California’s Governor Brown signs alternative energy bill

During SunPower and Flextronics dedication ceremony for its new 75MW module manufacturing plant, attendee Governor Edmund “Jerry” Brown signed a new energy bill into law mandating that one-third of California’s electricity must come from renewable resources, such as solar and wind, by 2020. Before the new legislation was signed into action, California had a 20% renewables portfolio standard set for 2010; the 13% increase gives California until December 31, 2020 to meet the new goal 33% standard.

In his open letter to the California Senate, Governor Brown stated, “This bill will bring many important benefits to California, including stimulating investment in green technologies in the state, creating tens of thousands of new jobs, improving local air quality, promoting energy independence, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

The Governor expressed his desire for this new standard to be a starting point that nurtures the continued increase of generating electricity from renewable resources. “Our state has enormous renewable resource potential. I would like to see us pursue even more far-reaching targets. With the amount of renewable resources coming on-line, and prices dropping, I think 40%, at reasonable cost, is well within our grasp in the near future.”

Governor Brown acknowledged that signing the bill is only the first step on the road to actually meeting the 33% portfolio goal in the given ten-year timeframe.  He concluded his letter to the California Senate, urging for their cooperation by stating, “The bill contains some provisions that will create implementation difficulties or inefficiencies, particularly for regulatory agencies charged with the bill’s implementation. These provisions should be amended quickly. Therefore, while I am signing this bill today, I ask the Legislature to immediately begin work on additional legislation to correct these problems.”