Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve a “feasibility study” to look into whether the county should move to a “community choice aggregation” energy plan that would allow it to set up power-purchase agreements with alternative energy companies.
The plan would create a regional agreement with neighboring counties toward the goal of cutting energy costs and lowering greenhouse gases. Supervisors unanimously approved the idea at Tuesday’s board meeting.
“It’s job creation and renewal energy,” said architect David Huboi said in a phone interview.
Huboi is a local architect and member of the San Benito Chamber of Commerce’s Green Committee, which recently endorsed the new plan and is pushing the board of supervisors to adopt the measure.
“You never know until you give it a try,” he said.
Huboi said nearby counties, including Monterey and Santa Cruz, also have approved feasibility studies.
“It has not been a taxpayer-supported enterprise,” said Virginia Johnson, a policy analyst for the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, who spoke at Tuesday’s board of supervisors meeting. “You (San Benito County) are a very important county to this effort.”
A law passed by the state assembly in 2002 allowed local governments to consider feasibility studies and “community choice aggregation” models.
“I realize the importance of us being a player in a region,” Supervisor Jerry Muenzer said at the meeting. “We need to be at the table.”
Partnering and neighboring counties would fund the survey. It would not cost San Benito County any money.
“This is the easiest choice you have before you,” said Chris Khan, the president of Joint Venture Monterey Bay who is helping Monterey County with its feasibility study.
