With the enactment of a 33 percent renewable energy standard firmly in place, the question in California seems to be not whether we can reach this level, but when? Read More
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Investment in RD&D: Move It or Lose It California!
December 6th, 2011
In an earlier post, I wrote about the California Legislature’s failure this fall to reauthorize funding for the state’s clean energy research, development, and deployment (RD&D) program. On an encouraging note, the California Public Utilities Commission recently issued a proposed decision to approve a year’s worth of bridge funding to continue the program, allowing the Legislature to take another crack at the issue in 2012. Read More
California Takes Another Stand for Climate Action
November 21st, 2011
On October 20, 2011, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) formally adopted a program to limit the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that the electricity, industrial, and transportation sectors in California can release into the atmosphere. The program, called cap-and-trade, is one of several policies the state has enacted to reduce its emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Read More
What’s a Clean Energy Future Worth?
September 27th, 2011
Dropping $1.50 into your piggybank each month won’t get you too far too fast, but when you combine forces with all the electricity customers of California’s first, second, and fourth largest utilities, it amounts to a useful chunk of change. Read More
Texas Wind Helps Keep the Lights On
August 31st, 2011
I live near the San Francisco Bay, so while the rest of the country roasted this summer, I shivered in a sweatshirt. Texas is experiencing its fair share of summer heat and in mid-August a heat wave caused unexpected power failures at about 20 power plants, including one coal plant and several natural gas plants, just as people reached to crank up their air conditioners. Read More
California’s Governor Brown Calls for 12,000 Megawatts of Clean, Local Electricity by 2020
August 25th, 2011
In late July, I joined about 250 clean energy stakeholders on the UCLA campus to discuss Governor Jerry Brown’s goal to install 12,000 megawatts (MW) of clean and locally-sited renewable energy projects in California by 2020. This concept – installing more green energy in areas that will create new green jobs close to where people live (and use electricity) – is part of Governor Brown’s Clean Energy Jobs Plan. Read More
