News Room: SB 14: 33% Renewable Energy by 2020

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. read more ...

Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 2X into law at the SunPower/Flextronics solar manufacturing plant in Milpitas on Tuesday, April 12.  Governor Brown and Senator Simitian were joined by U.S. Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu for the signing ceremony and dedication of SunPower’s new facility.

More pictures are available at the link below.

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Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed into law a requirement that California get 33% of its electricity from renewable sources, such as wind and solar energy, by the year 2020.

Brown’s signature raises the former renewable-energy mandate of 20%. Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), author of the legislation, said the 33% benchmark would reduce air pollution and U.S. dependence on unstable foreign sources of oil, while creating more than 100,000 jobs. That number is based on research by the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies, a trade group representing renewable energy companies, according to Simitian’s staff.

“The new law will stimulate the economy and improve the environment, while protecting ratepayers from excessive costs,” Simitian said.

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Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill into law that requires the state’s public and private utilities to obtain at least 33 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020.  He talked about the challenges of environmental policy and even invoked his old nickname:

“You can’t be afraid to be called a moonbeam, weird, deviant, interesting, unexpected and let’s get it done.  Senator will you come up here so we can sign this bill?  Clapping fades.”

The bill was written by Democratic State Senator Joe Simitian, who’s been pushing the change for several years.

“When we have hit 33% by 2020 ,we will look back on this day and say ‘look what California has done.’”

 

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Today Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 2X, putting California in the national forefront in its commitment to renewable energy. The bill authored by State Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) requires private and public utilities to obtain 33% of their electricity from renewable energy resources by 2020, raising the target from the current 20%, while providing the flexibility necessary to meet the higher standard. read more ...

The sun, the wind and other sources of renewable power would supply one-third of California’s electricity by the end of 2020 under a bill that finally cleared the Legislature on Tuesday after years of false starts.

The bill would give California one of the nation’s most aggressive policies for increasing the use of renewable power at a time when comprehensive federal energy legislation has been stalled in Washington. State Sen. Joe Simitian, who wrote the bill, cast it as a way of boosting California’s clean-energy industry, which has continued to grow in recent years despite the recession.

“If we send a clear signal to the market, the market will respond, and investment dollars and jobs and tax revenues will come to California,” said Simitian, D-Palo Alto. “If we don’t send a clear signal to the market, those dollars and jobs and tax revenues will go to some other state or country.”

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Legislation authored by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) that would put California in the national forefront in its commitment to renewable energy is headed to Governor Jerry Brown. Senate Bill 2X would require private and public utilities to obtain 33% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020, raising the target from the current 20%, while providing the flexibility necessary to meet the higher standard. read more ...

California lawmakers passed a bill Tuesday that would require a third of the state’s power to come from renewable energy sources by 2020, setting a new bar for the rest of the country.

The U.S.‘s largest energy consumer is increasing its renewable portfolio standards and continues to pursue a cap-and-trade program that would put a price on carbon after similar initiatives to do so in Congress have flatlined.

California is typically seen as a trendsetter when it comes to setting environmental regulations aimed at slashing harmful emissions. The new law would make it the most aggressive adopter of renewable energy in terms of the amount of new generation that will be needed, which will draw investment dollars and create jobs through wind, solar, geothermal and other alternative projects.

The legislation “sends a signal to renewable energy providers that California wants them here,” State State Sen. Joe Simitian, who authored the bill, said in a statement. “They will respond, as they have in the past, with billions of dollars in investments that will provide jobs and tax revenues.”

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In an editorial, NBC Bay Area applauds Sen. Joe Simitian’s Senate Bill 2X, that would require the state to obtain 33% of its electricity from renewable resources by 2020.

Suzanne Shaw, NBC Bay Area Editorial Director, says, “We can lead the nation away from foreign oil and build a greener future for this state. We need our legislators and our governor to pass Senate Bill 2X.”

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The California Senate today passed legislation authored by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) that would require private and public utilities to obtain 33% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020. Senate Bill 2X would raise the renewable target from the current 20%, while providing the flexibility necessary to meet the higher standard. The measure passed on a vote of 26-11. read more ...

An editorial in the Los Angeles Times calls on the Legislature to pass Sen. Joe Simitian’s bill, SB 2X, requiring that 33% of the electricity in the state come from renewable resources. Some excerpts:

“The state still doesn’t have a renewable energy standard even though a sensible bill to establish one has been taken up annually since 2007. ... We’re once again hoping the political establishment can overcome its legacy of failure and give California an early lead in the struggle to wean the nation off of fossil fuels, clean the state’s air, boost its fledgling green industries and set an example on responsible mitigation strategies for climate change.”

“It’s very important for the standard to take the form of legislation rather than a gubernatorial order, because the latter can be changed at whim by any new administration. Without the force of law, utilities and investors lack the certainty they need to proceed with new renewable projects.”

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In an opinion article, Senator Joe Simitian explains the importance of increasing the amount of electricity generated from renewable resources.

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.

The utilities blanched and the skeptics snickered. But despite much naysaying, we’ll get pretty darned close. 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.

With our 2010 goals clearly in sight, I’ve again introduced legislation that calls for a commitment, in state law, to a 33 percent renewable portfolio standard by 2020. That measure, Senate Bill 23, is now before the Senate.

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Even before California’s power companies have met a year-end target of getting 20 percent of their energy from renewables, like wind or solar, state Sen. Joe Simitian is upping the ante.

A bill introduced this week by the senator would require utilities to generate 33 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020, a standard Simitian says will go a long way to fighting global warming, spawning green investment and assuring California a local source of energy. The proposal, Senate Bill 23, failed in past years but Simitian, D-Palo Alto, hopes this time will be different.

“I’m optimistic,” he said Tuesday. “This is sound energy policy.”

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State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) today introduced legislation to require private and public utilities to obtain 33% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020. The bill would raise the renewable target from the current 20%, while providing the flexibility necessary to meet the higher standard. read more ...

After years of frustration at having their ideas vetoed by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Democratic state lawmakers said Friday that they are reviving scores of old bills in hopes of having better luck with incoming Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat.

The proposals they plan to revisit would give illegal immigrants access to financial aid at colleges, prohibit the practice of “spiking” in public pensions, require utilities to provide more solar and wind power, ban cellphones from state prisons and require college booster groups to disclose their finances.

“We’re going back to look at every bill vetoed in the last eight years,” said state Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto). “I do think with a change it makes sense to look at bills this governor wasn’t inclined to sign and the new governor might.”

Next week Simitian plans to reintroduce, among others, a measure that would prohibit last-minute bonuses and raises from resulting in sharp increases in state workers’ pensions, and a requirement that 33% of energy produced by utilities by the year 2020 come from renewable sources.

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Renewable power such as wind and solar, Simitian maintains, is a way to reduce global warming, create green jobs and wean the energy industry from its dependence on oil. read more ...

State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) has received top marks from state environmental and senior groups for his voting record this year. read more ...

Statements of Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) on Governor Schwarzenegger’s veto of SB 14, Senator Simitian’s bill that would have required all electric utilities to generate a third of their power from renewable resources. read more ...

Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Senator Joe Simitian (D- Palo Alto), Chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, sent the Governor the following letter requesting continued productive conversations working toward adopting an enforceable renewable portfolio standard. read more ...

The California State Legislature approved Senate Bill 14, which requires energy providers to buy 33 percent of their energy from clean, renewable energy sources by 2020. read more ...

The Legislature's plan is flexible enough to satisfy many utilities and energy producers. It should be enough for the governor, too. read more ...

California is poised to push green, renewable power to a new level, a goal of 33 percent of its energy diet by 2020. But there's a holdup from a surprise source: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, usually a reliable green-tech ally. read more ...

State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) and supporters of his legislation, Senate Bill 14, called on the Governor today to reconsider threats of a possible veto. read more ...

State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) will hold a conference call with members of the media to discuss SB 14, his bill to require all electric utilities in California to generate one third of their power from renewable sources by 2020. read more ...

Despite veto threat, he won't give up on environmental bill. read more ...

The Legislature was poised late Friday to approve two bills setting a course for California to ratchet up its already ambitious renewable energy targets. read more ...

While the Senate was scaling back the prison reform efforts and water was caught up in political maneuvers, late last night, the legislature did approve SB 14, which requires all energy providers to buy 33 percent of their energy from clean renewable energy sources by 2020 has been approved by the legislature. read more ...

California legislators approved measures to increase the amount of power utilities are required to get from renewable sources, such as the sun and the wind. read more ...

Sacramento – Senate Bill 14, which requires all energy providers to buy 33 percent of their energy from clean renewable energy sources by 2020 has been approved by the legislature. The bill, authored by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) now heads to the Governor who has until October 11th to either sign the legislation or veto it. read more ...

Hoping to add "green" jobs to a beleaguered state economy, California lawmakers are poised to take up new rules dramatically increasing the amount of renewable power used in the state over the next 10 years. read more ...

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 more ...

It's crucial for the Assembly and Senate to pass SB 14 and AB 64 before the session ends Sept 11. The sooner the target is set, the sooner California will start seeing benefits. read more ...

Sacramento- Today the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa released a letter in strong support of SB 14 by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto). The bill requires investor owned utilities, publicly owned utilities, and energy service providers to procure 33% of their electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar and geothermal by 2020. SB 14 passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee last week, and is currently on the Assembly floor awaiting a vote. read more ...

Sacramento – Senate Bill 14, which requires all energy providers to buy 33 percent of their energy from clean renewable energy sources by 2020 has been approved by the Senate 21-16. The bill, authored by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) now heads to the Assembly. read more ...

Less than a year after California voters rejected a ballot measure to increase the mandate to 50% by 2025, Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) has authored SB 14, which would require 33% by 2020. The standard mirrors the level set in an executive order issued by the governor in November. read more ...

As the warnings about global warming mount, so does the resolve of state Sen. Joe Simitian to take California's clean energy policy to the next level. The Palo Alto Democrat, who represents parts of Santa Cruz County, is pushing legislation that would require power companies to get 33 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020. read more ...

California's environmental report card for electricity looks respectable. Hardly any dirty coal. Many new, efficient natural gas plants. Hydropower generated either in-state or imported. Solar popping up on rooftops and spreading across the desert. Wind farms on the ridges. And yet, in 2007, only 12 percent of the electricity used in California came from renewable resources such as wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and small hydroelectric facilities. That's renewable as in sustainable — as in landing lightly on the environment. California is pushing to do better. A 2006 law, authored by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, requires the state to obtain 20 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2010. read more ...

Sacramento – State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) announced today that he introduced Senate Bill 14, which requires the state to buy 33 percent of its energy from clean, environmentally friendly renewable energy resources by 2020. Simitian said he introduced the bill on the first day of session, “because of the urgency of this issue.” read more ...