The Administration is growing more concerned over the high probability of missing the Renewable Portfolio Standard mandate of utilities securing 20% renewable generation by 2010.
Though unpublicized, the Administration met last week with several stakeholder groups to discuss what might be done. I am told that the Governor had several pointed questions and that the staff did as well. How might we get to 20% renewables, and why will we miss the mark?
It is highly likely that we will see an Executive Order that will address how to get to the 20% -- and beyond -- the 33% that is being kicked around.
Why is this important now? Because of the initiative that has qualified for the ballot that would take us to 50% renewables by 2020. Is it doable? Sure, if we eliminate all of the barriers to building the infrastructure that would be needed. Will we do that? Even if it were done through regulation, the legal side will always slow the process down.
We need the infrastructure to get us to that green future – and to echo what the Governor said in his speech at Yale last month: "There's no two ways about it. Neither business nor environmentalists nor Republicans nor Democrats can be set in their ways. I suggest to them: Relax, exhale, just exhale and relax and let things move forward.”
In a hearing yesterday, the Senate Energy Committee had sharp questions about costs for the President of the CPUC, Michael Peevey: "How much is all of this, GHG reduction, RPS and other mandates going to cost?"
Great question!!! But we have no answers because we have not really looked at it...
I expect that a possible Executive Order on RPS will ignore the cost question, but maybe someone in the legislature will ask for an informational hearing to discuss the numbers that are out there already (EPRI calls it somewhere between $100 billion to $500 billion between 2020 and 2050 -- the smaller number to reduce GHGs by 25% and the larger number to reduce GHGs by 80%).
As I have stated before, going green is going to cost a lot of green... the better questions is who will pay for it? Will it be all ratepayer classes, or will we single out a few groups? The popular theme will be to make the wealthy pay for it... but how do we define that? Oh, get ready for that fun discussion that we will need to have at some point -- assuming we really do want to go green.
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