Registration Still Open for Community Energy Resilience Planning Workshop Series Starting 10 AM Wednesday, May 12th Registration is still open for the Community Energy Resilience Workshop which will start this Wednesday, creating a virtual community of practice among local government staff and advocates interested in identifying and advancing clean, reliable and local energy projects. REGISTER now for this series of eight workshops to be held via Zoom on the second Wednesday of each month, 10-11:30 AM, May through December 2021. | |
SB 99, The Community Energy Resilience Act, Pending Before the Senate Appropriations Committee SB 99, sponsored by The Climate Center and authored by Senator Bill Dodd, is pending before the California Senate Appropriations Committee. It previously cleared the Senate Energy Committee with a bi-partisan 12-0 vote. The bill would require the California Energy Commission to develop and implement a technical assistance and grant program to support local governments in developing community energy resilience plans, prioritizing state support for the most vulnerable communities. For more information about SB99, read the author’s factsheet or press release, the related OpEd in the Sacramento Bee or visit the Community Energy Resilience page. Here is a link to SHOW YOUR SUPPORT. | |
American Lung Association Report Summarizes California Air Quality The American Lung Association has analyzed data from state air quality monitors to compile their 2021 State of the Air Report. The California page highlights each county and links to metropolitan areas and trend charts over the course of the report. Their key findings include the following. Eight California cities appear on their lists of the 25 most polluted cities in the US for unhealthy ozone days, unhealthy spikes in particle pollution, and for annual particle pollution levels: Bakersfield, El Centro, Fresno-Madera-Hanford, Los Angeles; Sacramento; Redding-Red Bluff, San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland; and Visalia. Over 38 million Californians – 98% - live in a county that received a failing grade for at least one pollutant. Nearly 19 million Californians live in a county that received a failing grade on all three pollution measures in State of the Air 2021. | |
California Members of Congress Introduce Resilience Legislation Members of Congress representing California have introduced federal legislation seeking to enhance energy resilience: Congresswoman Barragán (D-Hermosa Beach) introduced a bill to create the first federal program to build clean energy microgrids to power critical infrastructure for communities in the aftermath of an extreme weather event or power shut-off. The Energy Resilient Communities Act prioritizes energy equity and environmental justice by putting grant applications from low-income communities and communities of color at the front of the line for clean energy microgrid grants. Congressman Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) introduced the Making Imperiled Communities Resistant to Outages with Generation that is Resilient, Islandable, and Distributed (MICROGRID Act). The bill creates a 30% tax credit for a qualifying microgrid property through 2025, phasing down to 10 percent by 2028 and sunsetting in 2029 to incentivize the expansion and deployment of microgrids at the local level. Congressman Thompson (D-St. Helena) and eight other California Members of Congress reintroduced the Utility Resilience and Reliability Act to amend the Federal Power Act. The bill establishes a reliability standard, within the Federal Power Act, that addresses resiliency in regard to extreme weather; establishes a DOE program to advise states and local utilities on ways to improve the resiliency of their electrical grids; and requires DOE to publish a report that provides recommendations on how to minimize the need for, effects of, and duration of planned electric power outages that are due to extreme weather conditions. | |
