Help plan Humboldt County’s energy future

The Redwood Coast Energy Authority is updating its guiding strategic document and is seeking your input in the process. Look for workshops to attend in the coming months and submit your written comments.

The first workshop will be on Thursday, August 29 at 5:30 p.m., at the Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center, 921 Waterfront Drive, Eureka. Refreshments will be served.

RCEA’s Comprehensive Action Plan for Energy (“CAPE”) details strategies specifically addressing regional energy planning and coordination, programs for energy customers, low-carbon transportation, and energy generation and utility services.

The energy landscape in Humboldt County has changed over the past seven years, and strategies within RCEA’s original 2012 Comprehensive Action Plan for Energy need to be updated to align with this new landscape. The updated plan, which will include RCEA’s goal of 100% clean and renewable electricity by 2025, will include input from current countywide Climate Action Plan development and community outreach.

RCEA is updating high-level strategies for smart energy use, growth and security, incorporating several of the agency’s other strategic timeline planning documents into the CAPE, and developing quantitative targets including RCEA’s power mix make-up for the next ten years.

Submit your comments during the CAPE draft development and comment period schedule below. For more information on the calendar and workshops, contact the Redwood Coast Energy Authority at (707) 269-1700.

Meeting agendas, schedule updates, and additional details will be posted on our Planning page

Comments can be emailed directly to EnergyPlan2019@redwoodenergy.org

 

Important message: PG&E’s Public Safety Power Shutoffs

Educate and prepare yourselves for the coming fire season and make sure your contact information is up-to-date with PG&E so they can alert you through automated calls, texts and emails, when and where possible, prior to a Public Safety Power Shutoff.

“Given the growing threat of extreme weather, we want all of our customers to be prepared for power outages. If extreme fire danger conditions threaten a portion of the electric system serving your community, it will be necessary for us to turn off electricity in the interest of public safety. This is called a Public Safety Power Shutoff.” – PG&E

RCEA’s role in 2019 will be to assist PG&E in distributing alerts to the public, we do not expect to have any additional information prior to or during outages. Please visit PG&E’s website for the most accurate service restoration details.

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has announced that it is preparing to file for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, in preparation for a voluntary reorganization process.

For more information please visit PG&E’s website.

 

---

 

Who is the Redwood Coast Energy Authority? What do we do? How do we serve our community?

This first issue (a downloadable PDF) provides a good overview of RCEA’s past, present and future programs, activities, and milestones – just in time for Energy Action Month.

Please call or stop by if you’d like to discuss any of this. Better yet – come see us on Saturday, October 6 at the Sequoia Park Zoo as we sponsor a FREE DAY for the entire community (see back cover).

---

 

PRESS RELEASE:

Redwood Coast Energy Authority and Consortium of Development Partners Submit Lease Application for Northern California Offshore Wind Energy Project

EUREKA, California, September 12, 2018 – The Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA), with support from a consortium of private companies, has submitted a lease application to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to advance the development of an offshore wind energy project off the coast of Humboldt County, in Northern California. The 100-150 megawatt (MW) floating offshore wind farm is planned to be located more than 20 miles off the coast of Eureka.

RCEA and the consortium, which includes Principle Power Inc., EDPR Offshore North America LLC, and Aker Solutions Inc., have been working with members of the community since 2017 to explore and develop the offshore wind potential of Humboldt County. RCEA initiated a competitive process earlier this year and selected the consortium to enter into a public-private partnership to pursue the development of the proposed project. Since its founding in 2003, RCEA, a local government joint powers agency, has provided an array of energy services to Humboldt County residents and businesses.

In recent months, RCEA has done an increasing amount of community outreach – informing the public and commercial interests, gathering feedback, and listening to and incorporating the concerns and desires of the region – to form the basis for the lease application submitted to BOEM.  The project is expected to bring significant economic benefits to the region in the form of jobs and increased spending in the local community and State of California. A longer-term goal of the project is for Humboldt Bay to become a central hub of a US west coast offshore wind industry.

“Humboldt County has much to gain by harnessing our offshore wind power potential,” said County Supervisor and RCEA board member Estelle Fennell. “Coastal resiliency, local jobs, increased investments in economic development, manufacturing, protecting wildlife and future generations of Humboldt County. The State of California set ambitious goals this week by signing Senate Bill 100, reaching for carbon neutrality and 100% clean electricity by 2045. We are at the very beginning of a multi-year process, but so far, the response from the public has been positive. Humboldt County has a long history of innovative leadership when it comes to renewable energy solutions.”

RCEA’s work with the Humboldt community, state and federal agencies, and others has generated an overall positive response to the proposed project and sets the framework for successfully delivering clean energy to local ratepayers at a competitive cost, under an efficient, locally driven and guided development philosophy.  RCEA and the consortium will continue to focus on community and stakeholder outreach during this multi-year process to understand and address potential concerns.

Donna Wright, Executive Director of the Greater Eureka Chamber of Commerce, said “the Chamber supports economic development opportunities with offshore wind and clean energy and supports efforts to keep Humboldt County and California competitive in this growing industry. Business plays a key role in community leadership and by working with RCEA and their consortium we want the community to know that we are committed to supporting policies and advocating for programs that promote economic, environmental and community sustainability.”

RCEA and its project partners engaged in a systematic, comprehensive process to determine a location for the Humboldt offshore site that minimizes impacts to the environment and communities, including commercial fishing, that are active offshore.  Based on this interactive process, the proposed lease area will support selecting a final project site for an expected 10-15 turbines that avoids or minimizes impacts on marine navigation corridors, major commercial fishing areas, and environmental resources.

RCEA‘s project partners bring the expertise needed to develop, finance, and operate projects as well as build an offshore wind energy supply chain.  The complementary capabilities of Principle Power, EDPR, and Aker Solutions bring the long-term commitment needed for a successful project.  RCEA and its consortium of development partners are working to bring the project online in 2024, which will help unlock the extraordinary value of offshore wind energy for California.

“We wanted a project of this magnitude to move forward with the local community having a strong role throughout the process,” added Matthew Marshall, Executive Director at RCEA. “We are extremely excited that we’ve been able to partner with such a highly-capable and experienced team of companies that are committed to that vision of a community-led project.”

About the Redwood Coast Energy Authority

The Redwood Coast Energy Authority is a local government Joint Powers Agency whose members include the County of Humboldt; the Cities of Arcata, Blue Lake, Eureka, Ferndale, Fortuna, Rio Dell, and Trinidad; and the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District. The purpose of the Energy Authority is to develop and implement sustainable energy initiatives that reduce energy demand, increase energy efficiency, and advance the use of clean, efficient and renewable resources available in the region for the benefit of the Member agencies and their constituents.

Press Contact: Nancy Stephenson, RCEA Community Strategies Manager

For more information please visit our Offshore Wind page: https://redwoodenergy.org/offshore-wind-energy/

(707) 269-1700 ext 352 -NStephenson@redwoodenergy.org

---