Energy and Natural Resources, Disaster Preparedness
The extraordinary quality of our region’s natural environment is critical to both our quality of life and the strength of our local economy, particularly in tourism and recreation.
Effective resiliency planning must include our region’s energy and natural resources with a clear understanding of threats and opportunities.
Recent droughts and wildfires highlight the need for sustainable resource management as well as land use, management practices, and building standards that minimize the impact of natural disasters. These events have become a part of living in this region and require sustained investment in response, mitigation, and preparedness for fires, floods, and earthquakes.
Minimizing Risk of Fires
Wildfires continue to increase in frequency and intensity, requiring sustained local action.
We support:
- Implementation of the Chamber’s Wildfire Action Plan
- Vegetation management and reduction of combustible materials
- Land use practices that reduce risk in Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas
- Continued improvements to the electric transmission and distribution system
Hardening of the electric distribution system is critical in reducing wildfire risk and the impact of Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events. With losses in the millions of dollars per PSPS event, continued investment in grid hardening, microgrids, and backup energy systems is essential.
Water and Environment
A reliable water supply is essential to the health of our community and economy.
We support:
- Expanding the region’s water supply through recycling, storage, and efficiency measures
- Protection of natural resources that support key industries
- Sustainable water use and long-term resource management
Aligning Sonoma Water’s rates and budgets with the true cost of maintaining the system is necessary to avoid higher long-term costs from deferred maintenance. We support proactive infrastructure investment and public education on the need for appropriate rate structures.
Clean Energy
Transitioning to a clean energy future requires both public investment and private sector innovation.
We support:
- Incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency
- Investment in grid modernization and expanded energy delivery capacity
- Policies that support broader adoption of solar and clean energy technologies
The reduction of solar incentives has created a significant chilling in the rate of solar adoption. Federal, state, and local governments should provide financial incentives to individuals and businesses to support the widespread adoption of solar energy.
