CALIF’S BROWN WANTS NEW ENERGY

From Governor Moonbeam to Governor Sunbeam -- Brown pushes for alternative energy
Dana Hull, July 24, 2011 (San Jose Mercury News)

"During his first two terms nearly four decades ago, Jerry Brown became famously known as Governor Moonbeam. Now he seems destined to become Governor Sunbeam.

"With the epic battle over the state budget finally behind him, Brown's first major policy initiative aims to fulfill the ambitious goal laid out in his campaign: to develop a clean-energy economy in California."

click to enlarge

"Brown wants the state to produce 20,000 new megawatts of renewable electricity -- enough to power 20 cities the size of San Francisco and roughly one-third of the state's current peak use -- by 2020. That would nearly triple the amount of electricity that California currently gets from renewable sources.

"The plan includes the fast-tracking of large, utility-scale renewable power plants. But 12,000 megawatts are to come from "localized electricity," small systems located close to where energy is consumed that don't require new transmission lines. A variety of technologies, from biogas to wind [to energy efficiency], will play a role. But solar panels -- on the roofs of commercial buildings and along the banks of state highways -- will be a dominant element…[S]ome business interests are worried about the potential costs…"