San Francisco Chronicle: Charge into renewables
Share this pageSen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, has authored legislation (SB14) that would bind utilities to this state’s expressed goal of drawing 33 percent of its electricity from renewable resources such as wind, solar and geothermal by 2020. Similar legislation (AB64) has been pushed in the Assembly by Democrat Paul Krekorian of Burbank.
“This would send a message to folks in the industry that we’re serious: We mean it, it’s the law ... it’s not a target or a goal - or ‘it would be nice’ - but it’s real,” Simitian said of his proposed mandate. “If people think our commitment is fuzzy, you can’t expect them to invest billions of dollars in California. It’s that simple.” [...]
The deadline may look daunting at the moment, but it will be far more achievable if this state’s deep reservoir of money and minds in the privacy sector are concentrated on the development of technologies for renewable energy.
A mission of this magnitude begins with a state mandate that would assure the private sector of a robust market for its efforts. Legislators should make the passage of SB14 a priority in their final week of session.
If California is serious about reducing greenhouse gases - and turning this environmental challenge into an economic opportunity - then it must mandate the conversion to renewable sources of energy.
Read the full editorial on the San Francisco Chronicle website