Our region always seems to be engaged in fights over destructive oil and gas projects. At the same time, we increasingly suffer from droughts, heatwaves or wildfires made worse by climate change caused by burning those fossil fuels.
It can seem an intractable problem, and yet, there is much to cheer in the new year. Here is some good news on the energy front for our region:
~ The Strauss Wind project near Lompoc is almost complete and ready to power on in 2023. It is expected to provide enough energy for 44,000 homes.
~ Santa Barbara School District jumped out ahead of every other district in California by installing 4.2 megawatts of solar across 14 district locations and six microgrids with battery energy storage for backup power and peak demand charge reduction.
The benefits are not just providing 90% of the energy use for these schools but enabling critical service and emergency staging areas during grid outages.
~ Community Choice Energy programs are now procuring clean and renewable energy for residents and businesses across Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties and spending millions on programs to benefit our region. They are embarking on a faster transition to renewable energy that the state requires, and the profits from these organizations are reinvested in the community rather than going to utility shareholders.
~ The Ellwood piers on Haskell’s Beach in Goleta are rapidly being demolished and removed once and for all, finally ending the dirty, century-long practice of drilling for oil on our beaches.
~ Eight offshore oil platforms are also slated for permanent shut down and removal in all or part. The state is handling plans for those in state waters—including Platform Holly off Goleta and Rincon Island in Ventura. The feds are prepping plans for decommissioning those located past the three-mile limit in the Santa Barbara Channel.
~ Exxon’s Oil Trucking project was denied. It would have involved restarting offshore platforms that have been shut down since the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill and sending 25,000 oil tanker trips every year on Highway 101 and hazardous Route 166. Exxon is suing Santa Barbara County over the denial, but the County -- along with interveners including the Sierra Club and other environmental groups, will mount a robust defense. (For details see “Exxon Selling” on pg. ?)
~ Thousands of proposed new oil wells in Santa Barbara County have been defeated or withdrawn, and the state is finally starting to admit that our groundwater could be put at risk from such drilling in Cat Canyon. Exxon and Shell are also selling off their onshore oil company, Aera Energy. While this raises worries about future liability, it is also a sign that the major oil companies are no longer betting on heavy, extra-polluting California oil.
~ This fall state lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1137 that requires 3,200 foot buffer zones between oil wells and homes and schools. The oil industry is currently gathering signatures to try to put the law on hold until a future election.
But the fact that it passed and was signed by the governor -- after years of failed attempts -- shows that the industry’s tight grip on the state is finally weakening, thus enabling health and safety measures and climate legislation to win.
~ In November, Ventura County passed an ordinance requiring all-electric new construction. So far 68 jurisdictions in California have passed similar laws to phase out gas and decarbonize our buildings. Santa Barbara County is expected to do so soon. What’s more, the State Building Code that takes effect in January strongly encourages all-electric buildings.
~ Local buses and fleets are going electric. Santa Barbara MTD has 14 all-electric buses now with nine on order out of a 114-bus fleet, which has committed to be 100% electric by 2030. Santa Maria has two all-electric buses, 17 more on order and expects its smaller bus fleet to be 100% electric in just a couple of years. Meanwhile, the Clean Air Express 75-mile commuter service from Santa Maria to Santa Barbara got its first all-electric bus earlier this year, powered entirely from solar panels in Goleta.
~ People-powered commuting may become more of a reality with the approval of bike paths, including the San Jose Creek Bike Path and Old Town restriping projects in Goleta, the Modoc Path in Santa Barbara, and a Carpinteria path to Rincon. Plug into transportation planning for Santa Barbara or Ventura County.
~ In August President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in climate action in U.S. history. Analysts predict it will result in a 40% reduction in U.S. emissions by 2030. The $370 billion investment will go a long way in helping us rapidly scale up renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.