Thanks to the Sierra Club, NRDC and other insider/establishmentarian environmental groups, and their Big Utility allies such as Pacific Gas and Electric, it looks like a California alt-energy bill has been shot down, even though the bill had the support of multiple Nobel laureates.
The proposition would have required that half of California’s energy come from alternative sources by 2025.
Big Utilities don’t have a dog in wind or solar to speak of, and would rather have a captive market. “Gang Green” environmental groups, NRDC above all, supported California electric dereg a decade ago, hoping to use pricing to force conservation. So, they’ve been hand in hand.
That said, some opponents claimed loopholes in the proposition would actually stunt solar power.
California has an alt-energy requirement on the books already, but it exempts municipal utilities, which provide a fair amount of the state’s electricity.
The L.A. Times’s vote No editorial gives an overview of the issues involved. The only one that would have concerned me, were I out there, was the rigidity against amendment.
I think the current standard has its own loopholes, namely, not covering municipal utilities, and is weaker in benchmarks.
And, if there were problems with the ballot language, why didn’t Gang Green groups talk with the sponsors, John and Peter Sperling?
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