Power

Gov. Brown Signs Agreement to Fast-Track Renewable Projects

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Brown and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar are expanding a state and federal partnership to expedite large-scale renewable projects.

The partnership between the Department of the Interior and the state of California expedites the approval process for large-scale solar, wind, and geothermal projects.” credit=”Craig Miller/Climate Watch

The partnership originates from an agreement then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed in 2009. Now Brown and Salazar are extending it, and broadening the scope of the agreement, to include not only energy, but also transmission projects. They signed a memorandum of understanding (pdf) at a solar project being built in Elk Grove this morning.

According to a press release from the state, the projects now being fast-tracked, which are the Bureau of Land Management’s seven priority projects, plus other projects on private land, will generate enough renewable energy to meet the state’s 33% by 2020 goal.

The MOU signed today doesn’t guarantee they’ll all be built, rather, it’s a move towards expediting the lengthy permitting process these large-scale projects require.

Gov. Brown Signs Agreement to Fast-Track Renewable Projects 1 February,2018Molly Samuel
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Show Comments (2)

2 thoughts on “Gov. Brown Signs Agreement to Fast-Track Renewable Projects”

  1. Brown loves big projects. Meanwhile the rest of us would rather have solar on our roofs. Somehow, these big projects always end up costing and costing and costing.

  2. Southern California Edison has secured permission for 20-year power
    purchase agreements (PPAs) with a SunPower unit for PV plants having a
    total capacity of 711MW. The Quinto project, which are expected be
    online in late 2014, and AVSP 1 and 2, will be operational in October
    2016. Annyally, the three projects would generate 1,835GWh.

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Author

Molly Samuel

Molly Samuel joined KQED as an intern in 2007, and since then has worked here as a reporter, producer, director and blogger. Before becoming KQED Science’s Multimedia Producer, she was a producer for Climate Watch. Molly has also reported for NPR, KALW and High Country News, and has produced audio stories for The Encyclopedia of Life and the Oakland Museum of California. She was a fellow with the Middlebury Fellowships in Environmental Journalism and a journalist-in-residence at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center. Molly has a degree in Ancient Greek from Oberlin College and is a co-founder of the record label True Panther Sounds.

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