Energy and Technology

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has notified the County of Sonoma that it has begun to conduct equipment inspections to restore power to the 200,000 residents in Sonoma County affected by the Power Shutoff. PG&E has said they expect to make progress today in restoring power to some areas in the County. Other portions of the county will remain without power until PG&E has inspected the electrical infrastructure and determined that they can safely restore service.

A article about a huge gas station proposed for Highway 116 and Stony Point Road  was featured in the April our edition. That article by Jenny Blaker helped spark a community uprising that culminated on July 8 with the developer withdrawing the application. Many people and organizations were instrumental in this success both before and after the April Gazette article, and we thank them all. While we are celebrating the termination of that proposal, we remain concerned about two other gas station proposals. One of them, in Petaluma, has been permitted by that city, and is now being fought in court.  The other, at Highway 12 and Llano Road, is wending its way through the Sonoma County permitting process. In this case there is still an opportunity for the community to weigh in.

California’s three largest energy companies announced a coordinated wildfire safety and awareness campaign to prepare Californians for the threat of extreme weather and power outages during times of wildfire danger. Energy companies turn off power to fire prone areas during extreme weather events as a safety precaution. This is known as a Public Safety Power Shutoff. tel:18667436589

Are you prepared for another wildfire – and going without electricity for an extended period-of-time when extreme fire danger conditions are forecasted?

Daily Acts has sponsored the Community Resilience Challenge for ten years; now they’re partnering with the Regional Climate Protection Agency to launch the Sonoma Climate Challenge, a program that offers actions varying in cost and difficulty that save water and energy and reduce pollution. Rated from easy to challenging, each action has information about how to do it, upfront cost in dollars, time commitment to take action, savings in resources, dollar cost of the action, and more information on resources to help you.

Sonoma County Civil Grand Jury report acknowledges Sonoma Water’s earthquake preparation. In June, the Sonoma County Civil Grand Jury concluded its investigation into the risk of a major earthquake in Sonoma County and the effect that it could have on residents, due to impacts on water supplies. The Grand Jury’s report suggests some areas where the department should improve while acknowledging some of the agency's strengths.

Topics will include expansion of the Public Safety Power Shutoff program, accelerated safety inspections of electric infrastructure, enhanced vegetation management around power lines, and hardening the electric system for the future by replacing equipment and installing stronger and more resilient poles and covered power lines.

Over 300 people showed up in the rain on May 15th to learn about the Green New Deal (GND). People of all ages, from little children with their parents (there was a table for the kids to color postcards with climate-friendly slogans to be sent to Gov. Newsom) to older folk, including many like myself, who are in the “Old Greyhair” League, were at the Fairgrounds to hear about local efforts to implement the GND. 

Sonoma County activists and students gathered at a May 15 meeting to discuss local approaches to support the Green New Deal, a proposal to tackle economic inequality and combat climate change at the same time.

CAL FIRE investigators were immediately dispatched to the Camp Fire and began working to determine the origin and cause of the fire. After a very meticulous and thorough investigation, CAL FIRE has determined that the Camp Fire was caused by electrical transmission lines owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electricity (PG&E) located in the Pulga area. 

University tries very hard to get students involved with sustainability. With the way the campus is going with its efforts, there will be many other changes and programs to keep the school on a positive track towards a healthier campus for the environment. If all of the students on campus get involved with the practices that are being shown, there could be a positive and dramatic change in the community.

County, City Remind Residents to Stay Vigilant During Ongoing Outage. PG&E’s scheduled power shutoff began today Oct 9, 2019 in much of Sonoma County, affecting approximately 200,000 residents. PG&E currently predicts that the power shutoff may continue through Thursday, October 10, at noon.

Improving weather means patrols in some areas of Humboldt County have started. PG&E anticipates being able to restore power to 60,000 to 80,000 customers tonight or early Thursday morning. Patrols take place during daytime hours and will resume at daybreak.

PG&E CANCELS Power Shut-Off scheduled for North Bay and Sierra Foothills  Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) continues to monitor hot, dry and windy weather over the next few days and anticipates that it will NOT need to shut off power for nine Northern California counties in the North Bay.

PG&E ‪has raised the Pubic Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) potential from “Elevated” to “WATCH” for Monday (9/23) & Tuesday (9/24) in the North Bay. “WATCH” is PG&E’s medium level of potential for a PSPS. Residents in and around Sonoma may receive an automated phone call, text and or email from PG&E advising them of the “WATCH.” Learn more at PGE.com/weather or by calling PG&E at 1-800-743-5009.

As you might imagine, an oilman morphing into an environmentalist after many years in that arena produced some clashes with others in the field – after all, I spent 25 years looking for oil and gas as a petroleum geologist in the Midwest. Much of my income has been and still is from oil and gas production as I retain several royalty interests in Oklahoma wells.

This column started over 11 years ago as a way to share individual actions that make a difference for our planet and her people. I still believe all of us have to take all the small steps we can, but it’s clear that only policy changes can save us, and for that we have to work collectively.

Vegetation Removal for Wildfire Safety Under Scrutiny. All across the state, PG&E is sending out crews to remove trees in large swathes under power lines. In neighborhoods, tree inspectors are tagging trees for trimming and removal. What used to be a required 18” clearance has become a 4-foot to 12-foot clearance since fires raged across our state and electric power lines have been identified as a source for several of these fires.

Within a year, electricity from onshore wind and solar will be cheaper than any electricity from fossil fuels, a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) forecasts. This doesn’t even consider the “hidden” costs of fossils fuels—from mining and drilling operations, spills, and greenhouse gas emissions, nor does it factor in huge fossil fuel subsidies.