
RCEA weighs first wind power deal for Kern County repower project
The board is scheduled to consider a Paradigm Energy LLC contract that would repower a Tehachapi Wind Resource Area site and mark RCEA’s first wind PPA.


The board is scheduled to consider a Paradigm Energy LLC contract that would repower a Tehachapi Wind Resource Area site and mark RCEA’s first wind PPA.

Council is scheduled to hold public hearings on a proposed 8.52% solid-waste rate increase and updated FY2026-27 city fees.

Cub Scout families say the city’s new Rec Hall charge reverses years of fee relief, while staff point to last year’s fee schedule changes and say a gradual transition is possible.

At the July 16 HCOG meeting, Caltrans said the long-running Highway 101 project reached project approval and finished the environmental phase.

The county’s board approved using program income to expand its HOME Investment Partnership award for first-time homebuyer and rental assistance.

At its July 9 meeting, the Humboldt Bay Harbor District said it is the CEQA lead agency for the offshore wind terminal and that NEPA is not currently triggered for the district’s project, while also detailing a marina dredging funding shortfall.

County staff and an advisory committee outlined three-year Measure Z spending options for fiscal 2027-28 through 2029-30, but the meeting transcript cuts off before any final board action on the item.

The council also asked the city attorney for an impartial analysis and set up the ballot-argument process for the tax measure.

The July 23 board packet asks Redwood Coast Energy Authority to approve a 15-year agreement with Paradigm Energy LLC for a Tehachapi wind repower project expected online in 2027.

A July 23 staff proposal would keep Redwood Coast Energy Authority retail rates at a 6% premium over PG&E generation rates while maintaining at least $26 million in cash reserves.

Council also approved a placeholder for a future climate manager line item as it weighed reserves, staffing and election policy.

The July 9 meeting moved the offshore wind terminal review ahead while detailing community-outreach funding and the lack of a near-term Woodley Island Marina dredging plan.

Trustees said they would not sign a proposed 2026-27 transportation agreement with Northern Humboldt Unified School District yet, as the district considers whether to sell its electric bus.

At the June 15 budget hearing, supervisors directed staff to plan workshops on the county’s structural deficit and to look for spay-and-neuter funding through the Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Division.

The June 16 meeting also cleared a substantial increase to the Painter Street sewer consulting agreement, both as consent items.

The council pulled the wastewater project off the consent calendar before approving Wahlund Construction Inc. for the First Street Lift Station Improvement Project and adopting a categorical CEQA exemption.

Staff told commissioners California is still well short of its 2030 demand-flexibility target as the agency approved its latest Integrated Energy Policy Report.

The grants will fund apprenticeship support, student counseling and contractor training tied to heat pumps and other residential electrification work.

Project SIGNAL will study short-term forecasting of rooftop solar, batteries and EV charging, with staff saying the work could improve grid reliability and ratepayer savings.

Trustees also approved closed-session stipends and heard that a full-time teaching position for 2026-27 has been accepted.

The board adopted a housing-element implementation ordinance that changes zoning standards in designated housing opportunity areas along Highway 101.

At a July 15 hearing, commissioners said they will review comments from more than 800 people before deciding whether to extend existing phone-service standards to wireless carriers or adopt new rules.

The July 20 agenda puts three notable policy items before the council: Opportunity Zone nominations, a building code overhaul and an $83,690 water master plan budget request.

The July 15 council packet says weekly residential curbside service would rise to $47.44 a month and a 1-yard commercial bin to $261.30, pending council action.