.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-lerner-20a6419/

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