Santa Barbara County Joins Regional Power Play For Solar & Storage
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – The Santa Barbara County Board Of Supervisors recently voted to halt oil production, and immediately backed that up by clearing the path for more clean energy projects.
Officials say the timing is coincidental.
The decision makes Santa Barbara the fifth Central Coast county now united with the state in leading the way toward a clean energy future.
The public agency Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) just established a new Department Of Energy Solutions.
“What we do is we partner on energy solutions with the communities that are member agencies,” says Das Williams, director for government and community relations at Central Coast Community Energy.
It expands 3CE’s capacity to directly own and develop local energy projects such as EV charging infrastructure, distributed generation, and battery storage systems.
“It’s important to know that people benefit from clean energy and clean cars, whether or not they use them,” says Williams.
Plus, the Santa Barbara County Board Of Supervisors passed an ordinance creating a countywide permitting pathway for utility-scale solar and battery storage projects in unincorporated areas of the county.
“We’re really thrilled that the Santa Barbara County last week finalized the ordinance to legalize utility scale solar,” says Williams. “It was previously illegal outside of a small part of the Cuyama valley.
3CE Is currently constructing Santa Maria’s first public EV charging station, which will be opened later this year, right across the street from the library.
“It will have a fee, but it’ll be a reasonable fee,” says Williams. “And that will go back into defraying the costs of your electricity.”
the agency is also advancing development of a permanent headquarters in Monterey, which will expand incentives for building and vehicle electrification.
“The timing is somewhat coincidental,” says Santa Barbara County’s Deputy Director, Long Range Planning Division. “The solar project had been in the works for several years, and so it just came to a head roughly the same time as the prohibition on new oil and gas wells.”
Plus, it seeks to establish a virtual power plant program to manage customer demand during peak hours.
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