ShareThisIn rural Capay Valley, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. powers the packing sheds of organic farmers, the slot machines of the Cache Creek Casino Resort and just about every TV and light bulb in the 24 miles between the hamlets of Rumsey and Madison.
Now, some valley residents are ready to flip a switch on the energy giant.
They'd like to generate all of their own electricity through wind, water and solar and sell any excess back to PG&E.
Achieving that goal in the next few years could make the narrow, winding valley in Yolo County -- with its almond orchards and casino traffic -- among the first places in the nation to meet President Barack Obama's call for energy independence and reliance on renewable resources.
Supporters of the plan say the costs will be substantial, and they expect resistance from PG&E and perhaps some of their neighbors.
But the involvement of influential allies means the movement can't be easily dismissed as a green pipe dream.
The wealthy and powerful Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, the tribe that owns the Cache Creek casino, is supporting the push to make the valley a net exporter of electricity.
Tribal chairman Marshall McKay, who has been involved in the process from its inception, said it could set a national example. The effort originated in discussions between tribal leaders and the valley's organic farmers, he said.
"It's something the tribe's passionate about," McKay said. "Electricity could be different in 50 years, and we could be part of that discovery."
The tribe is funding a study by scientists at the University of California, Davis, to determine what it will take to transform the remote valley into a leader in local energy production.
Project director Deb Niemeier, an engineering professor at UC Davis, says the project is a potential "game changer" in energy supply and distribution.
It's billed as the Capay Valley Energyshed Initiative.
"They call it unplugging the Capay Valley," said Sue Heitman, the project's community liaison and director of the nonprofit Capay Valley Vision. "I know that's wishful thinking on our part, but according to (researchers at) UC Davis, it's not impossible thinking."
The UC Davis team is conducting a study to see how much electricity the valley uses and whether it could be generated through local, renewable resources.
The goal is to have it done by January and then determine what kind of organizational structure, such as an energy co-operative, might work best, Niemeier said.
Starting in early 2010, there will likely be a push to gain the support of the majority of valley residents, she said.
The project is already being discussed in community meetings, including one at the Western Yolo Grange Hall in the village of Guinda last week, Heitman said. She said she hasn't heard any objections from her neighbors to exploring the idea.
In the United States, at least two rural communities have pursued similar projects.
Greensburg, Kan., flattened by a tornado in 2007, is rebuilding and attempting to generate electricity primarily through wind turbines. In a speech earlier this year, Obama said it was "a global example of how clean energy can power an entire community."
Rock Port, Mo., population 1,400, announced last year that it was the first town in the United States to be 100 percent wind-powered. Giant wind turbines on the edge of town tower over the rolling farmland of northwestern Missouri.
The small size of those communities has been a factor in their ability to provide their own energy.
The Capay Valley is similar, with a population of about 350 residents, Heitman said. If you include the communities of Esparto and Madison, near the valley's entrance, and surrounding areas, the population would increase to 4,500, she said.
E-mail Hudson Sangree at hsangree(at)sacbee.com.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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