Categories
-
Recent Post
Author Archives: Phil Millenbah
The Williamson Act: Agricultural Land Conservation and Solar Development (Update)
The California Department of Conservation has issued an updated position paper on the Williamson act called, “Considerations in Citing Solar Facilities on Land Enrolled in the Williamson Act”. Among the suggestions made in the paper have to do with solar compatibility to underlying agricultural uses. A positive compatibility determination can be made under the following conditions: Continue reading
Solar Project Permitting Trends in California
Solar Project Permitting Trends in California
By Philip L. Millenbah, AICP
VP Project Development and Land Services
Solar Land Partners, Inc. Continue reading
Distributed Generation Market Drivers
The Renewable Portfolio Standard requires retail sellers (defined as investor‐owned utilities, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators) to increase renewable energy as a percentage of their retail sales to 20 percent by 2010. State law also requires publicly owned utilities to implement the standard but gives them flexibility in developing specific targets and timelines. In November 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger raised California’s renewable energy goals to 33 percent by 2020 in his Executive Order S‐14‐08. In July 2009, the California Public Utilities Commission reported that the three investor‐owned utilities were supplying approximately 13 percent of their aggregated total sales from eligible renewable resources as of 2008, far below the 20 percent required by 2010. Publicly owned utilities are showing some progress in renewable energy procurement with expectations for the 15 largest publicly owned utilities of 12.4 percent of RPS eligible renewable retail sales by 2011, but this progress is still far short of the renewable target. Continue reading
Land Use and Utility Scale Solar Projects
With the approval of these projects and with the demand for utility scale projects growing rapidly, solar developers will be called on to develop best management practices to mitigate any land use impacts associated with solar development. But during the course of their permitting process solar developers need to educate the local permitting staff about the true regional impacts of fossil fuel energy facilities and on the long term environmental benefits utility scale solar provides their community. Continue reading
Posted in Permitting
Tagged Conditional Use Permit, Distributed Utility, Utility Scale Solar Design
1 Comment
Utility Scale Solar Generation Facilities Conditional Use Permitting
In California counties have essentially two kinds of uses, permitted uses and conditional uses. Permitted uses have been determined to be allowed by right and can proceed with no approval-except a business license-in the city with no other approvals required. Conditional uses are uses determined by the county to be acceptable but are thought to have impacts that need to be mitigated. Continue reading