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Thanks to Supervisor Laura Capps and others in the county government, Santa Barbara is getting more of its energy from solar, wind, and geothermal sources and reducing its overall energy usage.
Santa Barbara County Supervisor Laura Capps, whose leadership on climate has been grounded, practical and deeply committed to the people and environment of Santa Barbara County, recently posted an eye-catching graphic on Instagram full of good news.
In the post, Capps, who has championed local renewable energy projects that have reduced emissions and saved taxpayers money since her time serving on the Santa Barbara County School Board, provided an update on renewable energy projects in Santa Barbara County. The numbers provide reason to hope:
- Solar capacity at county facilities is on its way to being doubled.
- 157 new EV chargers are coming to sites throughout the county through a state grant.
- County buildings are using 25% less energy compared to just three years ago.
- 80% of county electricity will be generated by new solar projects by next year.
- The county will save $60 million in taxpayer dollars over the lifetime of these clean-energy projects.
There’s a lot of hard work and dedication behind those numbers. One big success story: Through the efforts of Supervisor Joan Hartman, former Supervisor Das Williams, and many county employees, Santa Barbara joined a consortium called 3CE in 2021. Although few people know about it, it’s made a huge difference.
3CE is a community-run electricity provider that gives Santa Barbara residents and businesses more control over their power mix, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and invests in clean energy programs.
Instead of letting big investor-owned utilities decide where the county’s power comes from, 3CE chooses and purchases electricity from providers tapping cleaner sources like solar, wind, and geothermal. The consortium includes five California counties — Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Cruz — which collectively provide more than 1.1 million customers with cleaner and more affordable energy.
3CE now serves about 95% of the population across Santa Barbara County. As a result, Santa Barbara County has already reached its goal of 60% renewable energy by 2025, and now hopes to be 100% renewable by 2030.
