Clean energy project siting and permitting.

Assembly Member Petrie-Norris proposes establishing a state central pool of subject matter experts at the California Energy Commission to address clean energy project siting and permitting needs. The measure comes as counties face mounting pressure to accommodate over 41 gigawatts of new solar, wind, and storage projects within the next decade, according to the Public Utilities Commission's 2024 Preferred System Plan.

The legislation directs the Energy Commission to create and maintain this expert pool, building upon existing quarterly reporting requirements that track delays and barriers in renewable energy deployment. While the Clean Energy Reliability Investment Plan received $1 billion in funding through 2022 legislation, the bill's findings note that only $100 million has been allocated to date. The new expert pool would operate within the Commission's current budget, as the measure includes no new appropriations.

Counties currently handle a substantial portion of clean energy project approvals despite infrastructure constraints identified in the bill's findings. The centralized expert pool aims to provide specialized knowledge for navigating siting and permitting processes at both state and local levels. This pool would supplement existing Energy Commission and Public Utilities Commission coordination on reliability planning and renewable energy deployment tracking.