Issue Position: Energy and Clean Air

Issue Position

Implementation of AB 32, California's landmark global warming law, provides the opportunity to foster a new energy economy and clean manufacturing of new technologies. Energy efficient, resource efficient, less toxic alternatives protect human health and reduce the need for costly interventions later. Governor Brown's call for 12,000 MW of locally generated renewable power is well placed. Doing so can allow us to avoid transmission costs, protect habitat, give consumers more choices and avoid global warming impacts.

Retrofitting of existing buildings for greater energy efficiency will yield the greatest energy savings available. In addition to ensuring that new buildings are energy and resource efficient, we should be looking for multiple ways to retrofit existing buildings and ensuring that home-owners and commercial property owners aren't faced with unnecessary burdens due to differing regulations in local communities. There is much we can do to streamline these processes.

A recent decision by the State's Public Utilities Commission makes the need for clarity rather than a patchwork of differing regulations even more timely and pressing. The Commission acted to clarify rules for homeowners and businesses and other entities that produce more electricity than they use through technologies such as solar panels and is expected to help streamline the process of utility customers selling power back to their provider.

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