Local Workshop to Discuss Governor’s Renewable Energy Order
State and federal agencies will conduct a pair of workshops in the near future—one in Palm Springs and one in Sacramento—to outline progress being made in meeting the directives of Governor Schwarzenegger’s “Renewable Energy Executive Order.” The workshops will also solicit input from interested stakeholders.
The California Energy Commission and the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) will be joined by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) at the two scoping meetings. Other governmental agencies that are also invited to participate include counties whose jurisdictions include portions of the Mojave and Colorado Deserts: Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, and San Bernardino.
The meetings are scheduled for March 12th in Sacramento and March 17th in Palm Springs. See details below.
California has established goals and policies to increase its renewable energy generation and to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The Governor issued Executive Order S-14-08 on November 17, 2008, which establishes a target for all retail sellers of electricity within the state to serve 33 percent of their electric load with renewable energy by 2020. The order directs the California Energy Commission and the CDFG to implement a number of specific directives pertaining to natural resource conservation planning and renewable energy permitting.
The meetings will include:
- Overview and summary of the Governor’s Renewable Energy Executive Order and the status of each Executive Order element;
- Description and summary of the supporting efforts including Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative (RETI) and Western Renewable Energy Zone (WREZ);
- Discussion among the regulatory agencies, industry, and environmental organizations pertaining to the Executive Order: and
- Comment and input from the public.
The local meeting will be held at Palm Springs City Hall Council Chambers at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 17. City Hall is at 3200 East Tahquitz Canyon. The meeting in Palm Springs can be viewed live on Time Warner Cable, Channel 121, and on the Internet: PSCTV.org at http://palmsprings.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=2
Audio from the Thursday, March 12 meeting in Sacramento will be broadcast over the Internet. For details, go to www.energy.ca.gov/webcast/
To participate by phone, call 888-469-3347 before 9:30 a.m. Pass code: Renewables, Call Leader: Paul Richins
The meetings will provide an opportunity to provide input to the agencies on how to improve their current review and regulatory processes related to the siting of renewable energy infrastructure and to offer comments on the attributes that areas should possess, or specific areas, that should be identified/designated as renewable development areas.
Written comments on the topics covered in the meetings must be submitted by March 31. Include the docket number 09-Renew EO-01 and indicate “Renewable Energy Executive Order” in the subject line or first paragraph of your comments. Please hand deliver or mail an original plus 10 paper copies to:
California Energy Commission
Dockets Office, MS-4
Re: Docket No. 09-Renew EO-01
1516 Ninth Street
Sacramento, CA 95814-5512
The Energy Commission encourages written comments by e-mail. Please include your name or your organization’s name in the name of the file. Those submitting comments by e-mail should provide them in either Microsoft Word format or as a Portable Document Format (PDF) to [docket@energy.state.ca.us]. One paper copy must also be sent to the Energy Commission’s Docket Unit at the above address.
Public Participation
Notices, documents, reports, and public comments will be posted on the Energy Commission’s website at [ http://www.energy.ca.gov/33by2020 ]. To receive notices and information about the implementation of the Executive Order, sign up for the electronic list server on this webpage.
The Energy Commission’s Public Adviser’s Office provides the public assistance in participating in Energy Commission activities. If you want information on how to participate in this forum, please contact the Public Adviser, Elena M. Miller, at (916) 654-4489 or toll free at (800) 822-6228, by FAX at (916) 654-4493, or by e-mail at [PublicAdviser@energy.state.ca.us]. If you have a disability and require assistance to participate, please contact Lou Quiroz at (916) 654-5146 at least five days in advance.
Please direct all news media inquiries to Media and Public Communications, at (916) 654-4989, or by e-mail at [mediaoffice@energy.state.ca.us]. If you have questions on the technical subject matter of this forum, please call Paul Richins at (916) 654-4074, or by e-mail at [prichins@energy.state.ca.us].