Strategic Energy Planning for Santa Barbara County, CA

From 2018 through 2019, Optony conducted a detailed feasibility study and compatibility analysis for wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, small hydroelectric, and solar resources across the geographically and politically diverse landscape of Santa Barbara County. The company hosted a series of six public workshops to engage various stakeholder groups and identify barriers and opportunities for development of distributed energy resources and utility-scale renewable energy projects. The final plan was adopted by the County Board of Supervisors in September of 2019 and offered a range of solutions in diverse program areas to overcome the identified barriers. The cities of Goleta and Carpinteria were also participants in this regional effort focusing on increasing local resiliency through distributed energy resources. Each of the cities received a custom-tailored energy plan to fit their community character, goals and specific policy obstacles. The City Council of Carpinteria and Goleta’s City Council both unanimously adopted their plans in July of 2019.