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June 22, 2011
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Melissa Figueroa (916) 651-4011 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
SACRAMENTO –The Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies (CEERT) named State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) a “Clean Power Champion” for 2011 at their annual awards benefit in Sacramento Tuesday night.
Simitian was honored for his work over the past several years on the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS), ultimately getting Senate Bill 2X signed into law by Governor Brown earlier this year. Senate Bill 2X requires that California energy providers get 33% of their energy from clean, renewable energy sources by 2020.
Simitian said he was “gratified” by the recognition, and took particular pleasure in the fact that the organization’s first Clean Power Champion back in 2003 was then State Senator Byron Sher, Simitian’s predecessor in the State Senate. Simitian is serving in his sixth year as the Chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.
“We are pleased to honor Senator Joe Simitian for his patient leadership and tireless effort, in enacting the nation’s strongest renewable portfolio standard,” said V. John White, CEERT’s Executive Director. “The Senator’s legislation is the cornerstone of California’s renewable revival, and will lead to thousands of new jobs, billions in economic investment, and secure California’s place as a world leader in green energy.”
In presenting the award to Simitian, CEERT noted that, “The legislative history (for Simitian’s renewable energy legislation), was a bumpy road, and the challenges and frustrations were many…The outcome hinged on Senator Simitian’s ability to persevere, overcome sharp differences, and knit together a workable practical bill. Through the thicket of inertia and complexity, the Senator never gave up, and never gave in. His tenacity, good humor, and command of small details paid off.”
CEERT is a coalition of major environmental groups and clean energy companies that has been working for more than 20 years to build the renewable energy economy in California and the West.
For more information on Simitian’s environmental legislation throughout his time in the Legislature visit http://www.senatorsimitian.com/legislation.