This weekly newsletter highlights the latest from the California Energy Journal along with links to articles and analysis on key developments in California energy policy.
Questions, comments, or tips? Contact editor@californiaenergyjournal.com.
From the California Energy Journal
BOEM Moves to Fast-Track Environmental Review for Offshore Fracking at Platform Gilda (March 26, 2026) – The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has initiated a fast-tracked environmental review that could allow hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, at Platform Gilda in federal waters off California. Read more.
California Report Outlines Framework to Manage Data Center Power Demand (March 27, 2026) – A California oversight agency is proposing a new policy framework to manage the rapid growth of energy-intensive data centers while protecting ratepayers and maintaining the state’s clean energy targets. Read more.
Additional California News and Analysis
Oil and gas
Sable Offshore Corp. initiated oil sales on March 29, 2026, Sable. The Santa Ynez Pipeline System was filled from Las Flores Canyon to Pentland Station at a rate in excess of 50,000 barrels of oil per day. Sable Offshore; New York Post, March 30, 2026.
California congressmembers said the Trump administration’s push for more offshore oil drilling off the California coast could imperil military readiness, foul crucial training waters, and gamble with an economy built on the coast, tourism, fishing, and clean access to the sea. Santa Barbara Independent, March 27, 2026.
Chevron Corp. is planning to buy some of the first shipments of crude from Sable Offshore Corp.’s platforms off the coast of Santa Barbara, weeks after the Trump administration green-lit the restart of production. Bloomberg, March 24, 2026.
Chevron is in the process of decommissioning the Carpinteria Processing Facility, which has been standing since the 1960s. Over the course of about three years, the inactive oil and gas infrastructure will be removed, and the land will be restored to a residential standard. Santa Barbara Independent, March 25, 2026.
Commentary and analysis
Andy Caldwell, “The Collateral Damage from the War on Oil!,” California Globe, March 25, 2026.
Jake Bittle, “California’s fossil fuel phaseout has left it vulnerable to the Iran oil shock,” Grist, March 27, 2026.
VIDEO: “It’s time to ‘drill, baby, drill’,” Ingraham Angle, Fox News, March 25, 2026.
Refineries and gasoline
Chevron Corp. is warning that California is heading toward an energy crisis because of the Iran war and may quit refining oil in the state unless officials roll back taxes and regulations. Chevron’s oil refining head Andy Walz said California officials should declare an “energy emergency” to reform its climate and tax rules and promote in-state oil production. Bloomberg, March 24, 2026.
Chevron said it is threatening to close its oil refineries in California due to taxes, emissions rules and other regulations, which the oil company said is contributing to price spikes amid the war in Iran. The Hill, March 25, 2026.
Commentary and analysis
Katy Grimes, “California’s Oil and Gas Crisis: Expert Warns of Full Scope of the Potential Danger,” California Globe, March 38, 2026.
VIDEO: “California Fuel Supply At Risk | Here’s Why,” California Insider, March 26, 2026.
Mothusi Paul, “The Sovereignty Trap: How California’s Refinery Decline Exposes the State’s Most Valuable Asset to Federal Preemption,” Alliance of Innovation and Infrastructure, March 2026.
Batteries and storage
Arevon Energy has started building its 250MW/1,000 MWh Cormorant battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Daly City, California. It will come online in 2027, requires investment of US$600 million and has a long-term offtake with utility MCE. Energy Storage News, March 24, 2026.
Wind and solar
The Kern County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 vote in favor of the Buttonbush Solar and Storage, a 2-gigawatt photovoltaic installation and California’s largest solar energy project. Bakersfield Californian, March 24, 2026.
Biofuels
The California Public Utilities Commission has conditionally approved a long-term renewable natural gas (RNG) supply contract tied to Anaergia’s SoCal Biomethane facility, marking the first project to move forward under the state’s SB 1440 biomethane procurement program. Pipeline & Gas Journal, March 20, 2026
EVs
Commentary and analysis
Deborah A. Sivas, “California Should Prioritize Electric Vehicle Incentives, Not Biofuel Subsidies,” Stanford Law School, March 23, 2026.
Nuclear
Commentary and analysis
John Grubb and Vidya Schalk, “California should extend Diablo Canyon nuclear plant’s lifespan to address state’s energy needs,” San Francisco Chronicle, March 30, 2026.
Legislation
SB 1035 failed to pass out of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. The bill would have suspended the state’s gasoline tax for one year, suspend the Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulations for one year, and exempt fuel suppliers from the state’s cap-and-trade program for one year.
SB 1359 was amended to include a number of new requirements on natural gas infrastructure, including that natural gas services are “consistent with the state’s greenhouse gas emission reduction mandates and policies promoting building electrification…”
SB 1097 would streamline environmental reviews for renewable energy infrastructure. A placeholder bill was introduced in February.
SB 1233 would require utilities to report additional information to state regulators when proposing a rate increase. A placeholder bill was introduced in February.
SB 931 would require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to ensure the continued full funding of the Community Impacts Mitigation Program for the extended operation of the Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant.
AB 2338 would require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to require utilities to submit an inflation-constrained rate case scenario that does not exceed the projected federal social security beneficiary cost-of-living adjustment.
Additional News and Analysis
Wind and solar
The Trump administration is seeking to halt the remaining offshore wind projects in the US, offering buyouts to companies that are developing them in exchange for fossil-fuel investments. Financial Times, March 27, 2026.