Posted on Categories Climate Change & Energy, Local Organizations, Sustainable LivingTags , , , Leave a comment on Sonoma Clean Power plugs in big geothermal, solar deals

Sonoma Clean Power plugs in big geothermal, solar deals

James Dunn, NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Startup power utility Sonoma Clean Power on Wednesday reported two long-term contracts for geothermal and solar power.

The first contract is for 10 years of geothermal power from Calpine’s Geysers facilities in northeastern Sonoma County. The deal provides steadily rising volumes reaching 50 megawatts in 2018. By then the total energy coming from that source will amount to 23 percent of Sonoma Clean Power’s mix.

The second contract is for 20 years of solar power from Recurrent Energy, adding 40 megawatts to the agency’s previous purchase of 30 megawatts for a total of 70 megawatts.
The alternative-power agency claims rates about 4 percent lower than PG&E’s rates. The new geothermal and solar deals will help the agency keep its rates low into the future. Sonoma Clean Power provides electric generation service to customers in much of Sonoma County, with about 22,000 residential customers.

In December, an additional 140,000 customer accounts will be eligible to receive the agency’s cleaner mix of power. All cities in Sonoma County participate in the program except Petaluma and Rohnert Park, where a vote on whether to allow participation in the agency will be taken by Jan. 31. Healdsburg has its own municipal utility and is not a part of Sonoma Clean Power.

Read more via Sonoma Clean Power plugs in big geothermal, solar deals – North Bay Business Journal – North San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma, Marin, Napa counties – Archive.

Posted on Categories Climate Change & Energy, Local OrganizationsTags , Leave a comment on Update on anti-community choice proposed law, AB 2145

Update on anti-community choice proposed law, AB 2145

Climate Protection Campaign

The anti-community choice bill, AB 2145, is now before the full Senate for a vote. Our work facilitating a statewide coalition removed the worst of the bill. Two problematic elements remain: a three-county restriction and inclusion of a CPUC complaint process. Calls to senators urging a “no” vote are still encouraged.

No on 2145

Posted on Categories Climate Change & Energy, Local Organizations, Sustainable LivingTags , , Leave a comment on Clean-power agencies relieved at legislation change

Clean-power agencies relieved at legislation change

Jeff Quackenbush, NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL

A key element of legislation that advocates of Sonoma Clean Power and similar alternative-energy agencies insist would threaten their ability to form and operate could be switched off, thanks to state Senate action Monday.

The requirement for electricity customers to opt-in to a community-choice aggregation (CCA) agency was dropped from Assembly Bill 2145 during a meeting of the state Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee.

“We protected Sonoma County’s right to participate in Sonoma Clean Power,” Geof Syphers, agency CEO, said about that vote. The county’s CCA started service May 1 and serves all areas but Healdsburg, which has its own utility, and opt-outers Petaluma, Rohnert Park and Cloverdale.

via Clean-power agencies relieved at legislation change – North Bay Business Journal – North San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma, Marin, Napa counties – Archive.

Posted on Categories Local Organizations, Sustainable Living, TransportationTags Leave a comment on Cyclists band together to track down stolen bikes

Cyclists band together to track down stolen bikes

Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition Bike Theft page
Bike thefts jump in Santa Rosa

Jamie Hansen, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

When Janelle Rossi’s road bike was stolen earlier this year from the garage of her Santa Rosa apartment building, her response, aside from contacting police, was to launch a search on her own.

She posted fliers, listed the bike on a stolen cycle registry, and kept an eye out on Craigslist.

Other local bike theft victims like her have turned to another, new source of help, a web-based group that enlists the eyes of fellow cyclists to track down stolen wheels.

The effort, called Sonoma County Bike Watch, was launched last year on an open Facebook page that now has nearly 500 members.

Theft victims can post pictures or descriptions of their missing bikes. Others post sightings of suspicious behavior or bikes they think have been stolen.

via Cyclists band together to track down stolen bikes | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Forests, Land Use, Local Organizations, Sonoma CoastTags , , , Leave a comment on Environmental groups' lawsuit could upend Sonoma County vineyard policies

Environmental groups' lawsuit could upend Sonoma County vineyard policies

Guy Kovner, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Three environmental groups are challenging Sonoma County’s approval of a 54-acre Annapolis vineyard in a case that reflects long-standing conflict over expansion of the county’s $600 million a year grape industry.

If the lawsuit were to succeed, it would wipe out the county’s vineyard development law, itself born amid controversy between growers and environmentalists 14 years ago.

That friction has intensified with the recent growth of forest-to-vineyard projects near the coast, a cool region hospitable to pinot noir grapes, the most expensive varietal grown in the county.

via Environmental groups' lawsuit could upend Sonoma County vineyard policies | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Local Organizations, Sonoma Coast, Water, WildlifeTags , , Leave a comment on Meeting slated to discuss summer plans for estuary

Meeting slated to discuss summer plans for estuary

Ann DuBay, SONOMA COUNTY WATER AGENCY

On June 2, the Sonoma County Water Agency will hold a community meeting on the Russian River estuary management project.  Presentations will include information about the upcoming lagoon management season and the ongoing study of the historic Goat Rock Beach State Park jetty. The meeting will be from 6-8:00 p.m. at the Monte Rio Community Center (20488 California 116, Monte Rio).

The Biological Opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service in September 2008 required the Water Agency to change the way the estuary is managed in the summer. The purpose of the lagoon outlet adaptive management plan is to enhance summer habitat for young steelhead while minimizing flood risk in the estuary. The June 2 meeting is the sixth community meeting discussing the estuary since the Biological Opinion was issued.

via Press Releases | Sonoma County Water Agency.

Posted on Categories Agriculture/Food System, Local Organizations, Sustainable LivingTags , Leave a comment on Sonoma State University's student-run farming group makes impact on campus

Sonoma State University's student-run farming group makes impact on campus

Matt Brown, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

On a small, half-acre plot of land just south of Sonoma State University, energy student Jamal Edwards tills a row of black soil moistened from an early spring rain. Kneeling in the soft earth, he pulls weeds by hand and sows tomato and melon seeds. In a few months, the produce could end up in the salad bar at the SSU student center.

Edwards is part of a group of student farmers that sells its crops back to the school to help pay tuition. He is the recipient of an innovative grant to offset the cost of farming. For Edwards, the venture allows him to practice his passion while earning extra cash.

“If you don’t get your hands dirty once a day, you haven’t lived that day,” said Edwards, 23. “This gives me a sense of happiness that nothing else can bring.”

via Sonoma State University's student-run farming group makes impact on campus | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Local OrganizationsTags , Leave a comment on Diseased oak trees slated for removal at SRJC

Diseased oak trees slated for removal at SRJC

Kerry Benefield, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Four large oak trees at Santa Rosa Junior College, including two that tower over the middle of school’s central lawn, providing a leafy canopy for graduation ceremonies and Day Under the Oak events, are slated to be removed after they were found to be diseased.

The removals, which officials said are driven by safety concerns, will bring to six the number of oaks — some heritage size and age — lost on the Mendocino Avenue campus since November.

via Diseased trees slated for removal at SRJC | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Local Organizations, WildlifeTags , , Leave a comment on Preservationists fight to save rare albino redwood tree in Cotati

Preservationists fight to save rare albino redwood tree in Cotati

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Laila Kearney, REUTERS
Northern California preservationists are fighting to keep a rare albino redwood, one of just 10 trees of its kind known to exist, from being chopped down to make way for a new commuter rail system, arborists and city officials said on Wednesday.
The albino chimera coast redwood, standing 52 feet high in a commercial district of Cotati, a town in California’s wine country, also is the tallest and widest specimen of its type, said Tom Stapleton, a certified arborist who is leading a group of researchers and community members pushing to save the tree.
“To lose this tree would be an absolutely huge loss to science and the ability to study albinism in redwoods,” Stapleton said.
The tree is a form of albino redwood with a genetic mutation that causes its branches to be striped, in a candy cane-like pattern, with a mix of green and white needles.
It stands 12 feet away from a planned stretch of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit line, a voter-approved passenger rail and bicycle-pedestrian pathway system.
via Preservationists fight to save rare albino redwood tree in California | Reuters.

Posted on Categories Local Organizations, TransportationTags , Leave a comment on Bike riders pitch in to fill potholes

Bike riders pitch in to fill potholes

Matt Brown, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

When organizers of Levi’s GranFondo wanted to bring the mass-participation bike ride to Sonoma County five years ago, they surveyed some of the rural west county roads and knew they had a problem.

The pavement on the proposed route was so potholed in places that it posed a safety risk to riders.

Organizers could have bailed on Sonoma County, but the ride’s founder, former professional cyclist Levi Leipheimer, is from Santa Rosa and has sought to promote the county as a cycling destination.

They could have asked the county to fix the byways on the route, but the Public Works Department has consistently come up short on such requests, upgrading only a small fraction of its 1,382-mile network each year. The repair backlog over the entire network is more than $920 million, according to the latest estimate.

Instead, after getting county permission, organizers hired their own contractor to fill in potholes. In the process, they forged a unique partnership with the county — a private organization stepping up to maintain public infrastructure.

“Sitting around tapping our feet waiting for the county doesn’t get potholes paved,” said Greg Fisher, marketing director for Bike Monkey, the group that runs the GranFondo. “We’re addressing safety issues so that we aren’t banging bike rims or car rims. We all use these roads.”

via Bike riders pitch in to fill potholes | The Press Democrat.