Santa Barbara Energy & Resilience Summit

Overview and Objectives

Santa Barbara County faces an urgent need to strengthen its energy infrastructure against wildfires and related disasters. In recent years, massive wildfires and post-fire events (such as debris flows) have caused extended power outages and even cut off transportation routes. Momentum for resilience efforts surged after these crises but stalled post-election, as attention shifted and leadership changes slowed implementation. We now have a narrow window to regain focus and act decisively. This convening at UC Santa Barbara represents a unique moment to rally key stakeholders—investors, policymakers, utilities, developers, and community leaders—around a common goal: catalyzing a portfolio of energy resilience projects.

The objectives of this event are clear and pressing:

  • Reframe the Urgency: Underscore the growing wildfire threat and grid vulnerability in Santa Barbara to make clear that energy resilience efforts cannot wait.

  • Reignite Momentum: Re-establish commitment to previously supported projects by aligning stakeholders around a shared and urgent vision for action.

  • Catalyze Actionable Projects: Advance a portfolio of strategic, high-impact projects by surfacing barriers and identifying practical solutions to move them forward.

  • Build a Coalition: Activate the expertise in the room to forge cross-sector partnerships and mobilize support for implementation.

Define Next Steps: Leave the event with a preliminary view on the actions, owners, and timelines to ensure continued progress beyond May 8.

Santa Barbara Energy & Resilience Summit Recap

Missed the summit or want to review the event? Check out our Recap & Path Ahead document, recordings of the presentations, and photos from the summit.

Key Materials

Project Summaries

Final Agenda

Participant Pre-Read Materials

Agenda (subject to change)

The following agenda outlines the schedule and structure for the May 8th convening. Please note the timing and plan to arrive by 8:30 AM for check-in.

Locations and some details are subject to change; final agenda will be confirmed at the event. All times Pacific.

  •  8:30 AM - Door Open for Registration & Breakfast (UCSB, Corwin Pavilion)

     9:30 AM - Welcome & Why We Are Here? Tim Hade, Brightfield Infrastructure 

     9:45 AM - Why Santa Barbara? Laura Capps, Santa Barbara County 

     9:55 AM - What Do We Hope to Accomplish? Susan Kish, Constructive

    10:00 AM - What’s Possible? Part A. Project Pitches 

    10:45 AM - Break 

    11:00 AM - What’s Possible? Part B. Project Pitches 

    12:15 PM - Lunch (Lagoon Plaza - Outdoors)

     1:00 PM - Why energy resiliency? Fireside Chat with Leah Stokes, UCSB & Jigar Shah, Multiplier

     1:50 PM - How can investors meet the challenge? Rachel Halfaker, Milken Institute

     2:00 PM - Working Sessions intro

     2:15 PM - Working Sessions (Conference Rooms/Back of Corwin Pavilion) 

     3:45 PM - Break 

     4:00 PM - What’s Next? Projects (Corwin Pavilion) 

     4:45 PM - Close & After Party (Brass Bear Funk Zone)

What workshop am I in?

Wondering what workshop you are in? Check your name badge! You should see a number on your name badge that will correspond to your assigned working group. There are a total of 8 working groups for the Summit. Six working groups are located across conference rooms in the University Center (UCen) and two working groups will be located in the back of Corwin Pavilion. See below for working group locations.

Workshop Locations

  • Workshop 1: Santa Barbara City College Community Resilience Hub

    Location: Goleta Valley

  • Workshop 2: UCSB District Heating & Cooling Efficiency Project: Clean Energy Master Plan

    Location: State Street

  • Workshop 3: Santa Barbara County Food Bank Microgrid

    Location: Lobero

  • Workshop 4: Rancho Goleta Lakeside Solar Microgrid

    Location: SB Harbor

  • Workshop 5: Santa Barbara Clean Energy Initiatives: Local Power, Lasting Resilience: Solar + Storage for All

    Location: Flying A Studio

  • Workshop 6: Doubleland Agrivolatics Project: Movable Solar for Agricultural & Energy Resilience

    Location: SB Mission

  • Workshop 7: Dragon Wings Solar Generators

    Location: Back of Corwin Pavilion

  • Workshop 8: SparkFund Distributed Capacity Procurement

    Location: Back of Corwin Pavilion

Logistics

Location:
University of California, Santa Barbara
Corwin Pavilion
6085 UCEN Rd
Santa Barbara, CA 93106

For directions on getting to UC Santa Barbara, please refer to Visit UCSB.

Date & Time:
Thursday, May 8th, 2025
Start Time: 9:30am (sharp)
Doors Open for Registration: 8:30am

Parking & Transportation:

We recommend parking in Lot 22, which is about a 10 minute walk from Corwin Pavilion. There will be signs around campus directing you to this parking lot, as well as pedestrian signs on campus directing you from the parking lot to Corwin Pavilion. While we recommend parking in Lot 22, you are welcome to park in any visitor parking lot on campus. 

All cars parked on campus must have a valid parking permit. Full day permits cost $8/day. Permits may be purchased online, through the ParkMobile app, or on campus at pay stations located in parking lots. 

More information about visitor parking is available on the UCSB Transportation & Parking Services website. 

Reception

Please note the new location for our reception, we are now meeting at the Brass Bear Brewing in the Funk Zone! 

Brass Bear Funk Zone
28 Anacapa St unit E,
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Please note that street parking in downtown Santa Barbara can be limited, though there are paid public parking lots located near the Funk Zone. This includes the Garden Street Lot that is located near Brass Bear Funk Zone. 

Reception Carpool

Want to cut down on carbon emissions or to help out another attendee? We are encouraging attendees to carpool to the reception after the summit. If you have the space, please consider offering to give a ride to other attendees who may need transportation.