San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) could be facing a law suit as early as next year for failing to make progress towards the 20% renewable energy goal set by California law for the year 2010, according to a report in the North County Times.
San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre said his office would not wait for the region’s largest utility to miss the 2010 target before taking action.
"We’re definitely not going to wait until 2010," Aguirre said. "If significant progress is not made by December, there will be litigation."
He said his goal is to force SDG&E to comply with the law. He said the company’s efforts to do so have been "incomplete at best and intentionally compromised at worst."
SDG&E said a hold-up in permitting and building new power transmission lines was responsible for the company’s lack of progress. A lack of transmission lines is hampering renewable energy development nationwide.
Company officials release a statements saying that it was "aggressively pursuing" renewable energy sources. "If he (Aguirre) truly is serious about meeting the renewable goals for San Diego, he should stop his press conferences and finger-pointing and, instead, work with us in permitting necessary new transmission lines," the statement said.
The utility currently provides 6% of it’s electricity from renewable sources, up from 1% in 2000, according to the report.
Other utilities, including Southern California Edison, the nation’s leader in green energy production, also risk falling short of the 20% target for 2010. The state must determine soon how it will penalize companies that do not meet the goal.
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