California’s energy future just became cleaner and ultimately carbon free. That’s the goal of a bill Governor Jerry Brown signed today.
The legislation, Senate Bill 100 (SB 100), establishes a planning goal that zero-carbon resources supply 100 percent of California’s power mix by 2045 and directs key state agencies to report back to the legislature on progress every four years. SB 100 also establishes an ambitious requirement of 60 percent renewable electricity by 2030 and accelerates the current 50 percent standard to 2026.
This legislation, authored by California State Senator Kevin de León, will help keep the state on track to achieve the long-term carbon pollution goals that were adopted in 2015. And another catastrophic series of forest fires this year provides a riveting demonstration of the urgent need to rapidly cut our greenhouse gas pollution.
California has successfully implemented all renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requirements to date. We’ve exceeded all of our targets and costs have been lower than expected. The state’s large investor-owned utilities are on track to far exceed the current RPS requirement for 33% renewables by 2020. Given this track record, we can and should confidently press forward with this ambitious effort.
With Governor Brown’s signature today, our state continues to lead other states and nations on the path to a clean energy future. This stands in stark contrast to the backpedaling by the Trump Administration, which continues to eviscerate our national commitment to reducing climate pollution and instead search for ways to subsidize dirty, expensive fossil fuels.