Woody Hastings By Woody Hastings September 2014 Most of Sonoma County now has some exciting new choices about where their electrical power comes from and how much they pay for it. Sonoma Clean Power, the Community Choice program that launched in Sonoma County in May of this year, offers cleaner power at rates that are 4 to … Read more
(Heated by magma near the Earth’s surface, natural ‘fumaroles’ or steam vents, emit steam in a field near piping that carries hot steam from the source). When we think of renewable energy we mostly think of power from the sky – solar and wind. The power sources that we are trying to phase out come … Read more
In the debate over centralized vs. distributed energy systems, we can perhaps learn something about which one might be better for society from behavioral studies of our chimpanzee cousins. In her book “The Egalitarians – Human and Chimpanzee: An Anthropological View of Social Organization,” Margaret Power challenges the view, based largely on observation of artificially … Read more
(Sunbeams shine down on the Congenra solar collectors on the roof of Woodfour bewery at the Barlow in Sebastopol. The collectors produce both fuel-free hot water and clean electricity for the brewing operation.) The Barlow opening in Sebastopol is a big deal. It’s a wonderful new dimension to the Sebastopol community. And there are some … Read more
First Community Bank and Sonoma Clean Power! Ever wonder what the magic was that made Sonoma Clean Power a reality so quickly? An indispensible piece was the clear thinking and visionary leadership of William Gallaher of First Community Bank. The Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy recognized this fact with a Leadership in Sustainability … Read more
As Halloween approaches, it seems fitting to revisit recent advice from the energy experts at the Rocky Mountain Institute. If you want to keep the lights on when zombies or other calamities come knocking at your door, it might be a good idea to have invested in microgrid technology. It’s a scary thought to think … Read more
Over the weekend I showed off my 2000 Ford Ranger all-electric pick-up truck in an “EV Expo” in Sebastopol, an exhibit of about twenty-five electric vehicles along with their owners. The EVs ran the gamut, all the way from a funky 1925 converted pick-up truck to a $100K Tesla Roadster. And yes – many practical … Read more
This past weekend I participated in an interpretive tour of the Jenner Headlands, organized by the Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy. I was not anticipating that the tour would relate directly to my work helping to establish Sonoma Clean Power. However, it became clear early in the presentation that it just may. A significant part of … Read more
As the Renewable Energy Implementation Manager for the Climate Protection Campaign, you might think I support installing solar panels anywhere, any time, any way. The reality is that there are better and worse places to locate renewables, including solar. A recent article in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat describes a trend in large-scale energy development … Read more
A two-year struggle to defeat an insidious piece of legislation in Sacramento, Assembly Bill 976, has come to a happy conclusion. On September 27 Governor Brown vetoed AB976 and added a brief signing statement (see below). In this statement the Governor echoed what community choice proponents drove home repeatedly in committee hearings and elsewhere. The … Read more
