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Planning Assistance Resources


Below is a list of planning assistance resources. If you would like to view the resource in full, please click on the provided link.

All Technologies - Planning Assistance Resources


Resource
ID		 Date
 Document Title Entity or Author Description
PL-1 NA Guidance Resources for Power Plants California Air Resources Board
ARB participates in the certification of power plants in California and has developed guidance and information for interested parties found on this website. The Guidance Resources for Power Plants web site contains links to power plant-related resources such as detailed guidance related to siting, best available pollution control technologies, offsets and more.
PL-2 2011 Energy Aware Planning Guide California Energy Commission
This guide presents a menu of strategies and best management practices to help local governments improve energy efficiency, reduce energy consumption through transportation and land use, and enhance renewable sources of energy. Each strategy section contains general plan language ideas, implementation ideas, case studies, and resources. The Energy Aware Planning Guide also contains supporting information and references to help local governments organize strategies into an Energy Action Plan and estimate the likely energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction impacts of their strategies.
PL-3 2003 State of California General Plan Guidelines Governor's Office of Planning and Research
The purpose of this document is to assist local governments in preparing a comprehensive, long-term general plan. The document provides an overview of:
  1. The general plan
  2. New guidance for energy and water elements,
  3. Environmental justice issues
  4. Outlines how to prepare or revise the general plan within the framework of planning law,
  5. Lists required general plan elements and cites relevant court interpretations and Attorney General opinions,
  6. Discusses opportunities for element integration and consolidation,
  7. Suggestions on preparing optional elements
  8. Reviews the California Environmental Quality Act's integral role in the general plan process.
PL-4 2007 The Role of Land Use in Meeting California's Energy and Climate Change Goals California Energy Commission
Tying together land use with transportation, this document examines how better land use planning can help provide California with opportunities to achieve its ambitious energy and climate change goals while preserving Californians' quality of life. See Chapter 7.
PL-5 NA Planners Energy and Climate Database American Planning Association
This database provides examples of communities that have taken steps to integrate energy and climate change issues into planning, states that have addressed climate change issues in plans or policies, and other relevant documents to help planners understand and address energy and climate change. Documents are searchable by region, state, type of planning tool, topic, timeframe, scale, or community size, and results sorted according to relevance.
PL-6 2010 Municipal Guide to Planning For and Regulating Alternative Energy Systems County of Lancaster, Pennsylvania
This link provides examples of local (Lancaster County, PA), national, and model ordinances as well basic information about industry standards. Both large and small scale solar and wind, anaerobic digesters, geothermal, and outdoor wood-fired boilers are covered.


Solar Technologies - Planning Assistance Resources


Resource
ID		 Date
 Document Title Entity or Author Description
PL-7 NA Solar America Communities Outreach Partnership American Planning Association
Building off of the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar America Communities Outreach Partnership initiative, this website has additional tools that can help local and regional governments to implement solar energy within their communities. Resources include APA's Planning Advisory Service (PSA) Inquiry Answer service, PAS' Planning and Zoning for Solar Energy Essential Info Packet, and many other resources.
PL-8 2011 Solar Powering Your Community: A Guide for Local Governments U.S. Department of Energy
This is a "...comprehensive resource DOE created to assist local governments and stakeholders in designing and implementing a strategic local solar plan. This guide includes examples and models that have been field-tested in cities and counties around the country."
PL-9 NA Solar Educational Resources for Code Officials U.S. Department of Energy
This website contains links to several training resources and guidebooks to assist with the development of best practices for codes and permitting related to solar technologies for local (electrical) code officials.
PL-10 2008 Site Design Strategies for Solar Access Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute
As part of the Sustainable Community Development Code Research Monologue Series, this paper offers a wide range of strategies for local governments interested in preserving and enhancing solar access.
PL-11 2008 Solar Energy Standards Minnesota Environmental Quality Board
The Minnesota Solar Energy Standards are the result of the U.S. Department of Energy's Million Solar Roof grant program. This technical paper provides instructions and sample language for drafting a solar ordinance.


Wind Technologies - Planning Assistance Resources


Resource
ID		 Date
 Document Title Entity or Author Description
PL-12 NA Planning for Wind Energy Resource List American Planning Association
This page links to various resources such as articles on the planning and regulating of wind, guidelines and toolkits, wind energy impacts, model ordinances, actual ordinances, and also links to wind energy organizations.