Posted on 09/12/2009 4:32:51 AM PDT by reaganaut1
California lawmakers on Friday began approving legislation that would establish the nation's most ambitious renewable-energy standards, even as some warned that the rules would increase energy costs and hurt the state's economy.
The Senate and Assembly began voting on two companion bills that would require utilities to get one-third of their power from renewable energy sources by 2020. One bill cleared an initial hurdle in the Senate on a simple majority vote with just a few hours remaining in this year's regular legislative session.
If passed and signed into law, the standard would be the most aggressive in the nation.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger favors raising the state's renewable mandate to 33 percent and bringing in more energy through wind, solar and geothermal sources, but he has yet to take a stance on the bills.
Most Republicans oppose the legislation and particularly object to a provision that would limit the amount of power utilities could buy from alternative sources outside California. They say the restriction could increase costs for utilities and consumers.
''I don't want to see that we craft a policy that hurts California. These measures could potentially make California the greenest Third World economy in the world,'' Sen. John Benoit, R-Palm Desert, told his colleagues as he opposed the measure.
He and fellow Republican Sen. Bob Dutton of Rancho Cucamonga cited a study that projected a $10 billion annual increase in utility costs.
''This is just not smart business,'' Dutton said.
Part of the concern over rising costs stems from a provision in the legislation limiting the amount of renewable power utilities could buy from alternative-energy providers in other states.
The bills [...] would allow utilities to import renewable energy generated outside California as long as the power comes from a plant that connects to California's electricity grid.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
California is ungovernable. Maybe the state needs to be split up.
I thought it was illegal for a state to impose trade barriers with other states. Maybe electricity is somehow exempted.
Would the last person to leave California please blow out the candle???
California lawmakers on Friday began approving legislation that would establish the nation's most ambitious renewable-energy standards, even as some warned that the rules would increase energy costs and hurt the state's economy.
As more companies leave CA, like Toyota just has announced,
they will either go to other states or Mexico.
What’s another $10B to California? They’re rolling in dough.
Democrats really are insane. They certainly aren’t stupid. Stupidity can be overcome with reason. Insanity has been desribed as doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. That best descibes Democrats.
At this point in time if a private person decides to install a solar system on their home or business that is of sufficient size to provide all the electricity that they require they can indeed zero out their electric bill. They do so by connecting their solar system to the electric grid, feed that grid during sunny days and drawing from that grid on cloudy days and at night. Nice deal for the homeowner or business if he/she can get the solar system installed at a reasonable price. Currently there are sufficient subsidies at the local and national level to balance the economic equation.
But note what the impact of this is on the electricity provider: He supplies the infrastructure to support the solar systems but collects very little if any revenue from the owners of these systems. As the use of solar expands this revenue loss grows and something has to give. That something will be higher costs for the non-solar customers to cover the utility company's revenue loss or higher costs for the solar customers who expected to get a free ride after they install their system - that's been the promise. The basic fact is that the grid has to be maintained and somebody has to pay.
What is important here is that the local, state and national governments are messing with the free market in energy here in California and in the long run we all know what the result will be - higher energy costs, worst service and higher taxes.
Thanks for your comments. I’m sure you understand the economics much better than the legislators.
I am all in favor of this. California does not deserve the industry and economic prestige that it gets. The truth is that they have industry despite these anti-business policies. They are able to get away with anti-business policies precisely because they have natural economic advantages which more than offset the manti-business policies. But there is a limit to which natural economic advantages can propel your economy ahead when you have such extreme anti-business policies. My view is that we need California, NY, and Massachusetts to serve as a guinea pig for the socialists. Let them screw up their economies, and then we can cite them as an example of how not to do things.
Indeed. Where is the interstate commerce clause when you really need it?
Brilliant! The reason Cali is in such dire finacial straights i nthe first place is because of the high cost of ‘going green’, and hteir solution to their financial woes? ‘Go even greener’ lol
Heck, I’m goign into debt myself- I guess the way out is to spend even more money I don’t have on costlier items- Why didn’t I think of htis in the first place? Doh!
Sigh. And California use to be such a nice state. Too many people concentrated in the really nice spots though. This should help solve that problem. Heck, even the illegals will flee when the jobs disappear. Eventually, California will be one of those nice sun-shiny states like Florida and Arizona to which old folks go to play shuffleboard in the warmth.
In the mean time, Texas, Colorado, South Carolina, and many other states where productive, job-producing industries are celebrated will thrive.
How on earth can anyone take California’s financial problems seriously when its elected officials obviously don’t?
If they have the luxury of using ridiculously expensive “renewable” energy, then obviously they have money to burn.
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