Action alert: Support clean local energy resources and resilience in Santa Barbara County

✅ Support clean local energy resources and resilience in Santa Barbara County

Please join the Clean Coalition in supporting the Strauss Wind Energy Project at the County of Santa Barbara Planning Commission meeting this Wednesday 20 November, starting at 9am (note that comments can be emailed in advance to David Villalobos at dvillalo@co.santa-barbara.ca.us).

Located at the end of PG&E’s and SCE’s transmission lines, Santa Barbara County’s grid infrastructure is incredibly vulnerable to natural disasters and Public Safety Power Shutoff events. The Strauss Wind Energy Project — a 98 megawatt (MW) wind project to be located just south of Lompoc — will significantly enhance the North County’s energy resilience, providing clean local energy resources that set the stage for a North County Commiunity Microgrid and reducing reliance on vulnerable long-distance transmission lines. Renewable energy in the North County is even more important when considering the coming permanent retirement of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant.

Why we support the Strauss Wind Energy Project:

• The Project sets the stage for a North County Community Microgrid, which will offer unparalleled economic, environmental, and resilience benefits to the North County. This single Project enables the same amount of energy generation that is anticipated across hundreds of sites for the Goleta Load Pocket Community Microgrid, which is staging to provide energy resilience to the South County.
• The North County region is in dire need of beginning to deploy significant levels of local renewables now in preparation for the coming permanent retirement of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant.
• The Project doubles Santa Barbara County’s renewable energy generation, adding 98 MW of clean wind energy to our local grid.
• Local power generation makes our grid more resilient and reliable, reducing our reliance on long-distance transmission lines vulnerable to fires and outages.
• Over its 30-year lifespan, the Project will provide Santa Barbara County an estimated $40 million in tax revenue, creating approximately 150 jobs during construction as well as some permanent jobs.

We encourage you to submit official support to the Planning Commission, emphasizing the points above and sharing why you support clean local energy resource development. You can email support to David Villalobos at dvillalo@co.santa-barbara.ca.us (note that letters can be attached if you have time to get formal, but a simple supportive email is fine too; please see our sample email below).

Planning Commission meeting details:

If available, please attend the upcoming Planning Commission meeting and share your support in public comments

Date: Wednesday 20 November

Time: 9am start; Strauss Wind Energy Project is the only item on the agenda

Estimated public comment start: 10:30am

Location:
Santa Barbara County Planning Commission
123 E Anapamu St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101, USA (Map)

Help us make clean local energy accessible now by supporting the Strauss Wind Energy Project! 

Sample Email:

Subject: Support for Strauss Wind Energy Project

Dear Santa Barbara County Planning Commissioners,

I urge you to approve the Strauss Wind Energy Project to improve local renewable energy generation and energy resilience within our community. Located at the end of PG&E’s and SCE’s transmission lines, Santa Barbara County’s grid infrastructure is incredibly vulnerable to natural disasters and Public Safety Power Shutoff events. We need local renewable generation to improve regional energy resilience, and the Strauss Wind Energy Project will provide a solution to the loss of local energy resources with Diablo Canyon’s impending closure.

The Project also sets the stage for a North County Community Microgrid, which will offer unparalleled economic, environmental, and resilience benefits to the North County. This single Project enables the same amount of energy generation that is anticipated across hundreds of sites for the Goleta Load Pocket Community Microgrid, which is staging to provide energy resilience to the South County.

Please approve the Strauss Wind Project to improve local energy resilience and to open the door to a North County Community Microgrid.

Sincerely,

[Name]

[Address]