California Policy | California Climate & Agriculture Network

Ecofarm Conference is Call to Action

February 9, 2012 by Ted Quaday 1 Comment

The Ecofarm Conference is always an energizing experience, but this year the currents of change seemed particularly electrifying. Maybe it was the weather, which was unusually warm and sunny along California’s Central Coast in early February. Maybe it was the impressive number of young people who have caught hold of the Ecofarm vision of farming in concert with nature. Maybe it was simply the incredible enthusiasm of the 1,700 farmers and food activists who gathered at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove.

Attendees came together under the conference theme of “Raising EcoFarmers’ Voices.” Throughout the three-day gathering, that theme echoed as plenary speakers like food policy activist and current Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie reminded the group that California has always provided leadership to the food and farm movement. Engaging in the discussion and creation of public policy around food and farming is crucial, said Ritchie.

“Policy is important because policy shapes the future,” he said. “If we want things to keep getting better, we have to stay involved.”

Other presenters issued similar calls for increased participation at the local, state, and national level. As part of our work toward a climate-friendly food and farm economy, CalCAN moderated two workshops on engaging citizen participation in the push for a Farm Bill that protects conservation, organic and beginning farmer programs.

On a more hands-on level, we facilitated a workshop highlighting the climate-friendly efforts of the Fetzer/Bonterra Vineyards and those of organic walnut producer Russ Lester of Dixon Ridge Farm in Winters, CA.

Fetzer/Bonterra has done pioneering work in organic wine grape production and recently completed a survey of vineyard properties to develop a benchmark for determining the level of carbon sequestration taking place in the soils, forests and borders surrounding its vineyards.

Russ Lester told workshop attendees about the many ways he has found to create a more climate-friendly farming environment. He noted that government-funded subsidies and grants have been beneficial in helping him reduce the carbon footprint on his farm. He also showcased a system he’s developed enabling him to burn waste walnut shells to generate electricity. Thanks to a bill, the Renewable Energy Equity Act, sponsored by CalCAN, Dixon is now able to connect to the grid and cut his energy costs while lowering his carbon footprint by producing renewable energy from a waste product.

Research, innovation, policy change — all require commitment at the individual level. People coming together to move the farm and food agenda forward in a positive way. That’s the message Ecofarm delivered, and it’s the vision CalCAN carries forward in its work to be the sustainable agriculture voice for climate-friendly farming in California. In coming days, we’ll be moving to increase our organizing activity and our potential for making policy change here in California as we launch the Food and Climate Project. Through this project we’ll be reaching out to organizations, individuals, and businesses with an invitation to take action on initiatives that help California’s farmers and ranchers adapt to climate change and unleash their potential for providing climate benefits. Stay tuned for more details, or contact Ted Quaday, CalCAN’s Campaign Director, for more information.

Filed Under: California Policy, Farm Bill 2012, Federal Policy, Renewable Energy Tagged With: CalCAN's work, California agriculture, climate change, farmer, Food & Climate Project, on-farm energy, on-farm renewable energy

Urge Your State Lawmakers to Support Sustainable Agricultural Solutions to Climate Change

February 6, 2012 by Jeanne Merrill Leave a Comment

The California Legislature will soon take up the issue of how the state should allocate the fees generated through the implementation of the state’s climate change law, AB 32. The legislature and the governor will debate how to expend fees generated from the first auctions held this year of cap and trade allowances (aka permits to emit greenhouse gases). It is estimated that between $400 million and $1 billion will be generated in 2012. All fees must be used to address climate change and meet the objectives of the AB 32.

As we noted a couple of weeks ago, Gov. Jerry Brown included in his recent budget proposal an outline of how cap and trade generated fees may be expended, including investments in sustainable agricultural activities that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is an important step forward.

To raise these issues in the legislature, CalCAN and our allies sponsored SB 237, the Agriculture Climate Benefits Act. Authored by Sen. Lois Wolk (D-Davis), the bill outlined uses of cap and trade fees to support research, technical assistance and financial incentives for agricultural practices and farming systems that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, the bill did not move out of Senate committee in January and was held in suspense, essentially blocking the bill from moving forward this year.

While we had hoped to keep the bill moving, we did find support in the legislature for our proposal, and we will continue to build upon this, with your help, during what will likely be a contentious budget process to determine the fate of cap and trade fees.

You can help make the case for sustainable agricultural solutions to climate change. Write your state senator and representative and ask them to support cap and trade investments in agriculture.

The message is simple: “I’m writing to express my support for a portion of cap and trade fees to go towards research, technical assistance and financial incentives for agricultural practices and farming systems that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and assist California farmers and ranchers in coping with climate change. Sustainable and organic agriculture offer some of the best solutions to sequester carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while providing environmental and health co-benefits.”

Click here to find your State Senator and Representative’s addresses (search by zip code)

Please let us know you sent a letter. Drop us a line to: info@calclimateag.org.

Find more information on SB 237

Filed Under: AB 32 Implementation, California Policy, Climate & Ag Research, Uncategorized Tagged With: California agriculture, cap-and-trade, climate change, climate legislation, Governor Jerry Brown, SB 237

Governor’s Budget Notes Sustainable Agricultural Solutions to Climate Change

January 11, 2012 by Jeanne Merrill 2 Comments

Beginning this year, as part of the state’s new cap and trade program, the first permits to emit greenhouse gas emissions — otherwise known as “allowances” — will be distributed by the state. Despite recommendations to the California Air Resources Board from an outside advisory group of economists and policy experts that all allowances be sold at auction, most of the allowances will be given free of charge to large GHG emitters.

The state has chosen to auction only a small percentage of allowances. Even this small percentage will generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue in the first years of the program and several billion in later years. Auction revenue will then be available for investment in our communities to meet the challenges of climate change and to achieve the emission reductions goals of the state’s climate change law, AB 32.

How to allocate cap and trade revenue will be debated in the legislature this year. Governor Jerry Brown recently released his budget proposal, which makes clear that revenue from cap and trade must be used for activities that reduce greenhouse emissions and meet the objectives of AB 32. The investments will spur innovation, create jobs, and usher in new opportunities in our communities. These investments come at a crucial time for the state, which faces high unemployment and declining revenues.

In his budget, Governor Brown outlines areas of cap and trade revenue investment, including: “funding to reduce (GHG) emissions associated with water use and supply, land and natural resource conservation and management, and sustainable agriculture.”

This acknowledgement of the value of sustainable agriculture in the climate change debate is a significant step forward.

Since we began our work together nearly three years ago, as a coalition of sustainable agriculture groups, farmers and science advisors, the California Climate and Agriculture Network has advocated for cap and trade revenue investments in agriculture. University researchers, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, USDA and other organizations have all found that sustainable and organic agriculture offer some of the best opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support a sustainable food supply. But in the early days of our work, few in the state had considered the possibilities of how sustainable agriculture might contribute to meeting the objectives of AB 32. CalCAN and our partners have worked together to change that.

Governor Brown’s forward thinking budget proposal on cap and trade revenue, which also includes investments in clean and efficient energy, low‑carbon transportation, and sustainable infrastructure development, puts California on a path toward tackling one of our most significant challenges – climate change – while supporting healthy, vibrant communities for all.

Filed Under: AB 32 Implementation, California Policy Tagged With: AB 32, California agriculture, California Budget, cap-and-trade, Governor Jerry Brown, sustainable agriculture

Governor’s Conference on Climate Risks Signals Need for Deeper Investment

January 2, 2012 by Jeanne Merrill 1 Comment

2011 was a year of extreme weather events in the United States: devastating floods along the Mississippi River, severe drought in the southwest, tornadoes and hurricanes with grave impacts. Making the connections between a rise in extreme weather events and climate change was the focus of Governor Jerry Brown’s December conference on Extreme Climate Risks and California’s Future, held at the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

Governor Jerry Brown offers opening remarks at the conference on Extreme Climate Risks and California's Future.

The impetus for the conference was a recent report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), entitled Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation. Rising global temperatures, the report argues, will lead to frequent and longer periods of heat waves as well as shifts in precipitation patterns that will lead to more frequent and severe floods and droughts. All of which will stress and strain our economies, leading to greater numbers of “climate refugees”, those displaced by extreme weather events, unless we act now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and put in place measures to adapt to a changing climate.

In our blog we’ve written extensively on the connections between rising temperatures, changing climate patterns, and the impacts on California agriculture. At a time when climate change appears to be on the political backburner, the Governor’s conference put climate change and its real life impacts on people back in the forefront.

The President of the California Farm Bureau Federation, Paul Wenger, addressed the conference attendees about the real concerns that climate change will lead to greater water scarcity in California. Farmers and ranchers will find their ability to produce food and fiber deeply challenged if adequate water supplies to produce their crops and livestock are not available.

The conference was an important step by Governor Brown to demonstrate his commitment to maintaining California’s work to address climate change and move us toward an economy that supports renewable energy and sustainable, healthy communities with good jobs. But the path forward is not always clear.

California will need to invest in making the transition towards a clean, green economy possible. We cannot avoid the worst impacts of climate change without the resources needed in our communities to reduce GHG emissions and adapt to a changing climate. That’s why CalCAN sponsored the Agriculture Climate Benefits Act, Senate Bill 237, and it’s why we will continue to make the case for AB 32 investments in our communities, now and into the future.

Filed Under: California Policy, Climate & Ag Research, Impacts of Climate Change Tagged With: AB 32, agricultural economy, California agriculture, effects of climate change, farmer, SB 237

New Reports Flag Climate Change Food Challenges

November 23, 2011 by Ted Quaday 1 Comment

World climate and agriculture research scientists weighed in heavily last week with two new reports that underscore the urgent need to address climate change and its potential impact on our food supply.

The first report, Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation, was issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group of 220 leading climate scientists. It makes clear there is a direct link between the short-term weather extremes we’ve been experiencing and the longer-term climate changes brought on by greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere.

The atmosphere is warming and has been for decades. The new IPCC analysis says that globally there is no doubt we will see increased and more extreme heat waves, droughts, and flood conditions. Each of these extremes has implications for food production in California, as we discussed in a recent blog.

The second report, produced by 13 scientists on the international Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, is entitled Achieving Food Security in the Face of Climate Change. It cautions that the time is now to begin transforming our food production, distribution, and consumption activities. It lays out a set of action points that are sobering in their scope. As the authors put it, what is required is a “transition to a global food system that satisfies human needs, reduces its carbon footprint, adapts to climate change and is in balance with planetary resources requires concrete and coordinated actions, implemented at scale, simultaneously, and with urgency.”

The scientists warn that “business as usual in our globally interconnected food system will not bring us food security and environmental sustainability.” They add that “greatly expanded investments in sustainable agriculture, including improving supporting infrastructure and restoring degraded ecosystems, are an essential component of long-term economic development. The sooner they are made, the greater the benefits will be.”

Though these two reports are global in focus, they contain important warnings that could easily apply to food and farming here at home.

We know the obesity epidemic will have a huge financial impact on our health care system, and huge personal impacts on individuals, families, and communities. It is another indication that business as usual is neither healthy, nor sustainable.

Never has consumer interest in food been greater and better informed. The rise of the good food movement is already prompting shifts in farming practices, food policies, and consumer buying preferences. Organic sales continue to rise despite the on-going economic slide. People are demanding access to locally produced foods that are raised sustainably and arrive in the marketplace fresh and flavorful. They are using their food dollars to say clearly that they want their local family farmers and farm laborers to thrive.

New federal programs aim to improve the quality of school lunch and to provide universal access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Other programs encourage on-farm conservation practices that have provided tremendous opportunities to reverse environmental damage that is often the result of industrial agriculture practices. But these programs are under constant threat of being scaled back or eliminated.

As with most complex problems, a systems approach to the solutions is needed, and these solutions must address multiple challenges. We agree with the authors of the global food security report — sustainable agriculture solutions, grounded in a system-wide reconfiguration of how food is produced and distributed, are the most powerful way to solve many of the limits and shortcomings of our current approach.

While the international commission offered its recommendations in a global context, we believe that their call for a coordinated framework of sustainable agriculture policies and programs is applicable in California as well. Here are some actions we can take at the state level to help ensure our own food security and the economic security of our food producers:

Invest in more research to identify the best farming practices for mitigation and adaptation to climate change,
Provide more technical assistance to help farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change,
Reward farmers who adopt climate-friendly food production systems that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change,
Strengthen support for on-farm conservation, and
Encourage renewable energy production through grant support and farmer-friendly policies.

We can achieve a vibrant economy that supports healthy food access, even in the face of climate change. But it will take investment. Funds generated through implementation of California’s climate change law (AB32) should go to supporting our food security in the face of challenging climate changes.

Filed Under: California Policy, General Information, Impacts of Climate Change Tagged With: California agriculture, climate change, policy, sustainable agriculture

Weather Extremes Signal Need for Bold Action to Transform California Agriculture

November 15, 2011 by Ted Quaday Leave a Comment

It seems like not a day goes by without a report from somewhere in the world of an extreme weather event. A couple weeks ago an unusually early winter storm in New England dumped two feet of snow, cut power to millions, and caused death for some. Last week, Alaska’s Pacific Coast was slammed by a so-called “monster” storm that devastated coastal villages and threatened Nome with flooding and high winds. Last spring and summer, unusually powerful tornadoes wrecked destruction and death across wide sections of the Great Plains and South. An on-going drought in the Southwestern United States continues to threaten crops and livestock.

All this extreme weather can’t help but raise the specter of climate change as a primary cause. Quite simply, a warming atmosphere fueled by increasing greenhouse gas emissions is creating dangerous weather. Sadly, the news on the emissions front seems to be going from bad to worse. Last week the US Department of Energy reported that carbon emissions worldwide made their biggest annual increase ever in 2010. That report was followed by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report that it’s Annual Greenhouse Gas Index was also on the rise.

Looking at these distressing reports, the phrase that comes to mind is the Boy Scout motto “Be Prepared.” Be prepared for weirder, wackier, more extreme weather as we continue to load the atmosphere with carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and other greenhouse gases.

At the California Climate and Agriculture Network, we do a good bit of thinking about just exactly how we might prepare ourselves to face this on-going global crisis. Data analyzed in the report Ready… Or Not? tells a disturbing story — California farmers and ranchers will not escape climate change effects, and there are insufficient resources available help them cope.

A diminished Sierra snowpack will melt earlier, causing flooding in the spring and reducing water supplies over the summer. Scientists predict chill hours — the time fruit and nut trees need to spend in cooler temperatures to produce fruit — will decline dramatically over the next several decades. A drop in chill hours will threaten key California crops like nuts, grapes, stone fruit, avocadoes and some wine grape varietals.

State livestock producers, who generated $8 billion in revenues in 2009, will also face challenges. Water shortages will cut animal productivity. More livestock will die. Those that live will lose appetite, produce less milk and fewer eggs, and be less able to reproduce. None of this news is good.

California agriculture contributes $37 billion dollars annually to the state economy. Our farms and ranches are among the most productive on the planet. Clearly, we need to increase our efforts to slow and ultimately reverse this damage. We can’t afford to wait.

Concerns over the agricultural impact of climate change are gaining traction with state policy makers. The California State Board of Food and Agriculture will host a forum in mid-November to learn more about the risks our food producers face due to extreme weather events. In December, Governor Brown will host a conference on confronting climate change. We need to start now and we need bold action to help our food producers and the state’s agricultural economy meet the climate change threat.

Food producers are skilled at adapting to difficult circumstances, and the most innovative growers can lead the way to greater resilience. They know that healthy soil and expansive rangeland can trap carbon and slow climate change. They understand that on-farm water storage can help alleviate summer shortages. Crop diversity can reduce pest damage. Agricultural waste can be transformed into an energy resource.

But given the magnitude of the expected impacts of climate change, California’s farmers and ranchers will need more than individual actions if our agriculture system is to thrive in the coming decades. More research is needed to identify the best farming practices for adapting to climate change. More technical assistance is needed to help farmers make transitions. A state-level conservation program is needed to reward those farmers who adopt new, more resilient food production systems. CalCAN has detailed these and other suggested changes in a comprehensive set of policy recommendations to the Brown Administration.

Funds to support these initiatives could be provided by tapping a percentage of state revenue garnered through the sale of carbon allowances to the biggest CO₂ emitters. Strengthening support for on-farm conservation efforts is also crucial. On-going efforts to encourage renewable energy production through grant support and better policies and programs could reduce grower dependence on fossil fuels.

The challenges of extreme weather and climate change are daunting; the stakes for California’s food production system are high. Bold, innovative programs are needed now to help ensure a thriving farm economy.

Filed Under: California Policy, Climate & Ag Research, Impacts of Climate Change Tagged With: California agriculture, effects of climate change, policy, Weather

Victory!

October 9, 2011 by Renata Brillinger 1 Comment

Governor Brown signed SB 489, the Renewable Energy Equity Act!

On October 8, SB 489 became law in California. This CalCAN-sponsored bill will make it easier for farmers and ranchers to develop innovation renewable energy projects by allowing them to easily and effectively get those projects connect to the grid. The Renewable Energy Equity Act will help California produce homegrown clean, renewable energy and reduce our state’s greenhouse gas emissions.

We are deeply grateful for the leadership of the author, Senator Lois Wolk, and her very capable staff for understanding the importance of this bill for California farmers and for the state’s renewable energy goals. Two other leaders on the issue are Russ Lester and Jenny Lester-Moffitt at Dixon Ridge Farms who have led the field with innovations in producing heat and electricity by gasifying walnut shells. Justin Malan (Ecoconsult) and Karen Mills (California Farm Bureau) also made this victory possible.

Two examples of the type of agriculture renewable energy projects that will benefit from the Renewable Energy Equity Act:

1. Russ Lester at Dixon Ridge Farms, producer and processor of organic walnuts near Winters, uses walnut shells as the feedstock to produce electricity to power his freezers (used to keep the walnuts fresh and kill insect pests) and heat from the gasification process to dry the walnuts. Dixon Ridge has not been able to get their small-scale bioenergy project connected to the grid and credited for the energy they produce. Under SB 489, Dixon Ridge Farms will be credited on the farm’s utility bill for the renewable energy produced. See: http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201108250850/a

2. Straus Family Dairy in Marin County installed a methane biodigester that produces electricity to power the dairy operation and their electric vehicles. SB 489 would enable these kinds of small-scale biogas projects to tie into the grid. Here is a short video about Straus Dairy’s renewable energy project: http://vimeo.com/15641142

Filed Under: California Policy

Wise land use decisions needed

September 13, 2011 by Renata Brillinger Leave a Comment

A false choice between food and renewable energy is playing out in our Central Valley. Fresno County Supervisors made a significant decision last week in approving a large solar project sited on prime farmland near Interstate 5. The project will generate 18 megawatts of solar power and cover 90 acres of high-value agricultural land – ending its use for food production.

The Fresno county’s planners and agriculture advisory committee argued that such large projects should be placed on less arable land. The Fresno County Farm Bureau also opposed the plan. But after considerable industry pressure, the Board disagreed and the project was approved.

California should aggressively move ahead with reaching its renewable energy targets. After all, California agriculture has a lot to lose if the worst impacts of climate change are not averted. But it shouldn’t come at the cost of sacrificing land that is needed for food production for generations to come.

There is no question that there is a role for farmlands in producing clean energy, and California farmers lead the way among their peers nationwide.

The USDA’s On-Farm Renewable Energy Production Survey reported that California farms produce 25 percent of the country’s on-farm renewable power generation, with almost 2,000 farm-based generators using mainly solar photovoltaics, thermal solar and wind. A CalCAN-sponsored bill (SB 489), which is now before the Governor for his signature, will remove some barriers to using agricultural by-products, like nut shells and orchard and vineyard prunings, to generate renewable energy. On-farm renewable energy projects integrated into farming operations — such as rooftop solar mounted on farm buildings and wind turbines combined with cattle ranching — augment farming operations and help farmers cut costs so they can stay in business. This is in sharp contrast to mega-projects like the one approved in Fresno that displace farmland and farmers.

There is no shortage of urban and rural rooftop space that can be deployed for solar power generation in a decentralized but coordinated fashion, a much preferable alternative to land grabs by solar power companies and utilities that disregard the impacts on agriculture and what that means for all of us as food consumers.

Filed Under: California Policy, Renewable Energy Tagged With: land use, renewable energy, solar

Urge Governor Brown to Support On-Farm Renewable Energy!

August 31, 2011 by Renata Brillinger Leave a Comment

Walnut shells to be turned into clean energy

Please call Governor Brown before Oct 9, 2011 to ask him to sign the Renewable Energy Equity Act, SB 489.

SB 489 passed out of the California Senate and Assembly with bipartisan support. Now it’s up to Governor Brown to make it law. This is a critical moment to keep this important bill moving towards passage and help farmers be part of California’s clean energy future.

SB 489 would make it easier for farmers and ranchers to develop innovation renewable energy projects by allowing them to easily and effectively get those projects connect to the grid. The Renewable Energy Equity Act will help California produce homegrown clean, renewable energy and reduce our state’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Make your voice heard and support sustainable agricultural solutions to climate change. Please call Governor Brown today. He could make his decision at any time.

Here are two ways to take action:

1. The most effective thing you can do is fax or mail a letter. If you can represent an organization or business, here is a sample letter. If you are an individual, please use this version. Please personalize them if possible.

Fax: (916) 558-3177
Address: Governor Jerry Brown
c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814

2. You can also call Governor Brown’s office at (916) 445-2841. Ask to speak to the staff person who handles agriculture issues. The message is simple:

“I am calling to ask Governor Brown to sign SB 489, the Renewable Energy Equity Act. SB 489 will help California reach its renewable energy goals, help the state’s agricultural producers develop renewable energy, and be a driver in the clean energy economy.”

Please let us know you took action. Drop us an email at info@calclimateag.org.

Filed Under: California Policy Tagged With: biomass, Governor Brown, net metering, on-farm renewable energy, Renewable Energy Equity Act, SB 489, waste into energy

Down on the Farm: Nuts to Renewable Energy

August 25, 2011 by Renata Brillinger Leave a Comment

Reposted from KQED Climate Watch

http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2011/08/24/another-renewable-energy-frontier-farm-biomass/

By Katrina Schwartz

California is just a few votes away from changing the rules to allow farmers to connect machines that create bioenergy to the electrical grid, a privilege that has thus far been reserved for farm-generated wind and solar energy.

Passage of the bill — SB 489 — would mean they could use the byproduct of their crops as fuel to create electricity.

Russ Lester, the owner of Dixon Ridge Farms, has been leading the charge to get the rules changed. He has gone to extraordinary lengths to shrink the carbon footprint of his organic walnut farm and processing plant in Yolo County. Brian Jenkins of the California Biomass Collaborative at UC Davis calls Lester the “guinea pig” of bioenergy.

Lester has installed a 50-kilowatt biogasifier that burns walnut shells at high temperatures to create fuel to run his generator, and heat to dry his walnuts. Lester has demonstrated his contraption to many people, including legislators, members of the California Air Resources Board and countless interested farmers. He’s been making the case for SB 489 as the only way to make this type of environmental commitment pay off for farmers. He predicts that many farmers will follow suit if state policy and regulations support farmers to use alternative energy in their businesses.

Beyond creating heat and power to become sustainable, Lester also mixes the char ash leftover from burning walnut shells into the soil where it sequesters stable forms of carbon for hundreds of years and fertilizes his walnut trees. He’s even looking into using walnut oil—another byproduct of processing—as a fuel to replace diesel to run his machinery. Lester says he’s on pace to meet his goal of being energy-neutral by 2012.

“We’re still not 100 percent,” he told me on a recent visit to the farm. “We’re probably at about 45% reduction in our energy usage, but it’s a substantial improvement. So the naysayers who say you can’t do that are really not correct.”

One of the biggest challenges Lester has faced is air quality regulation. It seems that every air quality district in California has different restrictions based on the particular challenges in that neck of the woods. So, the regulations that Lester must meet in the Yolo-Solano Air Quality District are quite different from those a farmer would face in the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. That can pose a problem for farmers operating in districts with chronically bad air quality as any emissions they create will be closely watched.

Kevin Hall, a co-founder of the Central Valley Air Quality Coalition, says he supports efforts by farmers to produce renewable energy, but he’s wary of the potential effect on air quality. As long as producers like Lester keep their systems under the one-megawatt limit set out in SB 489, says Hall, it shouldn’t be a problem. It’s conceivable that many small growers could produce the same amount of pollution as a large power plant if they aren’t regulated. Very few California farmers have a biogasifier like Lester’s, so Hall isn’t too concerned just yet.

The biggest opposition to SB 489 comes from utilities. In its opposition letter, PG&E claimed that net-metering (allowing sale-back to the grid) of all renewables would cost the average ratepayer more. The California Public Utilities Commission found the opposite in its analysis [PDF]; that SB 489 would likely reduce the cost to the average consumer. That’s because farmers and commercial consumers of electricity already pay some costs that residential consumers don’t, like the cost to distribute and transmit the power. Those embedded fees make net metering for bioenergy less expensive than net metering for residential solar. PG&E’s numbers are based on the performance of solar net metering.

The other problem utilities point to is the net-metering cap. Right now, utilities buy no more than five percent of their peak energy load through the net-metering program. If more types of technology are eligible for the program, that could mean reaching the cap more quickly. If that happens, legislators might be tempted to raise the cap. For utilities, that would mean managing lots of small producers instead of a few big ones. Nor does the energy produced through net metering count towards the utilities’ state-mandated renewable energy targets. Right now, no utility is close to reaching the cap. Most are still buying less than two percent of their power from net metering.

Supporters of SB 489 are close to reaching their goal. The bill has a broad range of environmental and agricultural supporters, including the California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN) and the California Farm Bureau Federation. It won significant bipartisan support as it moved through various committees in both the Senate and the Assembly. The next hurdle will be a full Assembly vote and another full Senate vote to reconcile some small changes. Senate sponsor Lois Wolk (D-Stockton) says Governor Jerry Brown has been supportive of the bill and that if it gets to his desk before the end of the legislative year on September 9th, he’s likely to sign it.

The Biomax 50 produces heat and power for Russ Lester’s organic walnut farm. Lester hopes that SB 489 will allow him to hook the biogasifier to the electrical grid soon.