Latest news with #FountainWind
E&E News
2 days ago
- Business
- E&E News
California's self-own on wind and solar
SACRAMENTO, California — A wind power farm in the mountains of far-Northern California was the first through the door of a new permit streamlining program that came with a lofty promise to renewable energy developers: Once a permit application was complete, the California Energy Commission would make a final ruling on the project within 270 days. It's been more than 650 days since Fountain Wind completed its application. But the agency still hasn't made a final ruling, after fierce local opposition successfully derailed the permit review. In renewable energy circles, the project has become a poster child of the sluggish progress California has made toward expediting the infrastructure state leaders say they so desperately want. Meanwhile, local officials and their advocates see the initiative as a prime example of why decision-making is better done within the communities where workers are breaking dirt. That argument will continue playing out in Sacramento in the coming month as language that would further empower the CEC's permitting authority is in one of the most-watched end-of-session bills. Advertisement 'Why champion a state permitting process that does authorize a local override if you're not going to wield it?' said Alex Jackson, executive director of the American Clean Power Association, a renewable energy trade group. 'In the face of federal attacks on wind and rising demand, the case for grabbing every zero-carbon electron in California could not be stronger right now.'
Politico
3 days ago
- Business
- Politico
California promised wind and solar developers a 270-day permitting process. They're still waiting.
The industry's concerns have found receptive ears in Sacramento. SB 254, state Sen. Josh Becker's (D) sprawling bill to rein in electricity rates, contains language that would establish a presumption under the AB 205 system that the facilities' construction would economically benefit local governments, reversing the current dynamic, which has a higher bar for developers to demonstrate those benefits. It would also extend the application window deadline from 2029 to 2034, make smaller projects eligible, and give the CEC a 30-day deadline to ask for additional information after it receives records from applicants. Becker said his goal is to improve on the initial AB 205 framework, which, in his view, has been 'been working well in some cases, and not as well in others.' He views the bill through the popular 'abundance' framework of trying to strike the right balance between protecting the environment while getting projects approved more quickly. 'If we just have years and years of delays … it just adds costs to the system,' Becker said. In a statement, CEC spokesperson Stacey Shepard said that the opt-in program is working as intended, delivering a faster, predictable timeline for reviewing California energy projects. It brought the Fresno County Darden Clean Energy Project across the permitting finish line within the 270 day window, has three others with complete applications in the opt-in pipeline, and five more in the prefiling stage, representing 2,800 megawatts of new generation and 4,800 MW of storage capacity. Shepard defended the application timelines, saying that Fountain Wind got booted from the 270-day clock due to a change in its water-supply plan, and that there is no time limit restricting how long it takes the CEC to deem an application complete. 'Prior to the application being deemed complete, the onus is on the applicant to provide the information to CEC, and CEC has no control over how long an applicant may take to do so,' Shepard said. Newsom spokesperson Daniel Villasenor did not respond directly to questions about the Fountain Wind project, but touted the governor's renewable energy record in a statement. 'Under Governor Newsom's leadership, California has expedited more clean energy projects than ever before — helping the state add record energy capacity to our grid, at the fastest pace in our history,' Villasenor said. 'We're not slowing down any time soon.' The Fountain Wind saga Fountain Wind's developers began their effort to erect 71 wind turbines on about 4,500 acres of land in unincorporated Shasta County by submitting an application to local officials. In June 2021, county planning staffers filed a report supporting the project. But Mary Rickert, then a member of the Shasta County Board of Supervisors, wasn't convinced. She remembers the Fountain Fire, which ripped through the region in the '90s, destroying hundreds of homes. She feared that the 679-foot-tall turbines would prevent first responders from effectively fighting fire from the air if another blaze ignited.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Will Fountain Wind farm plan prevail in Shasta? California decision coming soon
While Shasta County continues to fight California to stop a revived controversial wind energy project that supervisors rejected more than three years ago, the draft environmental impact report for the proposed Fountain Wind is expected to be published this spring. After the draft EIR is released, a public workshop on the project will be scheduled in Shasta County. Such meetings happen within 60 days of the report's publication, California Energy Commission officials said. The state cannot at this time give an estimate when a final decision on the project will come. Shasta County and the Pit River Tribe teamed up to sue the state over the project, which would feature 48 wind turbines on 4,500 acres in the Montgomery Creek-Round Mountain area, about 35 miles east of Redding. The turbines would have the capacity to generate 205 megawatts, enough power to about 80,000 homes, according to project applicant Texas-based ConnectGen. County officials announced the lawsuit in late November 2023 at a public meeting in Anderson that was hosted by the California Energy Commission. In October 2021, the Shasta County Board of Supervisors voted down the project, denying ConnectGen's appeal of the county Planning Commission's decision not to approve the wind farm. The supervisors' meeting featured more than 10 hours of public comment. But the California Legislature in 2022 approved AB 205, which allowed the Energy Commission to consider approving the project, even though Shasta County rejected it. To date, Shasta has spent more than $1 million to fight the project. The largest amount, about $968,000, has gone to legal fees. Shasta also has spent about $55,000 of the $100,000 it budgeted for its marketing campaign about the project's negative impacts on the community, county spokesman David Maung said. 'I have kept spending under the allotted $100K in anticipation of the decision being delayed, to give us flexibility for another marketing push in the near future,' Maung wrote in an email to the Record Searchlight. During the November 2023 public meeting in Anderson, the California Energy Commission was told the water source for the project was no longer viable. The commission verified this information in December 2023. ConnectGen then submitted information on a new water source on March 18, 2024. Ten days later, the commission informed ConnectGen that the change triggered more environmental review, state officials said. That meant a decision on the project would be delayed from the original estimate of mid- to late 2024. Meanwhile, last April a Shasta County Superior Court judge ruled that a judge from outside of the area will preside over the lawsuit filed against the wind project. Rather than move the case to a court in another county, Judge Stephen Baker ruled that a judge from a county other than Shasta or Sacramento counties will hear the case, but it will remain in-county. The California Attorney General's Office had objected to having a lawsuit filed against the California Energy Commission heard in Shasta County because of possible prejudice against the commission. Shasta County has received support from other counties. The San Bernardino County Land Services Department in a September 2023 letter to California Energy Commission Executive Director Drew Bohan wrote that the CEC lacks the jurisdiction to consider an application for an energy project that the state, local, regional or federal agency, collectively acting as the local agency, has denied. Any other interpretation 'would create absurd results, invite manipulation, and directly conflict with the intent and processes of AB 205,' the San Bernardino County letter in part states. Supporters of what ConnectGen is doing include California Unions for Reliable Energy, which argued in a letter sent in August 2023 to the CEC that Shasta County's interpretation of AB 205 "is contrary to the statue's plain language, inconsistent with the bill's legislative history and statutory scheme, and unsupported by case law." David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He's part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta's spent $1M fighting wind farm, but California decides on plan
