Sunday, Nov. 02, 2008

Require Public Utilities Use More Renewable Energy - California

This proposition would require utility companies to generate 20% of their power from renewable sources by 2010 and 50% by 2025. On the surface, it sounds like a measure that would garner support from environmentalists and those worried about global warming — people like Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. But the Governator opposes the proposition, along with the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council. They say California's progressive energy policy already in place will require utilities to produce 20% of energy from renewable sources by 2020, and that disrupting the plan will come at a cost. The proposition has too many loopholes, opponents say, and won't, in the end, speed up the process of energy independence. (Another proposition on the California ballot would require renewable fuels and natural gas use in cars.)