Renewable-power fight at crossroads

David R. Baker,
San Francisco Chronicle
September 4, 2009

A fierce and complicated fight has broken out in Sacramento over a simple idea with broad support - increasing California's use of renewable power.

The fight isn't over the basic goal.

Two bills pending in the Legislature would force the state's electrical utilities to get 33 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020, up from the current requirement of 20 percent by the end of 2010. A priority of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the 33 percent goal has the backing of environmentalists, legislators and - grudgingly - the utilities.

But the details involved in reaching such an ambitious goal have touched off a complex debate, one that will probably reach its climax in the next week when the Assembly votes on one of the bills.

The utilities want maximum flexibility in how they meet the requirement. They want to tap large amounts of power from out-of-state wind farms, solar plants and hydroelectric dams, and they want the ability to get extensions if they blow the deadline.

"If policymakers want to take us to 33 percent, we can be supportive of that, but it has to come with the right framework that takes into account the realities in the market," said Pedro Pizarro, executive vice president for Southern California Edison.

Environmentalists' concerns

Environmentalists want to make sure the bills don't weaken the state's standards for the kinds of renewable-power projects that would count toward the 33 percent goal. Consumer advocates want to keep Californians' electric bills from soaring. They also want to limit power imports so that most of the solar and wind farms built as a result of the 33 percent requirement are built in California.

There's also the question of feasibility.

The state's three major, investor-owned utilities probably won't reach the current 20 percent target by the end of 2010. They'll need until 2013 or 2014, according to a recent report from the California Public Utilities Commission. Cost estimates have varied widely, but one analysis released by the commission this spring showed that reaching the 33 percent goal by 2020 could require as much as $115 billion.

"It's a lot harder to do renewable development on this scale than we realized," said Matt Freedman, staff attorney for The Utility Reform Network, a consumer watchdog group. "These are all somewhat aspirational goals, and it's good for public policy to work that way. If it's too easy to achieve, you probably set the bar too low."

Debate over imports

Much of the debate has focused on importing renewable power from other states - or from another country altogether. The utilities argue that California probably won't build enough solar plants, geothermal plants or wind farms in the next decade to meet the 33 percent goal.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co., in particular, wants hydroelectric power from British Columbia that possibly would be brought to California on a new high-voltage transmission line.

"We believe that we're going to need to have access to out-of-state renewable power to meet these goals," said PG&E spokeswoman Cindy Pollard. "There just isn't enough here in California without it."

That worries Freedman, who says it could end up creating more renewable power projects - and therefore, more jobs - in states other than California.

"This is about creating a green economy in California," he said. "But what happens if it turns out that most of the development doesn't happen in California?"

Senate Bill 14, which will probably face an Assembly vote in the next week, would allow imported power, but only to a point. Long-distance imports could make up 20 percent of each utility's total renewable power portfolio.

That limit works for the Union of Concerned Scientists, one of the many environmental groups eyeing the bill. But Laura Wisland, an energy analyst for the group, wants to make sure the bill's final language doesn't change the kinds of renewable power projects that could count toward the 33 percent goal.

'Run-of-the-river' projects

PG&E, she said, is interested in Canadian "run-of-the-river" hydro projects that might not meet California's environmental management standards. Under current state law, utilities can't count renewable power from projects that don't meet those standards, she said. Run-of-the-river hydro projects divert water from a river to turn turbines but don't block the entire stream.

"Run of river doesn't necessarily mean no environmental impact - it just means no big dam," Wisland said.

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