This Week: Support 100 Percent Clean Energy for California

By Sandy Emerson | September 3, 2017

You can help California achieve 100 percent clean energy! With California’s legislative session ending September 15, It’s down to the wire for SB 100, a bill that requires California to get 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2045.  Renewable sources are defined by the Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS), which has been used to set ever more ambitious renewable energy targets since 2002. SB 100, which passed the state Senate in May and is now in the Assembly for a floor vote, accelerates California’s transition to zero-carbon electricity by requiring 50% renewable energy by 2026 (from 2030); 60% by 2030, and 100% by 2045.

The bill, authored by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Léon, has broad support in both houses, including co-authors Sen. Nancy Skinner and Assembly members Matt Dababneh and Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher.

As expected, utility companies and fossil fuel lobbyists take issue with the bill, which could send existing non-renewable power plants into early retirement. Despite recent studies that report that renewable energy is not a threat to the stability of the power distribution grid, critics say that supplementing renewables with other power sources such as natural gas is required to reliably meet power demands.

Despite its critics, SB 100 is building on the proven success of the RPS and its enabling legislation, which has spurred investment in renewable energy technologies and has produced a more sophisticated, flexible grid. In 2016, California generated approximately 25% of its electricity from RPS-eligible renewables such as solar, wind, geothermal, bioenergy, and small hydropower, and the goal of generating 50% of electricity from renewables by 2026 seems well within reach

Let’s go for 100 percent! Tell your Assembly member to vote “yes” on SB 100.

Several actions are planned for the coming week:

  • Thursday, September 7: DIY Statewide Call-In Day on SB 100. 9:00am-5:00pm. We are asking everyone we know to call YOUR assembly member and let her/him know you care about clean energy and want them be a champion for climate change and VOTE YES ON SB 100. More info here, including how to look up your assembly member’s phone #:  http://350bayarea.org/event/statewide-sb100-call-day. Help us light up the phones and make some noise in Sacramento for 100% Clean Energy!
  • Friday, September 8: Press conference at San Jose City Hall, 2:30-3:00pm. Confirmed speakers are San Jose City Council members Arenas and Peralez; a rep from SEIU 521; and Linda Hutchins Knowles from Mother’s Out Front and our Climate Alliance.