A spirited forum in Buellton on Wednesday morning focused on the major energy transition in the works as California looks to eliminate greenhouse gases by moving away from fossil fuels, meaning “we need to electrify a lot,” one speaker said.
EconAlliance organized the “Energy Transition to Net Zero” forum at the Santa Ynez Valley Marriott with more than 120 people in attendance. The talks centered on impacts to various sectors of industry.
The keynote speaker, Sarah Saltzer, managing director of the Stanford Center for Carbon Storage and Carbon Removal Institute, shared about “Pathways to Carbon Neutrality in California.”
The issue centers on carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse emission considered key to causing global climate change and leading to more fires, flooding and other natural disasters.
That has led to a push toward becoming carbon neutral — and what needs to be done to achieve the goal by 2045.
“We have a lot to do, and we don’t have much time,” Saltzer said. “It’s time to get started, and it’s time to get the conversations going, and it’s time to educate people, and it’s time to all start thinking about what we can do to help California on its pathway to carbon neutrality.”
The Standford center has completed the first two phases of a study and soon will launch the third phase.
“We need to electrify a whole lot, and we need decarbonize the grid,” Saltzer said.
Among the findings was that “abundant, affordable and reliable electricity is essential for the transition,” she said. “The bottom line is that with the push toward carbon neutrailty in California, we’re about to really embark on something really major.”
Factors to figure out include how apartment dwellers and those who park on the streets can recharge their electric vehicles.
Existing buildings will need to be retrofitted, often beyond something as simple as switching out gas appliances for electric or induction versions, she added.
“And yes, some of your top chiefs aren’t too keen on that,” she said, referring to cooking on electric stoves instead of gas stoves.
Carbon capture and sequestration or carbon capture and storage will be key, but aspects still need to figured out. That involves grabbing the carbon dioxide as it’s emitted, compressing it for transport and injecting it more than 1 mile deep to store in geologic formations.
The forum also included two panel discussions focused on how various sectors of industry will make the switch and how the energy supply might accommodate the new uses.
Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen served as the facilitator for one discussion involving members of the agriculture, oil and gas, and homebuilding industries.
Seventh-generation grower Phil Adam of Innovative Produce said the ag industry constantly works to keep energy costs down.
“We’re in the era of precision agriculture,” he said, adding that it has led to an industrywide switch to single-use drip tape. “We’re producing more trash than we ever have, which may seem counterintuitive, but we’re pumping less water and we’re using less fertilizer. That trade-off has made sense.”
Despite the talks about eliminating fossil fuels, Bob Brown of the Western States Petroleum Association said the demand for oil and gas remains strong with California producing millions of gallons of fuel for transportation including automobiles and airplanes cleaner and safer.
“There aren’t any electric planes yet,” Brown said.
The housing industry has creative ways to achieve net zero but often isn’t included in discussions, according to Tim Walters of RRM Design Group.
“When we get to net zero, no more regulations, right?” Walters asked, prompting those in the audience to laugh and clap.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.