Excerpt
Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed legislation requiring California utilities to get one-third of their power from renewable sources, giving the state the most aggressive alternative energy mandate in the U.S.
California utilities and other electricity providers have until the end of 2020 to draw 33 percent of their power from solar panels, windmills and other renewable sources.
"There are people who think we can drill our way to happiness and prosperity," the Democratic governor told hundreds of workers and other supporters at a solar panel manufacturing plant near San Jose. "Instead of just taking oil from thousands of miles away, we're taking the sun and converting it."
Previous California law required utilities to get 20 percent of their power from renewable sources.
Supporters of the higher standard said it will reassure investors and keep money flowing to develop alternative energy sources. They say that will lead to cleaner air and job growth in the green energy sector.
"By the end of the decade, our goal is to make solar cost-competitive with other forms of energy, all other forms of energy," Energy Secretary Steven Chu told the crowd at the SunPower Corp./Flextronics plant. "This would be a game-changer for us, opening up a world of export opportunities, and California's innovators and businesses can help us achieve this goal."
Need I say, the "money before environment" critics don't like this.
But I suspect they are typically short-sighted, by 2020 the technology should have improved and the costs drop, and this bill will encourage funding to get there.
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