This opinion editorial was written by Mark Tholke, the Managing Principal and Founder of Golden State Renewable Energy, developer of the Catalina Island solarization project. He lives in Montara, CA
One of California’s greatest conservation success stories still relies on imported diesel. Cleaning up Santa Catalina Island could improve Southern California’s air and show island communities worldwide a path beyond fossil fuels.
It is a startling contradiction. More than 88%of Santa Catalina Island is permanently protected, making it one of California’s greatest conservation success stories.
Yet the island still generates virtually all of its electricity by burning imported diesel, one of the dirtiest forms of electricity generation. For a state known for its environmental leadership, that contradiction is impossible to ignore.
That irony matters because Catalina is more than a tourist destination. It is one of the world’s best-known examples of successful landscape conservation, and it has the potential to become a model for island communities everywhere.
Catalina is one of California’s true crown jewels. More than one million people visit the island each year to experience its crystal-clear waters, rugged coastline and remarkable wildlife. More than 60 species of plants and animals are found nowhere else on Earth.
Yet behind that remarkable achievement lies an inconvenient truth. Residents and businesses still depend on imported diesel fuel that must be shipped across the ocean, stored in massive tanks and burned to produce electricity.
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Until recently, Catalina burned an estimated 2.2 million gallons of diesel each year, with an additional 325,000 gallons used to transport that fuel to the island by tanker.
The consequences reach far beyond Catalina. Pollution from those generators is carried by prevailing winds into Long Beach, just 22 miles and less than 90 minutes by ferry from Catalina Island, adding to the ozone and fine particulate pollution that contributes to the region’s distinction as the nation’s worst air quality, according to the American Lung Association.
Catalina is not an isolated case. Thousands of island communities around the world remain dependent on imported diesel despite having some of the world’s best solar resources. From Indonesia to the Caribbean, island grids face the same problems: volatile fuel prices, vulnerable supply chains, unhealthy air pollution and high electricity costs.
Diesel has made island communities poorer and more vulnerable for generations. In many developing nations, diesel supply chains are expensive, inefficient and susceptible to corruption.
Recent geopolitical tensions in the Strait of Hormuz have exposed just how fragile those supply chains can be. Some remote communities have even resorted to flying in emergency fuel at staggering cost.
However, few places illustrate the case for local renewable energy more clearly than island communities. Since solar power is now the least expensive form of electricity for island grids on Earth, the solution is surprisingly simple.
On Sept. 1, Catalina Island will begin writing a different story, as construction starts on the island’s first utility-scale solar project. The project is modest, just 170 kilowatts, but its importance lies far beyond its size. It demonstrates a practical pathway for replacing imported diesel with locally generated renewable energy on isolated island grids. It is phase one toward making Catalina California’s first fully independent island microgrid.
If California can show that one of the world’s most iconic island conservation success stories can transition away from imported diesel, the lesson will resonate far beyond our shores. Island communities everywhere are desperate for practical, affordable ways to break their dependence on imported fuel. California has an opportunity to provide a model that islands around the world can follow.
Cleaning up Catalina will not just improve air quality for Long Beach. It can help inspire a cleaner, healthier and more affordable energy future for island communities around the world.
