California has moved a step closer to adopting a 100% clean
energy standard.
The State Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would
require California load-serving entities to obtain all of their electricity
deliveries from renewable resources by 2045 (SB
100).
Sponsored by Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León, a
Los Angeles Democrat, the bill passed 25-13 along party lines. It now moves to
the State Assembly.
“When it comes to our clean air and climate change, we are
not backing down,” de León said in a statement. “Today, we passed the most
ambitious target in the world to expand clean energy and put Californians to
work.”
De León said it is now critical for California to “double
down on climate leadership” given President Trump’s announcement today that the
U.S. would withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change.
“We are sending a clear message to the rest of the
world that no president, no matter how desperately they try to ignore
reality, can halt our progress,” he said.
The new bill would accelerate the timeline for California’s
current 50% RPS from 2030 to 2026, with an interim 45% goal put in place for
2023. The 2030 requirement would increase to 60%, and the bill gives the
California Energy Commission discretion to establish “appropriate” three-year
compliance periods subsequent to 2030.
The bill also directs state agencies to incorporate the
planning goal into any energy and climate programs subject to their
jurisdiction, which would include the utility integrated resource plans
administered by the PUC.
Passage of the bill got expected support from environmental
groups and advocates for renewable energy.
“Getting 100% renewable is 100% possible and 200%
necessary,” said Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California. “SB 100
responds to what survey after survey shows that Californians want: clean
energy, clean air and a future for the next generation.”
Strela Cervas, co-director of the California
Environmental Justice Alliance, said the proposed law would move
California away from fossil fuels that that have a disproportionate impact
on disadvantaged communities and communities of color.
“The bill charts a pathway for the public health and
economic benefits of local renewable energy to reach communities that need
it the most,” Cervas said.
“Transitioning to a 100% carbon-free future in an economy
the size of California’s requires persistence, commitment and vision,” said
Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of the California Solar Energy
Industries Association.
In urging his colleagues to vote against the bill,
Republican Sen. Jeff Stone warned that the state might be getting ahead of its
ability to actually implement a 100% RPS.
“If we don’t have the science to back up the methodology to
get to 2030 with 60% coming from renewables, then it’s going to increase costs
for our constituents,” Stone said. “We need to let the technology drive the
innovations in alternative energy and not put mandates out there that may be
unachievable.”
If it becomes law, the bill would make California the second
state after Hawaii to require LSEs to rely on 100% renewables by 2045.
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