AT ALMOST 20%, CALIF WANTS MORE NEW ENERGY

We're meeting goals on renewable energy -- but they should be higher
State Senator Joe Simitian, January 3, 2011 (San Jose Mercury News)

"In 2006, the California Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ambitiously committed California to obtain 20 percent of its electricity from renewable resources by the end of 2010…utilities blanched…skeptics snickered…[but the] California Public Utilities Commission said we'd reach 18 percent by the end of this month, and move past 20 percent some time in the new year.

"That's good, but we can do better. California's commitment to green energy has invigorated the renewable-energy market. An explosion of investment in green technology has produced advances in solar and wind power and a smarter electric grid. Combined, they have brought within reach what once seemed an audacious goal: 33 percent renewables by 2020."

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"Over the past four years I've authored legislation to achieve that standard…[that was] stymied by the Legislature or vetoed by the governor…[but] the argument has been less about the 33 percent goal, endorsed by both the governor and the Legislature, than about details of implementation. Even so, the time for excuses is over. With our 2010 goals clearly in sight, I've again introduced [Senate Bill 23] that calls for a commitment, in state law, to a 33 percent renewable portfolio standard by 2020…

"The benefits of such a move are many and significant…clean air and good jobs…increased use of renewables…[and] reduce[d] air pollution and…[climate change-inducingt] carbon dioxide…[T]he growth and development of renewable energy here in California [will] bring investment dollars, tax revenues and job growth to a state that sorely needs all three…[A]n increased mandate in California to buy green energy will assure innovators that a market will exist for the electricity produced through their ingenuity."

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"…One of the most valuable lessons from the energy crisis of 2001 is that there is price stability [and increased supply reliability] in diversity…[preventing] market manipulation…[and] spikes in the cost of any particular energy source…[T]he increased use of renewables allows…an American foreign policy based on American values and American interests, rather than being held hostage to our energy needs.

"…[I]t's past time for California to once again set a marker for the nation showing the ways it is possible -- indeed, necessary -- to adapt America's electricity supply to the realities of the 21st century…[and] ensure that the investment dollars, tax revenues and high-wage jobs associated with renewable energy come to California…[by a] vow that a third of [California’s] electricity will come from renewable resources."