Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Initiative Overview topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
GO-Biz previews Clean Energy Permitting Initiative playbook, toolkit and timeline
Summary
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) previewed a draft playbook and toolkit designed to help local permitting authorities speed approval of utility-scale solar, onshore wind and battery storage projects; a draft will be posted late summer and the final playbook is targeted for late Q4 2025.
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO‑Biz) on the Clean Energy Permitting Initiative webinar previewed a draft playbook and toolkit aimed at streamlining local permitting for utility-scale solar, onshore wind and battery energy storage systems.
Christina Hironaka, senior advisor for energy to the governor, framed the work within California’s climate goals, saying the state must scale electricity capacity “about 400%” over the next two decades and cited last year’s addition of more than 7,000 megawatts to the grid. She said the initiative intends to help localities and developers meet that demand by reducing permitting delays and improving coordination.
Molly Dizmar, who led the presentation of initiative background and timeline, said the project conducted outreach from January to April and will use survey and interview findings to build the toolkit. Dizmar said a draft playbook and toolkit will be released for stakeholder feedback in late summer, with a final version expected in late Q4 2025.
The project will house its materials on a dedicated page of the GO‑Biz website. Grace (project communications) gave a first look at the landing page and confirmed the webinar slides and recording will be posted for attendees.
Organizers emphasized the project’s targeted scope: the toolkit is focused on utility‑scale solar, onshore wind and battery energy storage systems (BESS). Other technologies, including hydrogen, are being addressed in separate efforts and were not part of the current playbook scope.
The initiative will hold additional webinars in late July and August to workshop model ordinance language and other toolkit elements and invited continued stakeholder input before the draft playbook is finalized.
