The LookOut is a monthly review of climate issues and recent
developments in our neighborhood.

 

Many
people lined up at the podium at the Board of Supervisors
meeting
to support a bond measure for local energy resiliency
projects. That was on March 17, 2020, less than a week before Covid
lockdown. An ad hoc subcommittee of Redwood Coast Energy Authority’s
Community Advisory Committee has kept the idea alive.

According
to Aisha Cissna, the Regulatory and Legislative Policy Manager for
RCEA, and author of this staff report, the RCEA board will be
asked at its February meeting to direct staff to pursue suitable
financing mechanisms. Possibilities to be investigated include
traditional bond financing, microbonds,
Inflation Reduction Act
incentives, and regulation crowdfunding.

The CAC
subcommittee decided that key criteria for projects would be energy
resilience, revenue, greenhouse gas reduction, direct community
benefits, plus support for critical facilities should be prioritized.
So far the list includes utility-scale solar arrays plus storage in
Hoopa, Willow Creek, and Eel River Valley. An energy storage project
is envisioned in Blue Lake (where a 25-acre solar array through the
developers, Renewable Properties, has already been approved).

 

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The
Planning Commission gave its blessing
to a proposed 7 MW solar installation on the outskirts of Arcata. The facility plans to
store much of that energy in 2 humongous high-range lithium iron
phosphate batteries and presumably release it during peak usage
times. That strategy makes the energy even more valuable.

Though
the 30-acre field is currently zoned for agriculture, its proximity
to transmission lines is an advantage for electricity production.
Existing roads already provide most of the access needed, and the
flat open topography means minimal ground disturbance or vegetation
removal. The president of Renewable America described how the panels
are fastened directly to the ground by steel skewers, so no concrete
foundations are necessary. However, a concrete equipment pad will
measure fifty by a hundred feet. Concrete can be removed and even
recycled during the decommissioning process that could happen
thirty-five years from now unless everyone is happy for the situation
to continue.

Though
350 Humboldt endorses this project it would be even more exciting to cover the roofs of big box stores with solar panels and build
solar canopies over parking lots. Until then, those thirty
acres on Foster Avenue can still be used for agriculture while also
producing electricity. Agrovoltaics is all the rage right
now. The developers offer to work with the Pollinator Habitat
Program. Farmers host bee hives and can even grow shade-tolerant
crops between the panels. Livestock grazing is also highly feasible
although the president of Renewable America cautioned that goats
could damage the equipment. “No goats!”

 

The new Planning Commission chair

 

 

With
Natalie Arroyo replacing Virginia Bass on the Board of Supervisors
,
hope abounds for greater environmental emphasis on the county level.
A few changes are already in place that bode well. The board has
dropped support for widening 101 through Richardson Grove from
its legislative platform. Updated annually, the legislative platform,
indicates the board’s broad position on issues that are likely to
come up during the year. After Supervisor Madrone voiced his intent
to vote against the platform if support for the Caltrans project
in Richardson Grove were included, Arroyo proposed that the board
simply leave it out of the platform since it doesn’t affect
the actual outcome of the proposed widening. The board unanimously
adopted her suggestion.

The
supervisors serve also on the boards of many different agencies and
committees. Each year in January these assignments are re-considered.
When more than one board member wants to serve on the same board, a
vote is required to make the decision.

The
vast majority of assignments were easily handled. Only three agencies
had more than one board member interested in the same position.
Redwood Coast Energy Authority, Humboldt Transit Authority, and
National Association of Counties. The first two are of particular
interest to climate advocates, so we were pleased that Natalie Arroyo
replaced Supervisor Bohn on the board of Redwood Coast Energy
Authority and on the Humboldt Transit Authority. We hope this change
of personnel may mean bold new leadership for the climate.

 

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The
results of the offshore wind auction almost seem anti-climactic

after the excitement build-up. After all, knowing the names of the winners— California North Floating and RWE Offshore Wind
Holdings—doesn’t tell us much. We don’t really know when the
construction will begin, much less when it will end though 2028 and
2030, respectively, are the likely dates. A long time from now, it
seems.

The
winning bidders ponied up big money—more than a sum of $330
million. 20% of that is supposed to be invested locally in
workforce training programs and development of domestic supply chains
for the manufacture of turbines. 5% is for community benefit
agreements to both compensate different stakeholder groups impacted
by the wind project—tribes, fisherfolk, and communities–and to
invest in their participation in the clean energy future. 25% is only
a half of what Humboldt was hoping for, but both Core HUB and
Redwood Coast Energy Authority say the negotiating isn’t over yet
as far as community benefits go.

The
biggest question remains to be answered—will we even be the
recipients of this power? Surely, yes, we’d like to think; however
there are no guarantees yet. The state must make a huge investment in
transmission lines, and several routes are possible. Our grid
has capacity for 150 MW, a fraction of the electricity that will be
available, so bring it on!

 

photo courtesy of Lost Coast Outpost

 

 

Even
as the science about burning wood becomes more dire
, and the tide
of public opinion turns against deliberately burning wood in order to
produce electricity, more and more countries are converting their
coal burning plants to burn wood. The painful irony here, of course,
is that wood is just as bad if not worse for the climate than
coal.

Now
California’s forests have been targeted. Two huge wood pellet plants are proposed for Tuolomne and Lassen counties. If built,
they would draw on forest feedstock from both public and private
forest lands within roughly a hundred mile radius around each plant.

As
the new director of Golden State Natural
Resources, Humboldt County Supervisor Rex Bohn has
taken a leadership role for
this proposal.
GSNR advocates for projects
and policies that benefit rural economies. At its last meeting
Bohn recommended meeting every month instead of the customary every
other month meetings in order to push this proposal through ASAP. You
can protest this giant step in the wrong direction by attending the
next meeting scheduled for March 25, but check their website to see if they do decide to meet earlier.

All
biomass schemes come complete with totally misleading rhetoric about forest resiliency. Supposedly, wood pellets are made only from
sawdust and other waste wood, plus small trees thinned from the
forest in order to prevent wildfires. Proponents are sticking to that
story despite plentiful evidence to the contrary. It’s no secret
that in the U.S. much clear-cutting–especially in the southeastern
states–fuels the biomass industry. Regrettably, the Biden
administration’s Build Back Better bill includes an exemption for logging for wood pellet production from the National
Environmental Policy Act [NEPA].

 

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The
biomass plant in Scotia, owned and operated by Humboldt Sawmill
Company, is by far the biggest point-source carbon emitter in
Humboldt. For extremely outmoded reasons, California doesn’t count biogenic carbon, yet it is still up there in the atmosphere, busily
trapping heat. Climate scientists and activists have opposed biomass
electricity for years.

Burning
wood to produce electricity also produces small particulates and a
host of other toxic air pollutants. Now 350 Humboldt member, Wendy
Ring, who is a physician and public health specialist, has discovered
that the Scotia plant has been breaking both federal and state law
for years. It has failed performance tests and also failed to perform
them.

Perhaps
even more alarming is the apathy of the North Coast Unified Air
Quality Management District, which is supposed to be the watchdog
here. Its job is to evaluate the plant’s emissions every four
years, yet not one report was filed during the last 22 years.

Redwood
Coast Energy Authority has also failed to do its due diligence by
calling the electricity it purchases from HSC “clean energy” when
it is anything but. HSC’s failure to comply with the law should
be grounds for RCEA to end its contract ahead of time. Please contact
the RCEA board member from your jurisdiction and tell them to vote to
end the contract. You can find out who that person is here (click on ‘About’ at the top of the screen). Humboldt
Sawmill Company will never aspire to find a healthier
and more climate friendly
solution for its wood waste if RCEA refuses to look at the data.

 

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350
Humboldt bus adventurers ride again
. Our third trip is planned for
February ninth. These bus outings are planned as a way to promote bus
ridership and familiarize ourselves with the transit system. Fringe
benefits: meeting in person, having fun, lunch.

If
you didn’t receive our email, please contact Cathy at
[email protected] so she can forward it to you with all the
details.

 

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You
got a shady roof?
Jealous of
your neighbors who have their own solar array? You can help
bring community-owned solar to your community. Learn how from Cool Solutions.