Valley pilot project for renewable energy

Representatives of the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization (SJVCEO), an entity of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, and the national 25x’25 Alliance on Nov. 9 signed a Memorandum of Understanding on a pilot project to focus on the renewable energy potential of the Valley.

Under the agreement, the Valley will demonstrate how generating renewable energy will result in positive economic opportunities, including increasing net farm income, while improving environmental and human health and helping to reduce oil demand.

The project will have the potential to serve as a template for similar efforts throughout California and across the country.

The national 25x'25 Alliance is a coalition of nearly 600 agricultural, forestry, environmental, business, energy, labor, civic and government organizations that advocate America's farms, ranches and forestlands can meet at least 25 percent of our nation's energy needs with land-based renewable resources – biofuels, biomass, solar power, wind energy, geothermal energy and hydropower – by the year 2025, while still producing a safe, affordable and abundant supply of food, feed and fiber.

Twenty-seven governors, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, have endorsed the 25x’25 vision. California Food and Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura is a member of the 25x’25 Steering Committee.

The SJVCEO is an innovative organization created by the Partnership to be its entity in leading a regional effort (from Kern to San Joaquin counties) to increase the level of clean energy investments in the San Joaquin Valley as a means of helping the region address its environmental, economic and growth challenges.

A copy of the Memorandum of Understanding is available at http://www.sjvpartnership.org/docs/SJVCEO25x25MOU.pdf.

Partnership board approves regional housing trust concept

The Partnership’s board of directors on Nov. 9 approved in concept the formation of the San Joaquin Valley Housing Trust, a nonprofit organization designed to help Valley jurisdictions achieve their housing goals.

The board has invited the trust’s planning group to form the board, approve the by-laws, and return to the Partnership Board with the by-laws and board roster at its February meeting. The board will be made up of representatives of all participating Councils of Governments, representatives of the Partnership Work Groups, and local housing industry and advocate organizations. It will be supported through the California Coalition for Rural Housing.

The trust is envisioned as a fund in which local jurisdictions that participate will build up and receive flexible funds that help them achieve their housing goals. The funds could be used for acquiring land, providing incentives to private developers, leveraging government programs and private loans, front-end master planning, and many more uses that would provide incentives for housing that is affordable to people who live and work in the Valley.

When formed, the trust will work to obtain the Valley’s share of funding resulting from SB 586 (Dutton), which reserves $37 million of Prop 1C funds for housing trusts and $18.5 million for new housing trusts. Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB 586 into law on Oct. 13.

The organization will be the principal vehicle for implementing the values and goals of the Valley Blueprint process and the Partnership’s Land Use, Agriculture and Housing Work Group. The housing recommendations of the Partnership’s Strategic Action Proposal called for the formation of the regional housing trust.

More information on the work of the Partnership’s Land Use, Agriculture and Housing Work Group is available at http://www.sjvpartnership.org/landuse.html.

Partnership board directs further evaluation of health care reforms

The Partnership’s board of directors on Nov. 9 directed the Central Valley Health Policy Institute (CVHPI) at California State University, Fresno, to further evaluate health-care reform proposals and develop a customized solution for health care issues in the Valley.

CVHPI earlier this year released a policy brief, "Health Reform 2007 Impact on the Valley," the first comprehensive report in the region to analyze the varied health care reform proposals together and outline potential effects that each could have on this region if implemented.

The brief is intended to provide stakeholders and policymakers with a comprehensive picture of the Valley’s health and health care challenges so they can advocate for long-term, comprehensive solutions.

CVHPI’s research indicates that the Valley’s health-care needs will not be met by the current reform proposals. Since the state Legislature is expected to consider health-care reform in late November, the board asked CVHPI to consider how the Valley’s needs can be included in the reform discussions.

CVHPI’s policy brief is available at http://www.csufresno.edu/ccchhs/documents/CVHPI_brief_062007.pdf.

Partnership board supports trade corridor projects

The Partnership’s board of directors on Nov. 9 offered its support of projects identified by the Directors’ Committee of the San Joaquin Valley Regional Planning Agencies as vital to both the regional and national movement of goods.

The projects submitted to the California Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency are:

1. SR 4 (Crosstown Freeway) extension to Port of Stockton in San Joaquin County.
2. Altamont Pass Rail Corridor/Central Valley Rail Freight Shuttle Demonstration Project in San Joaquin County.
3. Crows Landing Intermodal Rail Facility, including rail improvements along an alignment from the Port of Oakland to the Crows Landing Airfield in Stanislaus County.
4. Shafter Intermodal Rail Facility in Kern County.
5. Double Track Rail through Tehachapi Pass in Kern County.

All of the projects have an identified local match of 50 percent, have an identified delivery date, and are in a trade corridor of national or international significance.

Implementation of the projects would support a number of transportation goals and objectives in the Partnership’s Strategic Action Proposal as approved by the governor, such as “improving goods movement within the region to increase economic vitality, traffic safety, and mobility” and “enhancing goods movement capacity while increasing safety, decreasing congestion, improving air quality and promoting economic development.”

The projects are included in the 2007 San Joaquin Valley Regional Goods Movement Action Plan, which is available at http://www.fresnocog.org/files/Planning/Goods%20Movement%20Study/2007ActionPlan.pdf.

Additionally, the board will write to BTH Secretary Dale Bonner urging the agency to continue to acknowledge the identity of the Central Valley as a significant trade corridor.

Major solar projects announced at Fresno State, Mendota

Two major solar projects in the San Joaquin Valley have been announced at California State University, Fresno, and the City of Mendota in Fresno County.

Fresno State and Chevron Energy Solutions, a unit of Chevron (NYSE: CVX), on Nov. 8 celebrated the completion of the largest solar-paneled parking structure at a U.S. university. The 1.1-megawatt solar installation will generate 20 percent of the university's annual power needs, and allow Fresno State to save million of dollars avoided utility costs over the 30-year life of the solar power system.

The only shaded parking structure at the campus comprises 3,872 photovoltaic panels mounted on top of more than 700 carport stalls constructed in parking lots on the southeast side of campus.

It is expected to generate more than 1.5 million kilowatt hours of power each year, offsetting the production of about 950 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions—equivalent to planting more than 24,300 new trees or removing more than 200 cars from the road every year.

The City of Mendota has been selected as the site of what will be the largest solar farm in California providing emission-free photovoltaic solar electricity to an investor-owned utility.

The 5 megawatt utility-scale solar facility, dubbed “CalRENEW-1,” is being developed by San Francisco-based Cleantech America Inc. and will sell electricity to Pacific Gas & Electric under a power purchase agreement. Scheduled to begin operation in spring 2009, CalRENEW-1 will provide environmental, economic, and educational benefits to the Valley, in addition to new job creation.

Bill Barnes, CEO of Cleantech America Inc., said the company also has planned future solar farm development on nearby land within the city of Mendota.

Valley Clean Energy & Fuels Conference set for Fresno

The San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization, in partnership with the Sierra Club, will host the first San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy & Fuels Conference in Fresno on Monday, Dec. 3, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The conference will be held at the Fresno Convention Center, New Exhibit Hall.

The conference will bring together clean technology businesses, venture investors, workforce development, policy makers, government officials, utilities, agriculture, environmental groups, transportation and individuals who are interested in the future of clean energy and fuels in the San Joaquin Valley.

The conference will host notable clean technology speakers and present four distinct discussion panels. The panelists will speak on the current state of clean energy and fuels and what steps need to be taken to achieve expanded clean technology in the Valley.

This is the first in a series of conferences by the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization—whose mission is to facilitate the growth of clean energy and fuels in the San Joaquin Valley.

For more information, visit www.valleycleanenergyconference.com.

Kern County Minority Contractor Association sets regional conference

The Kern Minority Contractor Association will hold a regional conference and business development expo in Bakersfield on Jan. 10 and 11. The event will be held at the Holiday Inn Select, 801 Truxtun Ave., in downtown Bakersfield.

The event is designed to bring together public agencies; prime contractors; and minority, women-owned, disabled veteran and small/disadvantaged business enterprises throughout the Valley to discuss how to do business with each other and learn about future public sector projects.

Partnership representatives will make a presentation at the conference.

The Kern County Minority Contractors Association is a membership organization of construction and building trade companies and related small businesses.

More information will be available soon at www.minoritycontractors.info. Get more information and event registration by calling 661-324-7535 or by emailing marvindeanllc@sbcglobal.net.

Meet the Board:
Stan Simpson: No one says it like Stan

“Green grass, strong oak trees, lots of flowing rivers,” is what Stan Simpson dreams of seeing in the San Joaquin Valley in the next five to 10 years. Then he stops to take himself more seriously.

“Truthfully, I hope that today’s planners have done their job and tied together the rural and urban infrastructure with aesthetic integrity,” Simpson says, “so that the citizens of the Valley can benefit from a free-flowing Valley that has maintained much of its beauty.”

“We know growth is a necessity; but it must be done with great responsibility,” says Simpson, who is chairman emeritus for Buckman-Mitchell Insurance Inc., one of the largest insurance agencies in the West.

A fourth generation Visalian, Simpson spends his time according to the hopes he has for the Valley. He is a member of the Visalia Parks and Recreation Foundation, a managing member of Central California Alternative Fuels and San Joaquin Valley [real estate] Investment Group. He serves on the boards of Central Valley Business Incubator in Fresno and Fresno State’s Foundation. He is chairman of the Tulare County Office of Education Foundation and a mentorship advisor for Fresno State’s Lyles Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

In January 2007, Simpson was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley which, Simpson says, has provided him the opportunity to meet a diverse group of caring and intelligent people who have come together to plan for the Valley’s future.

“We have the ability to articulate our own ideas,” he says.

“Though I believe air, water and transportation are extremely important, I disagree that they are the most important factors we currently face,” he says. “Developing solutions for the gang, crime and meth situations are, at this point, more important; because if we do not curb these problems, air, water and transportation may be moot.”

Simpson, who is married to Wendy and has three daughters and six grandchildren, enjoys golf, wine tasting and visiting Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks region.

Legislative Update

Legislation Consistent with the Partnership Strategic Action Plan

AB 575 (Arambula) – Prop 1B AQ Mitigation Criteria/Funding

A bill to require that $1 billion to mitigate air pollution from goods movement, approved by voters under the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006 (Proposition 1B), be appropriated to the highest priority projects according to a set of region-neutral criteria.

• Status: Bill held in Assembly Appropriations Committee. However, the allocation of Proposition 1B Goods Movement Emission Reduction (AQ Mitigation) Program funding has been determined by criteria passed as part of the 2007-08 Budget, through trailer bill SB 88.
  On September 19, ARB released its draft concepts for implementation of the Prop 1B Goods Movement Emission Reduction Program. The ARB has scheduled public workshops in the four trade corridors, including a workshop in Fresno on October 10. Members of the Air Quality Work Group (AQWG) participated. Corresponding deadlines are as follows:
• Early November 2007: ARB staff will release the proposed Program Guidelines as well as hold public meetings.
• December 6-7, 2007:ARB will hold a public hearing and consider adoption of the Guidelines.
• January until June 2008: Local agency applications will submit project applications. Following the close of the application process, staff will post eligible applications on its Web site. ARB will hold a public hearing to consider approval of specific local agency project applications.

AB 1223 (Arambula) – Net Energy Metering

A bill to permit an agricultural customer who uses solar or wind generation to offset the customer's own electrical needs to aggregate the electricity use of properties adjacent or contiguous to the generator that are under the same ownership to its full electricity usage over a 12-month cycle at the retail rate.

• Status: Assemblymember Arambula says the bill will now be a two-year bill. It will be taken back up in January.

AB 1129 (Arambula) – Housing Trust Fund

A bill to establish the San Joaquin Valley Rural Regional Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

• Status: Held in Assembly Housing Committee as a two-year bill.
• Related, SB 586 (Dutton) was signed by the Governor on Oct. 13. This bill allocates the $100 million Affordable Housing Innovation Fund created by the Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund Act of 2006 (Proposition 1C).

AB 1403 (Arambula) – Education

A bill to establish an innovative, five-year Central Valley School District Improvement Pilot Program would allow two county superintendents (from Fresno and Tulare counties) to opt to assume additional responsibility for ensuring the academic success of struggling school districts within their jurisdiction that are both identified for program improvement or corrective action under the federal No Child Left Behind and have 50 percent or more of their schools ranked in deciles 1 and 2 of the state Academic Performance Index.

• Status: Placed on the Suspense File in Senate Appropriations, and did not pass out of committee.

AB 1455 (Arambula, Villines) – Air Quality Zones

The bill as most recently amended would authorize the State Air Resources Board to designate “California Air Quality Zones” for the purpose of providing incentives for owners of mobile and stationary sources of air pollution to invest in air pollution control equipment that produce surplus emission reductions, and for owners of stationary sources of air pollution to invest in the production and utilization of renewable energy technologies. Areas eligible include those that: 1) have been in nonattainment for PM 2.5 and in serious, severe, or extreme nonattainment for ozone using the 8-hour rule, and 2) have countywide unemployment rate at least 50% higher than the statewide average for at least two of the last three years.

• Status: Placed on the Suspense File in Senate Appropriations; did not pass out of committee.

SB 23 (Cogdill) – Vehicle Replacement

The bill requires the Air District, in consultation with the Air Resources Board, to develop and administer a vehicle exchange program to replace high-polluting vehicles with donated, smog-compliant vehicles according to specified conditions.

• Status: Signed by the Governor on October 14.

Action Taken by Executive Committee

AB 340 (Hancock)

This bill creates a pilot project in up to five counties that will allow county welfare departments to merge duplicative foster placement processes for licensing and approving relatives, foster families, and adoptive parents.

• Status: The Governor signed on October 11. The Executive Committee approved a letter to Secretary Belshé asking that at least one of the pilot projects be implemented in a Valley county.

Federal Issues/Legislation

Farm Bill

The Farm Bill passed by the House includes a number of provisions important to the Valley and the Partnership.

• Status: Per the board’s request, the Partnership sent thank you letters to Reps. Costa, Cardoza and McCarthy for their work in the House Agriculture Committee on preserving the interests of the Valley in the House-version of the Farm Bill.
  The AQWG and Energy Work Group members sent a letter to Chairman Harkin (Senate AG Committee) requesting that he preserve the $150 million for air quality programs within the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) in the 2007 Farm Bill. They also requested that it be placed under the general EQIP program, instead of Conservation Innovative Grants (CIG) as was provided in the House-version.

Water

Related to the goals of the Partnership’s Water Work Group, Congressman Jim Costa introduced HR 2498, a bill to provide for a study coordinating and integrating sub-regional, integrated regional water management plans into a unified Integrated Regional Water Management Plan for the eight counties of the San Joaquin Valley.

• Status: The House Subcommittee on Water and Power passed HR 2498 with amendment on October 16. Rep. Costa hopes the House will consider the bill prior to adjournment.

Dates to Know

November 26

11 a.m. to noon
K-12 Education Work Group meeting
Merced County Office of Education
Merced
For more information, contact Marcy Masumoto, mmasumoto@csufresno.edu.

November 27

3 to 7 p.m.
Executive Leadership Seminar for Superintendents
Smittcamp Alumni House
2625 E. Matoian Way
Fresno
For more information, contact Marcy Masumoto, mmasumoto@csufresno.edu.

November 30

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
International Center for Water Technology Federal Grant Workshop (SBIR-STTR)
Claude Laval Water and Energy Technology Incubator
Barstow and Chestnut avenues
Fresno State
For more information, visit www.icwt.net/SBIR, or call Dan Clawson at 559-278-2066.

December 3

8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy & Fuels Conference
Fresno Convention Center, New Exhibit Hall
Fresno
For more information, visit www.valleycleanenergyconference.org.

December 14

Methamphetamine Advisory Council quarterly meeting
Visalia
For more information, contact Juanita Fiorello, jfiorello@csufresno.edu.