Energy Bill a Step Back for Clean Power, Foes Say

Currently, state law requires only investor-owned utilities to meet a 20 percent level by 2010. State regulators also are considering a 33 percent requirement by 2020 as part of the effort to implement a comprehensive plan to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions (see "California Offers Plan to Clear the Air" on greentechmedia.com).

The 20 percent mandate has prompted utilities such as PG&E and SCE to sign large contracts to buy solar and wind energy over the past year. Last week, SCE said it had agreed to buy up to 909 megawatts of electricity from a wind farm in Oregon, to be built and operated by New York City-based Caithness Energy (see "SoCal Edison to Buy 909MW of Wind Power" and "PG&E to Buy 808MW From OptiSolar, SunPower" on greentechmedia.com).

Both utilities said they are on track to meet the 20 percent mandate. Both also declined to disclose the financial terms of the agreements.

Government mandates that force utilities to buy renewable energy through long-term contracts at prices higher than conventional power aren't new. Those policies have made countries such as Germany and Spain booming markets for solar companies, for example (see "Spanish Energy Commission Votes to Shrink Solar Incentives" and "Solar Prices Set in Germany" on greentechmedia.com).

But those regulations don't exclude small power plants. In fact, many homeowners and farmers in Germany have installed solar panels on their roofs and properties in order to profit from the policy.

Prop. 7 opponents say the ballot measure would only benefit large energy companies because utilities would have to buy renewable energy from power plants with a minimum of 30 megawatts of capacity.

The commercial from the anti-Prop. 7 campaign featured Sue Kateley, executive director of the California Solar Energy Industries Association. In addition to utilities such as PG&E, the trade group's members also include solar installers Akeena (AKNS Quote) and SolarCity, as well as SunPower (SPWR Quote), which manufactures solar panels and builds power plants.

Some environmental groups also oppose the ballot measure. The Natural Resources Defense Council doesn't support it, and one of its bloggers penned a piece arguing that the measure is poorly written and would create regulatory gridlock that prevents California from achieving its emissions-reduction goals.