It will be a consequential summer for energy policy in Santa Barbara County. Currently, you can drill for oil, but you can’t put a solar farm in the same industrial site. That is set to reverse with an oil ordinance to prohibit new oil drilling to be considered in September and a solar ordinance to allow solar in industrial and agricultural zones to be considered by the Board of Supervisors on July 14.
For too long in Santa Barbara County, where we have 300 days of sunshine annually, capturing the most abundant and cost-effective form of energy has been prohibited and constrained in much of the county.
More than a decade ago, the county restricted utility-scale solar to the Cuyama Valley, where it is now largely built out. Seven years ago, the county adopted a Strategic Energy Plan to stimulate local renewable energy and expand where it is allowed. But enacting that plan has been slow going. The solar ordinance finally went to the county Planning Commission on May 5, where it passed unanimously. It now goes to the Board of Supervisors for adoption.
The solar ordinance facilitates solar and battery storage on buildings and parking lots. Batteries have rapidly fallen in cost and allow us to store and benefit from solar power in the evening hours after the sun sets but when cost and demand for energy are still high. Sufficient solar and batteries will help safely retire the aging and polluting gas power plants that powered south Santa Barbara County in the past and help us meet our local 100 percent renewable energy goals.
The solar ordinance will also allow solar in industrial and agricultural zones, allowing ranches and farms a potential new source of income. A new ag-friendly solar asset class, called “agrivoltaics,” enables ranching or farming alongside solar. Solar panels can be set 7 to 10 feet above the ground and spaced apart to create a mix of sun and shade for crops; shield plants from excessive heat, cold, and ultraviolet radiation; and increase the yield of many crops. Solar can also shade farmworkers or livestock and reduce water evaporation on pasture and forage crops.
The oil ordinance comes as a result of the Santa Barbara County Climate Action Plan that was adopted in 2024. At the time, the Board of Supervisors asked staff to come back with ways to reduce emissions from the oil and gas sector, which is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the county. The remaining oil in the county is particularly expensive and polluting to produce, and further production risks contaminating critical drinking water sources. County staff came back with a plan to prohibit new oil drilling and phase out existing drilling, which the board approved in 2025.
The first phase, which is a prohibition on new oil drilling projects, was approved by the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission on April 8, 2026. Planning Commissioner Michael Cooney said that it was the most consequential vote of his long career. He was a planning commissioner for 21 years and stepped down not long after this vote. Commissioner John Parke said that the volume of public comments might be a record. He praised the speakers and the hundreds of written comments for being unique and thoughtful. Public comments were overwhelmingly supportive, including a sign-on letter from dozens of environmental and community groups that documents the health harms and costs to county residents caused by the oil industry.
This year, July 14 will be independence from fossil fuels day in Santa Barbara County. You can email your comment on more solar or no new oil drilling to: sbcob@countyofsb.org.
Katie Davis
energy chair, Sierra Club, Santa Barbara-Ventura chapter
This article appears in July 9 – July 16, 2026.
