Land Use Committee Meets
Craig Lewis, founder of the Clean Coalition, was in front of the Montecito Association’s Land Use Committee earlier this week discussing the Montecito Community Microgrid Initiative, which is a project designed to provide indefinite renewable back up power for critical facilities in Montecito during emergencies.
The Montecito Community Microgrid Initiative aims to build multiple community microgrids in the Montecito area, beginning with Montecito Fire District Station 1, then Montecito Water District, and then Montecito Union School. The project will ensure the continuous operation of critical and priority facilities in the event of future disasters, as well as providing ongoing energy resilience to a broader Santa Barbara region that is served by a single, and highly vulnerable, connection to the high-voltage transmission system, via the Goleta Substation at the top of Glen Annie Road in Goleta. The “Goleta Load Pocket” spans from Point Conception to Lake Casitas, encompassing Goleta, Santa Barbara, Montecito, and Carpinteria. “Because the GLP is a highly transmission-vulnerable, disaster-prone region, it is the ideal place to bring renewable resilience,” said Lewis, who began looking at a microgrid project in Santa Barbara about two years ago at UCSB, but switched focus to Montecito following the Thomas Fire and 1/9 debris flow.
The microgrid project, when built, would have the ability to power the Hot Springs distribution circuit, which would include the upper village, Coast Village Road, Montecito Sanitary District, Santa Barbara Cemetery, the Four Seasons Biltmore, and other areas.
The first phase of the project, which would cost nearly $850,000, includes building a solar photovoltaic canopy on top of a single carport, to be located in the back parking lot area of MFPD Station 1 on San Ysidro Road. The panels would be able to power the station at the same rate or better than Southern California Edison’s current rates. Taking into account the state and federal tax breaks and the money earned by selling the energy to MFPD, there is a $285,000 gap to pay for the facility, which will be funded by grant money sourced by Clean Coalition. The Clean Coalition is looking to raise a total of $500K for the project from high net worth individuals, foundations, and government grants or corporate entities. The MFPD board of directors unanimously voted to move forward with the project, and is currently in the negotiation phase with Clean Coalition.
The goal is to have the project at Montecito Fire Protection District online by the end of this year, Montecito Water District online three months after that, and Montecito Union School three months after that. “We want to have all three projects online by the middle of 2020,” Lewis said. For more information, visit www.clean-coalition.org.
Also heard at Land Use: Dave Anderson and Pat Saley, who are spearheading the Hammond’s Meadow Restoration Plan, gave the committee a briefing on their plans for the meadow. The two-acre property, which is County owned, is located next to the Sea Meadows subdivision, bordered by Eucalyptus Lane to the east, Montecito Shores to the west, and the ocean to the south. The site is part of the original Chumash settlement, and is considered a sacred site. It is currently infested with tall weeds and gophers, and volunteers with Channel Islands Restoration have been attempting to abate the weeds for the last two years. A long term plan is currently in the works, with plans to plant native plants on the site following gopher and weed abatement; a number of constraints exist due to the sensitive nature of the property. These include not being able to dig into the soil, bring heavy equipment on the property, or add a water source.
The project, which will be led by Channel Islands Restoration, is expected to cost $700K, with funding expected to come from foundations, neighbors, and others. “It will be a major fundraising drive that we’ll need to undertake,” Anderson said. The idea is that the site will be self sustaining in five years, and that the access through the site to the beach will not change. “Our goal is to restore the native habitat, create a landscape that is visually pleasing, protect the integrity of Chumash resources, reduce erosion and vandalism, increase the sense of safety and security for neighbors, and maintain public access,” Saley said. “We think it will be a benefit for everyone.”
The project will be in front of the Montecito Planning Commission next week at a special time: 1 pm on Thursday, April 18. The Land Use Committee voted to send a letter to the MPC in support of the project.
The full board of the Montecito Association meets next Tuesday, April 9.
