California Renewable Electricity Standard
Renewable Energy for California’s Future
California needs to increase its use of clean, renewable sources of electricity. One vital tool to enable this to happen is increasing the state’s Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) to at least 33 percent by 2020.
The current RES statute, often referred to as the Renewables Portfolio Standard, requires regulated electric utilities to increase their use of wind, solar and other eligible renewable electricity sources by at least one percent per year, reaching at least 20 percent by 2010.
While municipal utilities are required to adopt their own RES, they are not yet bound by the same statutory requirements and oversight as the investor-owned utilities.
A 33 percent Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) will provide significant benefits to Californians:
- Result in 13 million metric tons of global warming emission reductions in 2020—equivalent to removing almost three million cars from the road, or enough to avoid 10 new large fossil fuel power plants.
- Stimulate clean technology investment and innovation and grow the ‘green collar jobs’ economy by sending a clear market signal that new renewables will be developed in our state.
- Provide market certainty for developers, investors and planners of renewables projects and transmission.
- Diversify the state’s energy supply and help protect consumers from natural gas price volatility.
- Help meet our global warming pollution cap under AB 32.
- Promote long-term planning in the infrastructure needed to support high levels of renewable energy development.
- Deliver air quality benefits in impacted communities by reducing future fossil fuel generation.
Clearing the Air
Roughly 22 percent of California’s global warming emissions result from electricity used throughout the state. Increasing the amount of electricity from clean, renewable sources would help address global warming by reducing these heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, a strong renewable energy standard will improve the air we breathe by shifting away from an over-reliance on fossil fuels toward cleaner sources that emit less air pollution.
California: A Leader in Renewables
A 33 percent RES, with appropriate reforms to the existing statute, would further expand California’s renewable energy market and its booming clean tech industry. California clean tech companies received $1.8 billion in venture capital investments in 2007—almost half of total clean tech investments in the U.S. By 2020, a 33 percent RES will result in over 13,000 megawatts of new renewable power—enough to meet the electricity needs of 8 million typical homes.
The state legislature is considering bills that would raise the RES to at least 33 percent, codifying the state policy goal endorsed by the Governor in Executive Order S-14-08. A 33 percent RES is also supported by leadership in both chambers of the state legislature, as well as the California Energy Commission, the California Public Utility Commission, and the California Air Resources Board.
