California is known as one of the most environmentally friendly and conscious states within the United States, and they have just taken one step further to paving the way for a green future for all. On September 11, the California Senate passed SB 350, aka the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015. This bill requires that the states’ Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) be raised to 50% by 2030. This is an increase from the 33% by 2020 requirement the California legislature had previously passed, which had been signed into law. All that is left is for the Governor to sign this bill into law.
The bill would require that the amount of electricity generated and sold to retail customers per year from eligible renewable energy resources be increased to 50% by December 31, 2030, and applies to those publicly owned utilities through the Public Utilities Commission. The bill does not apply to single-family homes that are financed through qualified financing, qualified residential rental projects, and low-income housing projects.
This bill comes as a reaction to the 50/50/50 plan Governor Jerry Brown laid out in his inaugural address this past January, which calls for an increase in electricity from renewable sources to 50 percent, a reduction in the use of petroleum by 50 percent, and a 50 percent increase in building efficiency by 2030. The objectives of SB 350 are as laid out in Section 2 of the bill by the Legislature: (1) to increase from 33 percent to 50 percent, the procurement of our electricity from renewable sources; (2) To double the energy efficiency savings in electricity and natural gas final end uses of retail customers through energy efficiency and conservation.
While the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015 is being praised by all those who are environmentally conscious, those same people cannot overlook the part of the bill that was left on the cutting room floor. The California Legislature gave in to petroleum lobbyists and cut the part of the bill that would reduce the use of petroleum by 50 percent by 2030. Petroleum lobbyists put on a successful campaign, joined by the California Driver’s Alliance, which outlined what the reduction in petroleum usage would do for drivers in California. The California Drivers Alliance points out that the petroleum industry helps provide jobs and revenue to the state that drives California’s economy, urging voters to call their state representatives to vote no on SB 350. Evidently, this campaign from the petroleum lobby and its cohorts worked, as the part of the bill that would have reduced petroleum usage did not make the final version of the bill now sitting on the Governor’s desk.
The arguments presented by the oil lobbies are not entirely without merit. The price of gasoline in California is already at the top end of prices nationwide. It is not illogical to assume that a 50% reduction in the use of petroleum would cause gas prices to spike, thus either forcing citizens to buy electric cars or pay astronomical gasoline prices they cannot afford to pay on a regular basis. This essentially would take away a consumers right to choose the product they want to buy, which is a cornerstone of the free market. Californians must decide if this is a price they want to pay to help the environment, and it seems as though it might be.
Through SB 350, California is leading the way in the environmental movement nationwide. And, while many are criticizing the legislature for caving to big oil, the bill stands out as the most aggressive environmental policy we have seen from a state legislature.
See SB 350, http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB350
See Office of the Governor, Governor Brown Sworn in, Delivers Inaugural Address, https://www.gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18828
See California Drivers Association, http://www.californiadriversalliance.org/about/