California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday proposed draft legislation to increase California’s reliance on renewable energy to 33% by 2020.
California’s Air Resources Board had previously recommended the goal for the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), and it must now go before the state legislature for approval.
California was already committed to producing 20% of its power from renewables such as wind and solar by 2010.
"All retail sellers of electricity shall serve 33% of their load with renewable energy by 2020. State government agencies are hereby directed to take all appropriate actions to implement this target in all regulatory proceedings, including siting, permitting, and procurement for renewable energy power plants and transmission lines," the order said.
The order also calls for a simplification of the regulatory process for renewable energy projects, allowing, for instance, multiple applications for a new power plant to be filed simultaneously, instead of sequentially.
"The executive order Governor Schwarzenegger signed today will go a long way toward removing regulatory barriers that have stymied renewable energy development in California," said Cliff Chen, a senior analyst in the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Clean Energy Program. "Despite our abundant renewable resources-some of the world’s best solar power potential is located in the Mojave Desert, for instance-the lack of interagency coordination in the approval process for clean energy projects has prevented the state from fully capitalizing on them."
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