California Wind Energy Association

California Wind Energy Association
Name	California Wind Energy Association
Type	Nonprofit trade association
Founded	1980s
Headquarters	Sacramento, California
Region served	California, United States
Focus	Wind power, renewable energy policy, transmission development

California Wind Energy Association

The California Wind Energy Association is a trade association representing wind energy developers, manufacturers, and service providers in California and the United States. It engages with state agencies such as the California Energy Commission, California Public Utilities Commission, and California Independent System Operator and interacts with federal bodies including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, United States Department of Energy, and Bureau of Land Management. The association frequently collaborates with industry groups like the American Wind Energy Association, environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council, and academic institutions including the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, and California State University system.

History

The organization traces its roots to the expansion of utility-scale wind projects in California during the late 1970s and early 1980s following energy policy shifts after the 1973 oil crisis, the passage of state statutes such as the California Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission mandates, and federal incentives under laws like the Energy Policy Act of 1992 and production tax incentives advocated during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. It matured alongside major projects at sites including Altamont Pass Wind Farm, Tehachapi Pass, and San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm, coordinating industry responses to environmental litigation involving parties such as Audubon Society affiliates, state wildlife agencies including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and federal agencies like the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Mission and Objectives

The association’s stated mission centers on accelerating deployment of utility-scale wind power in California through advocacy, stakeholder engagement, and technical support for projects sited in regions such as the Tehachapi Mountains, Mojave Desert, and coastal corridors near San Francisco Bay Area. Objectives include influencing regulatory outcomes at the California Public Utilities Commission, shaping market design at the California Independent System Operator, and securing transmission upgrades involving entities like Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison, and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to integrate wind resources with the Western Interconnection.

Organizational Structure and Membership

The association comprises member classes including independent power producers, equipment manufacturers, engineering firms, and legal advisors headquartered across San Diego County, Los Angeles County, San Joaquin County, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Governance typically involves a board of directors drawn from companies such as leading turbine manufacturers and project developers, committees addressing transmission, wildlife mitigation, and interconnection, and a small staff of policy directors, technical analysts, and communications professionals often engaged with legislative offices in Sacramento and federal delegations from California's congressional districts.

Programs and Initiatives

Programs have included coordination forums for transmission planning with entities like the California Independent System Operator and investor-owned utilities, wildlife impact mitigation strategies coordinated with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and workforce development efforts aligned with community colleges and University of California extension programs. Initiative themes span turbine repowering in legacy wind sites such as Altamont Pass Wind Farm, offshore wind readiness in concert with agencies like the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and community benefit agreements negotiated with local governments including county boards of supervisors.

Policy Advocacy and Regulatory Work

Advocacy efforts target state legislation and regulatory proceedings before the California Public Utilities Commission and the California Energy Commission, participation in stakeholder processes at the California Independent System Operator, and filings at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The association engages on matters including renewable portfolio standards codified under statewide mandates, transmission planning rules affecting entities like Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Southern California Edison, and siting and permitting frameworks interacting with the California Coastal Commission for coastal projects.

Research, Data, and Publications

The association produces technical white papers, policy briefs, interconnection studies, and environmental assessments in collaboration with academic partners such as Stanford University and consulting firms with experience on projects for developers like major independent power producers. Data products inform analyses of wind resource maps referencing datasets from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, integration studies with the California Independent System Operator, and workforce reports aligned with the California Employment Development Department.

Projects and Partnerships

Partnerships include collaborations with transmission developers, regional transmission planning consortia, conservation groups including the Nature Conservancy and the Sierra Club, and tribal governments in areas across Kern County and the Tehachapi Pass. The association has supported repowering initiatives at legacy sites such as Altamont Pass Wind Farm and planning dialogues for offshore studies coordinated with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and state agencies administering offshore leasing and environmental review.

Impact and Criticism

Supporters credit the association with facilitating higher market penetration of wind energy in California and improving industry coordination with agencies such as the California Independent System Operator and California Public Utilities Commission. Critics and some environmental groups have raised concerns about wildlife impacts at legacy sites like Altamont Pass Wind Farm and community opposition in counties such as Kern County and San Bernardino County, prompting debates involving the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and state wildlife regulators. The association’s role in policy advocacy has been scrutinized in legislative hearings convened by state lawmakers and in public comment proceedings at regulatory bodies.

Category:Renewable energy in California Category:Wind power in the United States