Responding to California’s Clean Transit Initiative, our local Humboldt Transit Authority (HTA) has begun a required transition to a zero-emission transit fleet. HTA will soon receive 11 New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE FC™ fuel cell electric buses and construct a hydrogen fueling station on their corporation yard to fuel them. HTA will also work with the City of Eureka to construct the Eureka Regional Transit and Housing Center—the EaRTH Center—in downtown Eureka. The Schatz Center worked with HTA to submit the grant proposal that funded this project and will work as HTA’s owner’s engineer as the project progresses. California’s Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program awarded HTA $39M for this work.
New bus service is also part of the project. HTA is initiating a new service — the Redwood Express — from Eureka to Ukiah and back. The new service will allow transit riders to connect to Mendocino Transit and then on to the SMART train, connecting to San Francisco and other Bay Area locations. The route to Ukiah and back is an exceptionally demanding route for a 40-foot transit bus and existing fuel cell buses were unable to complete the route on one tank of hydrogen fuel. HTA and Schatz worked with New Flyer on a new bus design with a larger fuel cell, a larger battery, a more powerful traction motor, and additional fuel storage. This new bus has a 370-mile range and will comfortably make the Redwood Express run.
HTA’s pilot fuel cell bus will arrive early in spring 2025 and be fueled at a temporary hydrogen fueler installed by Linde, an international gas supply company. The pilot bus will undergo an extensive testing program designed and overseen by the Schatz Center. Once certified, it will begin serving passengers on HTA’s Trinidad-to-Scotia and Redwood Express routes. The remaining 10 buses and the permanent hydrogen fueling station are planned for delivery and completion in 2026.
The Tribal Energy Resilience and Sovereignty project (TERAS) will empower four tribes in Northern California to transform one of the state’s least reliable electrical circuits into a highly resilient renewable energy system. Supported by $88 million in funding from the Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience and Innovative Partnerships (GRIP) program, this project will significantly advance tribal energy sovereignty, climate resilience, jobs equity, and clean energy innovation.
The 142 mile-long “Hoopa 1101” distribution circuit provides electricity to three tribes in eastern Humboldt County – the Hoopa, Yurok, and Karuk Tribes – who jointly experience some of the most frequent and longest duration outages in California. These three tribes are collaborating with the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe, located along the Baduwa’t River in coastal Humboldt, the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA), Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), and the Schatz Energy Research Center at Cal Poly Humboldt, to co-develop nested microgrid solutions.
Advancing the state of microgrid technology
Major technical innovations of this project will include deployment of three nested microgrids – for the Hoopa, Yurok, and Karuk Tribes – and development of a complex controls system that is appropriate to support rugged, rural, and wildfire-prone environments. As “front-of-the-meter” energy systems, each of the three microgrids will be capable of powering a portion of PG&E’s electrical circuit during local outages, and will be able to function either jointly or independently, as immediate circumstances along the power line require.
To support this project, the Blue Lake Rancheria (BLR) is expanding its own campus energy system into four nested, behind-the-meter microgrids, which will provide a demonstration site for the controls system that will subsequently be deployed along the Hoopa 1101. “Tribes believe in the principles of self determination as a cornerstone of tribal sovereignty,” says Jason Ramos, Acting Chair of the Blue Lake Rancheria. “This project makes us even more resilient. As we demonstrated with our earlier microgrids, this nested microgrid project will advance critical technology, and that is good for all Californians. Robust microgrid technology will assist the state to reach its ambitious carbon emission goals.”
Technical development for TERAS is being led by the Schatz Energy Research Center – whose award-winning projects include California’s first front-of-the-meter, 100% renewable energy microgrid at the Redwood Coast Airport, and the BLR’s main campus microgrid system. “We are honored to work with this tribal partnership, and are excited to radically expand the capacity of microgrids to provide energy reliability in high-risk locations,” says Schatz Center Director Arne Jacobson. “These tribes are already leading the field in dam removal, healthy fire on the land, middle and last-mile telecommunications access, and renewable energy systems deployment – and will now support development of what we hope will be a game-changing climate resilience solution.”
Clean energy projects led by tribal partnership
As Chairman Russell “Buster” Attebery of the Karuk Tribe explains, “More often than not, the disadvantaged community of Panamnik (Orleans) is faced with power grid blackouts and shortage of resources due to its remote location. Microgrid energy will not only empower our tribal sovereignty, but provide the safeguards needed to survive along the river. Our people will no longer fear losing their food or vital medical resources, like vaccines, as we have in the past. TERAS is a great example of tribes working together in accomplishing good for their people; we are proud to be a part of this collaborative.”
Yurok Tribe Chairman Joseph L. James shares, “This project dramatically improves energy resiliency on our reservation and represents a major step toward our goal of energy sovereignty. I would like to thank the DOE for the award and our fellow tribes, RCEA, and the Schatz Energy Research Center for working with us to develop a resilient network of tribally owned microgrids to power our homes, schools, government buildings, businesses, and community centers.”
Linnea Jackson, General Manager of the Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District adds, “The Hoopa Valley Tribe is deeply honored to be a part of the Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program along with our esteemed project partners. The Hoopa Valley Tribe has always been a steward of our natural resources, and this award enables us to further our efforts in ensuring tribal energy sovereignty and environmental protection for our community. We look forward to leveraging this opportunity to build a resilient and sustainable energy future for our tribe and beyond.”
A model for rural communities
TERAS will create reliability along the Hoopa 1101 distribution circuit at roughly half the cost of conventional hardening solutions such as undergrounding – and will do so via a partnership that prioritizes intertribal collaboration, tribal capacity building, grid resiliency and decarbonization, and workforce and economic development.
TERAS will advance…
Tribal sovereignty – through tribal construction, ownership, and operation of advanced microgrid systems.
Resilience – with an anticipated 90% reduction in outage hours across the microgrid service area.
Clean energy – via installation of over 20 MW in renewable energy resources.
Career development – through the creation of pre-apprentice and apprentice pathways for tribal members, and access to union apprenticeship programs.
Education – by close collaboration with regional K-12, community college, and university programs to support student outreach and training, and local capacity building.
Administration and timeline
TERAS project work is expected to begin in 2025, and the microgrid systems should be operational within five years. The TERAS project award will be administered by the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA). “RCEA, Humboldt County’s community choice energy provider, is honored to partner with local tribes on TERAS, which will be a major milestone for our clean energy and resilience efforts. We look forward to creating effective strategies to improve community resiliency that can be replicated throughout the nation,” says RCEA Interim Executive Director Eileen Verbeck.
Contact information
Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe: Heidi Moore-Guynup, Director of Tribal and Government Affairs, hguynup@bluelakerancheria-nsn.org or (707) 668-5101 x1045
Hoopa Valley Tribe Public Utilities District: Linnea Jackson, General Manager, gm@hoopavalleypud.com or (530) 625-4543
Karuk Tribe: Sherezada Caballero, Public Relations, scaballero@karuk.us or (530) 643-1702
Yurok Tribe: Matt Mais, Public Relations Director: mmais@yuroktribe.nsn.us or (707) 954-0976
Schatz Energy Research Center: Maia Cheli, Senior Development Manager, schatzenergy@humboldt.edu or (707) 826-4345
Redwood Coast Energy Authority: Eileen Verbeck, Interim Executive Director, outreach@redwoodenergy.org or (707) 291-4588
A new solar microgrid designed by the Schatz Center is expected to be up and running at Cal Poly Humboldt by fall 2025. The microgrid will be a solar+battery system with 2.1 megawatts of AC solar and a 5.8 megawatt battery with 11.6 megawatt-hours of energy storage capacity. This will allow the campus to stay independently powered on clean energy for up to two days, depending on weather conditions. Solar panels will be installed on some campus buildings, and some parking lots, like G11, will have solar canopies covering parking spaces.
Following the unprecedented public safety power shutoff (PSPS) events throughout California in the summer of 2019, Cal Poly Humboldt began considering a microgrid solution for keeping the campus fully powered year-round. A widespread outage caused by a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in December 2022 and a multi-week outage in neighboring Del Norte County caused by fires in September 2023 made the importance of campus energy resilience even more clear.
Under normal conditions, the campus microgrid will be able to both generate energy onsite and import energy from the main utility grid. During a local outage, the microgrid will “island” and operate independently of the main power grid to provide ongoing electricity to campus facilities.
Beyond keeping the lights on, the university’s microgrid will be a concrete demonstration of renewable energy, showing students how much power is being generated and stored, and how the microgrid operates.
Students in the School of Engineering and other programs, for example, will have the opportunity to take practical courses that prepare them for careers working with microgrids, resilience, and clean energy systems, and will gain critical skills for responding to our changing world.
Microgrid research and development at the Schatz Center
A new West Coast collaboration for offshore wind science was announced in Sacramento today. The Pacific Offshore Wind Consortium (POWC) is a joint effort between three research centers: the Schatz Energy Research Center at Cal Poly Humboldt, the Pacific Marine Energy Center at Oregon State University, and the Center for Coastal Marine Sciences at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Together, these universities are housed in and support the coastal communities in California and Oregon which are anticipated to host floating offshore wind development. The POWC (pronounced pow-sea) will enable universities, host communities, and Tribal nations to share resources, co-develop best practices, and design comprehensive research programs that reflect the dynamic nature of the ocean environment and the diversity of community perspectives.
The consortium will advance three pillars: (i) research and innovation, (ii) university-level workforce education and professional development, and (iii) community and Tribal engagement and knowledge exchange.
Expertise from three universities
The Schatz Energy Research Center is located in the Humboldt Bay Area, which is preparing to house one of only two feasible staging and integration ports in California for offshore wind deployment. Humboldt is also home to two wind lease areas, which begin 20 miles offshore and span 207 square miles. Since 2018, the Schatz Center has published over 30 reports on topics ranging from transmission expansion to seabird vulnerability, in an effort to understand the feasibility of offshore wind, and to identify critical environmental and community needs that would be associated with its development. The Schatz Center works in close partnership with Tribal Nations, county services, and state government to design innovative solutions for clean power generation and energy resilience.
“We are coming together as a consortium because we know we need to take bold action to address climate change, and offshore wind has potential to play an important role. We also know that the transition to clean energy needs to happen in a way that is inclusive, equitable, and environmentally responsible,” says Arne Jacobson, Director of the Schatz Center. “As universities embedded in the regions where offshore wind is proposed, we have a special role to play, and – working in collaboration with partners – we can help generate the knowledge needed to transform our energy system in a way that does right by our communities and the planet.”
Entrance to Humboldt Bay. Photo by Maia Cheli, 2019.
Environmental research for offshore wind includes baseline surveys, behavioral assessments, data integration and modeling, monitoring for protected species, planned mitigation, pathways for adaptive management, and transfer of lessons learned. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is home to the Center for Coastal Marine Sciences, which has a history of interdisciplinary, applied research to address a range of management issues for the Central Coast. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo works collaboratively with a variety of interest groups in the Morro Bay Area to promote and design effective environmental monitoring for offshore wind. The Morro Bay Wind Energy Area covers 376 square miles across three wind lease areas.
“It will be essential that any offshore wind energy projects are developed in environmentally and socially responsible ways,” says Benjamin Ruttenberg, Director of the Center of Coastal Marine Sciences. “While many of the key issues are common across regions, some will be area-specific. The diverse expertise across the POWC institutions, along with their deep understanding of local communities and regional environmental issues, makes this group extremely well-qualified to be a neutral and trusted source to generate and summarize scientific information that can inform and guide the conversations about whether and how to deploy offshore wind.”
Open house for the Center for Coastal Marine Sciences at the Cal Poly Pier. Photo by Dylan Head, Multimedia Producer @ Cal Poly SLO, 2023.
The Pacific Marine Energy Center (PMEC) at Oregon State University brings over 15 years of experience investigating the technical, environmental, and social dimensions of offshore energy, and expanding scientific understanding, engaging stakeholders, and educating students. The Hatfield Marine Science Center at OSU serves as a hub for research on potential ecological effects of offshore renewable energy, while the PacWave test site demonstrates in-water activities and potential issues associated with offshore energy projects, such as seabed surveys, cable laying, construction and operational noise, and electromagnetic fields (EMF). PMEC also conducts significant hydrodynamic and aerodynamic studies of offshore wind platforms at the Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory. The State of Oregon is now considering how offshore wind could be incorporated with the environment, existing ocean uses, cultures, and communities, as lease sales for offshore floating wind sites are expected in fall 2024.
“This consortium will leverage the experience and expertise of the three partner universities and provide consistency of approach to evaluation of offshore wind along the west coast,” says Sarah Henkel, Associate Director of the Pacific Marine Energy Center at OSU. “We are excited that through this consortium we will have additional support to engage with our local communities, continue our regional ecological investigations, focus on development of next generation platform design, as well as collaborate and share findings to build a comprehensive understanding of outcomes related to potential offshore wind deployment.”
Researchers prepare hydrophones to track movements of tagged Dungeness crabs. Photo by Curtis Roegner (NOAA).
POWC Advisory Committee
The POWC will support interdisciplinary understanding across academia, industry, agencies, community organizations, and Tribal Nations. This breadth is reflected in the consortium’s Advisory Committee, which recently convened for its inaugural meeting. As a non-governing committee, the advisory group will provide guidance and advance discussion and collaboration in the offshore wind space. Founding members include representatives from: Tribal Nations: the Hon. Jason Ramos and Heidi Moore-Guynup, Blue Lake Rancheria, Linnea Jackson, Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District, and Michael Gerace, the Hon. Lana McCovey and the Hon. Philip Williams, Yurok Tribe; State agencies:Jenn Eckerle and Justine Kimball, California Natural Resources Agency / California Ocean Protection Council, Katerina Robinson and Jessica Eckdish, California Energy Commission, Andy Lanier, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, and Jason Sierman, Oregon Department of Energy; Federal labs, agencies, and Sea Grant partnerships: Alicia Mahon, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Karina Nielsen, Oregon Sea Grant, Shauna Oh, California Sea Grant and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Eric P. Bjorkstedt, NOAA Fisheries, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Science Division and Department of Fisheries Biology, Cal Poly Humboldt; Philanthropy:Curtis Seymour, AC Strategies; and the Offshore wind industry: Ciara Emery and Joel Southall, RWE Offshore Wind Holdings, LLC, and Laura Nagy and Erik Peckar, Vineyard Offshore.
“The Blue Lake Rancheria recognises the urgency of the climate crisis and intends to leverage their knowledge and resources to continue to advance clean energy innovations,” says Heidi Moore-Guynup, Director of Tribal and Government Affairs at the Blue Lake Rancheria (BLR). “At the same time, BLR understands the imperative need to coordinate scientific inquiry and research and believes that Traditional Ecological Knowledge must be part of such inquiry. BLR is honored to serve on the POWC advisory committee and looks forward to uplifting the findings of this consortium.”
“Oregon Sea Grant understands the broad spectrum of challenges and opportunities that floating offshore wind energy brings to the US West Coast. There is a clear and urgent need for regional integration of science and knowledge across many disciplines to enable responsible development of offshore wind energy,” said Karina Nielsen, Director of Oregon Sea Grant. “We look forward to partnering with POWC, our sister Sea Grant programs in California and Washington, the National Sea Grant Offshore Wind Energy Liaison, and other partners to support co-developed research and community education to help our coastal communities and marine ecosystems thrive.”
Core Team and Advisory Committee members at the Blue Lake Rancheria in April 2024
POWC funding
Over $12 million in current grant funding, primarily from state and federal agencies, supports offshore renewables research and project work at the three centers. Additionally, the POWC itself has received commitments for $1.6 million in starting funds from private donors and industry.
“Growing an offshore wind industry that’s responsible, equitable and inclusive requires sustained commitments and deep collaboration,” said Alicia Barton, CEO of Vineyard Offshore. “We are delighted to support and participate in the new Pacific Offshore Wind Consortium. Anchored by three world-class research institutions, the Consortium will foster meaningful engagement, research and collaboration within the west coast offshore wind industry. Our partnership in this effort reinforces Vineyard Offshore’s dedication to enhancing opportunities for Tribal Nations, underserved communities, and local businesses while preparing students and others for careers in this burgeoning field.”
“We’re proud to be supporting the world-class research of Cal Poly Humboldt, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Oregon State University and to contribute to an effort that meets the needs of the Humboldt region,” said Sam Eaton, CEO of RWE US Offshore Wind Holdings. “Community engagement is a core principle of RWE’s approach to developing offshore wind projects, including our Canopy Offshore Wind project off of Northern California. The Humboldt community will help us shape this project as well as the future of offshore wind on the Pacific Coast. Offshore wind will play an essential role in our clean energy future, job creation and local economic development, and the Pacific Offshore Wind Consortium’s work will provide valuable insights into the responsible development of this renewable resource.”
Contact
For more information on the POWC and to receive updates, please visit powc.us or contact info@powc.us.
For more information about the three centers and their research programs, visit:
Schatz Energy Research Center at Cal Poly Humboldt: schatzenergy.org
California’s first 100% renewable energy, front-of-the-meter, multi-customer microgrid is now fully operational. Located in Humboldt County, California, the microgrid provides energy resilience for the regional airport and U.S. Coast Guard Air Station.
This microgrid was developed through a first-of-its-kind partnership between the Schatz Energy Research Center at Cal Poly Humboldt, the Redwood Coast Energy Authority, Pacific Gas & Electric, the County of Humboldt, TRC, The Energy Authority, Tesla, Inc., and Schweitzer Engineering Labs.
Research and development was supported through a $5 million grant from California’s Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) — a statewide program which invests in scientific and technological research to accelerate the transformation of the electricity sector to meet the state’s energy and climate goals — and by $6 million from the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA), a joint powers agency that provides clean and renewable power to Humboldt County.
A model for resilient, clean energy
“The Redwood Coast Airport Microgrid (RCAM) has ushered in a new and exciting era for the electric grid in California,” says Peter Lehman, Founding Director of the Schatz Center and project lead. “With its successful deployment and the development of new microgrid agreements and tariffs, RCAM has become a role model and beacon to communities across the state who are striving to green their energy supply and bolster their resilience in the face of climate change.”
The Redwood Coast Airport Microgrid features a 2.2-megawatt solar photovoltaic array that is DC-coupled to a 2 megawatt (9 megawatt-hour) battery energy storage system, comprised of three Tesla Megapacks.
During standard blue-sky operations, RCAM generates clean and renewable energy for the North Coast, and participates in the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) wholesale energy markets, including the day-ahead, realtime, and ancillary services markets. By storing solar energy during the day and releasing it onto the grid as needed in the evening and during heavy demand periods, RCAM enables greater utilization of solar, supports grid reliability, and creates an economic model for future microgrids.
When a power outage occurs, the microgrid islands from the main grid and energizes the circuit that encompasses the airport, the adjacent Coast Guard Air Station, and several neighboring facilities. RCAM will provide seamless, ongoing electricity for all customers in the microgrid circuit during any local outages.
As the first microgrid in the CAISO market and the first renewable, front-of-the-meter microgrid system in the state, RCAM is building a replicable business model for renewable microgrid deployment.
Meeting critical resilience goals
The regional California Redwood Coast-Humboldt County Airport (ACV) is located in McKinleyville, California, and serves the greater North Coast community with over 50,000 flights per year, including commercial airline, private, and emergency medical flights. Adjacent to the airport, the US Coast Guard Air Station Humboldt Bay provides search and rescue for 250 miles of rural coastline, from the Mendocino-Sonoma county line to the California-Oregon border.
Roads into Humboldt County are frequently closed by fires and mudslides, making air services a critical factor in regional emergency response.
Cody Roggatz, Humboldt County’s Director of Aviation says that “The California Redwood Coast-Humboldt County Airport (ACV) is a lifeline to our community every day by keeping Humboldt County connected to the world alongside our partners at United Airlines, Avelo Airlines, American Airlines, REACH/Cal-Ore Life Flights, US Coast Guard-Sector Humboldt Bay, and many others. RCAM ensures that we can continue to keep that lifeline open through energy resilience, no matter what happens to the power grid.”
Community microgrids: partnering for resilience
Deploying multi-customer, front-of-the-meter community microgrids requires close coordination between the microgrid design team, the electric utility, and an electricity generation partner who can energize the microgrid when needed. Because these microgrids utilize circuitry that is owned and maintained by the utility, their control systems must be responsive to utility commands and safety needs, while maintaining a clear delineation between utility-owned and generation partner-owned equipment. Furthermore, participating in the wholesale market requires that the system also be responsive to market signals.
Design and development of the RCAM project was led by Schatz Energy Research Center at Cal Poly Humboldt. The Schatz Center’s microgrid research and development focuses on resilient renewable energy solutions for the California North Coast and beyond.
The Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA) is the Community Choice Aggregator for Humboldt County, serving 63,000 electric account customers and supporting energy efficiency alongside local, clean and renewable energy solutions. RCEA is responsible for the majority of the Humboldt Bay area’s energy resource procurement, and owns and operates the electricity generation equipment for the microgrid.
PG&E maintains the regional electricity grid, which serves over 16 million people in Northern and Central California, and owns and operates the microgrid circuit.
“An important success of RCAM was how we were able to work through the complex financial, technical, regulatory, business, and operational hurdles facing this project,” says Dana Boudreau, RCEA’s director of Operations and Infrastructure. “This experience will serve us well as we continue to engage our community in building offshore wind energy, supporting more solar and storage capacity, and developing new community microgrids.”
Part of a growing trend
The unique collaboration between RCAM project partners has resulted in both technical and policy innovations. RCAM is the model for PG&E’s Community Microgrid Enablement Program — which provides technical assistance and cost offsets for community microgrid deployment. Additionally, PG&E’s Microgrid Incentive Program, expected to launch later this year, will leverage a $200 million statewide fund dedicated to deploying clean energy microgrids, to support the critical needs of vulnerable populations and disadvantaged communities.
“The Redwood Coast Airport Microgrid represents the culmination of many years of research, innovation, and collaboration by the world’s leading microgrid experts.Thanks to their hard work, microgrids now play a key role in PG&E’s ongoing efforts to harden our electrical system and enhance local grid resilience throughout Northern and Central California,” says Jason Glickman, Executive Vice President, Engineering, Planning and Strategy, PG&E. “We know how much our customers and communities need reliable energy, and this system not only increases local reliability, but it serves as the foundation for a replicable and scalable model for widely deploying multi-customer microgrids across PG&E’s service area, giving communities a new tool to take a more active role in securing their resilience and clean energy goals.”
Next steps for the North Coast
“RCEA’s goal is to provide our customers with 100% carbon-free electricity by 2025, and 100% local carbon-free electricity by 2030. This project is a major milestone for our clean energy and resilience efforts,” says Matthew Marshall, Executive Director of RCEA. RCEA works closely with schools, fire departments, Native American Tribes, and other local agencies to support community resilience across the North Coast.
Renewable energy microgrids are uniquely suited to help rural Tribes and other communities adapt to climate change and simultaneously mitigate future climate impacts. The Schatz Center is partnering with a number of Tribes in Northern California to support their clean energy, resilience, and climate response efforts.
Cal Poly Humboldt also recently began design of a renewable energy microgrid to support campus resilience through clean generation. This microgrid will be part of the university’s sustainability framework, and will enable students in engineering, environmental sciences, and other programs to gain hands-on experience with innovative climate-friendly technologies.
Learn more about RCAM and other microgrids being developed by the Schatz Center: schatzcenter.org/microgrids
Explore RCAM and the Redwood Coast Energy Authority’s programs and request an RCAM site tour: redwoodenergy.org/rcam/
Explore PG&E’s Community Microgrid Enablement Program: pge.com/cmep
About the Schatz Center
Since 1989, the Schatz Center has produced groundbreaking, renewable energy solutions that reduce climate change and pollution while increasing energy access and resilience. Located on the campus of Cal Poly Humboldt, the Schatz Center’s research efforts include microgrids, offshore wind, off-grid energy access, carbon life cycles, clean transportation, and more. The Center works closely with state agencies, local government, and Tribal nations in California, as well as with the World Bank Group, CLASP, IKEA Foundation, and others to support international energy access and resilience. Learn more at schatzcenter.org
About RCEA
Established in 2003, the Redwood Coast Energy Authority is a local government joint powers agency whose members include the County of Humboldt, the seven cities within the county, and the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District. The Energy Authority’s purpose is to develop and implement sustainable energy initiatives that reduce energy demand, increase energy efficiency, and advance the use of clean, efficient, and renewable resources available in the region. For more info, visit redwoodenergy.org
About PG&E
PG&E, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.
Thanks to the California Energy Commission for its leadership in supporting innovative, clean energy projects across the state! The EPIC program is now entering its 10th year, with over $1 billion in funding to date.
We’ve been honored to receive support from the CEC’s EPIC program for a number of projects including:
Learn more about the latest EPIC projects, including the Redwood Coast Airport Microgrid, in this year’s EPIC report…
We’re grateful to all of our project partners, whose collaboration is the foundation of our success. Special thanks to the Redwood Coast Energy Authority, PG&E, the County of Humboldt, H.T. Harvey & Associates, and the Blue Lake Rancheria for their ongoing commitment to clean energy solutions for the California north coast.
Join us on Wednesday, May 25 from 1-3 pm Pacific for a webinar on our latest feasibility study for offshore wind development in the Humboldt Wind Energy Area. This transmission-focused study analyzes how much power could be generated on the north coast by offshore wind while remaining within the bounds of the existing regional infrastructure, and describes the corresponding economics.
This research was led by the Schatz Center in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Quanta Technology, LLC, and is supported by funding from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Presenters and panelists will include Arne Jacobson and James Zoellick (Schatz Center), Ali Daneshpooy (Quanta Technology), Aubryn Cooperman (National Renewable Energy Lab), and David Erne (California Energy Commission).
Schedule:
1:00-1:15 pm — Welcome and overview of the Humboldt Wind Energy Area
1:15-2:00 pm — Presentation of findings
2:00-2:45 pm — Panel discussion and Q&A
2:45-3:00 pm — Next steps and closing remarks
For questions about the reports or presentation, or to request accessibility accommodations for the webinar, please contact schatzenergy@humboldt.edu.
Children and youth around the world are among those most affected by the climate crisis and have turned to the courts to seek protection of their fundamental rights. But are courts willing to let them have their day in court?
Andrea Rodgers is a Senior Litigation Attorney at Our Children’s Trust, where she serves as co-counsel on Juliana v. United States and as lead counsel on Aji P. v. State of Washington and Reynolds v. State of Florida. After graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1998 and Arizona State University School of Law in 2001, where she served as co-Executive Editor of Jurimetrics: The Journal of Law, Science and Technology, Andrea clerked for the Hon. John C. Gemmill on the Arizona Court of Appeals. She has served as an Honors Attorney for the U.S. Department of Transportation, In-House Legal Counsel for the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe, and Staff Attorney for the Western Environmental Law Center. Her law practice has focused on reducing pollution from industrial agricultural operations, protecting and enhancing instream flows for people and fish, and fighting climate change for young people and future generations.
Transportation is the largest sector of greenhouse gas emissions in the US, and shared electric vehicles (EVs) – such as those operating on ridesharing platforms – have the potential to significantly reduce these emissions. In this talk, Sam Arons will discuss Lyft’s industry-leading commitment to adopt 100% electric vehicles by 2030, the challenges of getting there, and why ridesharing is a great first-mover for EVs.
Prior to Lyft, Sam spent 10 years at Google as Senior Lead for Energy & Infrastructure, where he co-led Google’s achievement of 100% renewable energy in 2017, making Google the largest non-utility purchaser of renewable energy on the planet to-date with over 3 GW of wind & solar energy under contract. Before Google, Sam earned a BA in Physics from Williams College and an MS in Energy and Resources from UC Berkeley, where his research focused on wind energy and plug-in vehicles, respectively.
How to attend
We’re holding the fall 2021 series online via Zoom. All events are free and open to the public.
During this trip, the project team conducted seabird surveys in the vicinity of the station’s LiDAR buoy, which houses oceanic and atmospheric instrumentation along with a stereo thermal imaging camera that detects and tracks birds in flight. The team also flew a drone with known altitude, speed, and size across the camera’s field of view to simulate birds in flight, which will be used for ground-truthing observations.
Altogether, the data collected will be used to validate the stereo thermal camera imagery, and provide information to inform our three-dimensional seabird occurrence model that integrates spatial distributions of seabird density, species composition, and flight height within the Wind Energy Area.
