Right now, much attention is focused on the California Clean Energy Act of 2017 (“SB 100” for short). SB 100 would accelerate the state’s primary renewable energy program—the Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS)—which was created to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and improve air quality. The RPS currently requires every utility in the state to source 50% of its electricity sales from renewables by 2030.
The price of solar cells, for example, plummeted in recent years, allowing states like California — a role model for climate policy at the state level — to substantially increase investment in that technology.
The argument that renewables will inherently destabilize the grid is nonsense, nothing more than a reflexive objection from those who see their fossil fuel investments dwindling.
President Donald Trump argued Thursday that the Paris climate agreement was a raw deal for America -- one that would kill jobs across the country. What he didn't say was that the accord supports solutions like wind energy, which incentivize US business to invest in energy projects that largely benefit his base of rural Republicans.
Other major factors that will keep driving the change to renewable energy are the plummeting price of solar and wind power across the country — a recent study from financial advisory firm Lazard found both to be cheaper in most circumstances than new coal-fired generation — and lifestyle benefits associated with it.
LOS ANGELES — California is not only fighting to protect its legacy of sweeping environmental protection, but also holding itself out as a model to other states — and to nations — on how to fight climate change.
