Victory! Environment California's Solar Water Heating Bill Passes
The California Legislature has taken yet another giant step toward bringing about a mainstream solar power market. At 2:21 am on September 11, 2007, the California Assembly voted on concurrence, passing the Solar Water Heating and Efficiency Act of 2007 (AB 1470-Huffman). The bill would launch the nation’s largest solar water heating program, creating a $250 million fund to provide rebates to homeowners and businesses who invest in solar water heating technologies over the next ten years. AB 1470 is an important continuation of Environment California's campaign to build a million solar roofs in ten years.
For more information, visit our Solar Water Heating page.
Our Dangerous Energy Addiction
California is heavily dependent on energy resources that pollute
our air and harm our environment. Nearly 90 percent of the state’s electricity
comes from unsustainable sources including coal, natural gas, nuclear power and
large hydroelectric dams. When transportation and heating needs are added in, California is shown to
depend on fossil fuels to meet 80 percent of its total energy needs, 40 percent
coming from oil and 40 percent from natural gas.
What’s more, the majority of
these fossil fuels are imported into California
making us dependent on outside energy suppliers.
Unless California changes the way it gets and uses
energy, a growing economy and population will exacerbate the environmental and
economic problems associated with our addiction to fossil fuels. Air pollution
in urban areas will worsen, global warming goals will not be met, energy prices
will continue to rise, there will be increased pressure to drill in
ecologically sensitive areas and pressure to build controversial energy projects
such as power plants, transmission lines and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals.
The Clean Energy Path
There is, however, an alternative path. If steps are taken today, California can become a national model for energy stability, efficiency and renewable power by:
- Reducing our energy consumption through conservation and energy efficiency.
- Aggressively investing in wind, solar, geothermal and other forms of clean, renewable power.
- Phasing out nuclear power and steadily reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.
Ultimately, using energy more efficiently and using more clean, renewable power isn't just the environmentally sound policy option. It's also the smart economic choice. Our research shows that shifting towards renewable energy sources would create four times as much employment as building the equivalent of new gas-fired power plants.
Our Policy Recommendations
To put California on the clean energy path, Environment California recommends the following actions:
• The Million Solar Roofs Initiative becomes fully implemented within its prescribed timeframe. Meeting these goals includes building a million solar roofs, or 3,000 MW of solar power, and half of all new homes with solar by 2017.
• Go Solar L.A.! The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power develop programs to spur solar power within the city.
• California establishes programs to spur solar hot water systems on homes and businesses to directly offset demand for natural gas.
• California fully implements the Renewable Portfolio Standard, mandating that electric utilities generate 20 percent of their electricity from clean, renewable resources by 2010. We recommend the state move beyond this mandate to at least 30 percent by 2020.
• California’s congressional delegation support our New Energy Future platform that calls for fuel efficiency cars, an extension of the federal tax credits for renewable energy, and an increase in energy efficiency and renewable energy across the country.
