Press release: Campaign Launches to Unleash Clean Local Energy In California
California Leaders Praise Effort to Help Secure California’s World Leadership in Clean Energy.
April 26, 2011
For Immediate Release:
Campaign Launches to Unleash Clean Local Energy In California
California Leaders Praise Effort to Help Secure California’s World Leadership inClean Energy
Palo Alto –A broad partnership of business, community, and environmental groupshas come together to accelerate the development of California’s clean energy economy.
The Clean Coalition, a nonprofit clean energy policy organization based in Palo Alto, today announced the launch of the CLEAN California Campaign. The Campaignpromotes policies to meet Governor Jerry Brown’s call to install 12,000 megawatts ofnew renewable energy projects in California communities by 2020. The Campaign’sinitiatives will maximize clean energy job creation, attract billions of private investment dollars, boost state and local government budgets, and reduce electric bills.
The CLEAN California Partners include the Clean Economy Network, the Los AngelesBusiness Council, the US Green Building Council California Chapters, the GalvinElectricity Initiative, the Local Clean Energy Alliance, the American Biogas Council,Pacific Environment, Global Exchange, and many other organizations, including privatecompanies. The full list of Partners is available at the Campaign’s website,www.EnergyJobsNow.org.
“It’s time to put hardworking Californians back to work,” said Assemblymember DasWilliams. “I applaud the CLEAN California Partners for their leadership on creatingclean energy jobs and protecting families from rising fossil fuel prices.”
“CLEAN Programs result in new clean energy projects on the ground right now,” saidTerry Tamminen, former Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agencyand Special Advisor to former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. “CLEANprojects are integrated into existing buildings and disturbed lands in our communities,without delays for new transmission lines or major environmental reviews.
“We need broad support to help California maintain its national leadership on climatepolicy action by driving the transition to a clean energy economy,” said former CaliforniaEnergy Commissioner John Geesman. “The CLEAN California Campaign will play acritical role in enacting policies that will create jobs, attract businesses and privateinvestment dollars to our state, and set the foundation for our economic growth.”
“Clean Local Energy Accessible Now Programs are unparalleled in creating clean energymarkets across the globe,” remarked Craig Lewis, the Executive Director of the CleanCoalition. “A CLEAN Program tailored for California will spur the development of ourclean energy sector and fundamentally reform the process for connecting clean energy tothe grid, in order to assure that clean local energy fulfills its tremendous potential.”
The Campaign will achieve Governor Brown’s energy target by making it easier to sellclean local energy to utilities and connect these projects to the grid. The Clean Coalitionis leading the Campaign’s legislative and regulatory initiatives: (1) to require standard,long-term CLEAN Contracts for utilities to purchase energy from new projects; and (2)to make grid interconnection costs and timeframes reasonable and predictable. Moreinformation is available at www.EnergyJobsNow.org.
California business, community, and environmental leaders explained why they joined the CLEAN California Campaign.
“The defeat of Prop 23 was a huge victory in preserving California’s potential to lead theworld in climate solutions. CLEAN California is a vital solution that will unleash thewholesale local energy market segment, which has largely been overlooked in the UnitedStates,” said Jeff Anderson, Executive Director of the Clean Economy Network.
“The time is now for California to adopt policies that attract investment in quality cleanlocal energy projects, delight and empower electricity customers, protect businesses fromescalating energy costs, and encourage U.S. entrepreneurial companies to create newclean tech jobs,” said Bob Galvin, retired CEO and Chairman of Motorola, Inc. and theFounder of the Galvin Electricity Initiative. “We are excited to help lead the charge for a statewide CLEAN Program transformation in California.”
Dennis Murphy, Chair of the California Chapters of the US Green Building Council,explained why he supports CLEAN California. “By streamlining the process of sellingclean energy to utilities, a CLEAN Program will make it much easier for local businessesand property owners to finance and install clean energy systems. This is a clearopportunity for business and government to collaborate and capitalize on our state’sabundant sunshine and thousands of acres of available rooftop space.”
“CLEAN California will give new companies like Sol Orchard the market certainty torapidly install more clean energy projects and hire more workers in local communities,”said Jeff Brothers, President of Sol Orchard.
“California needs new policies to take advantage of our organic waste resources,” saidPaul Sellew, CEO of Harvest Power, Inc. and a Founding Member of the AmericanBiogas Council. “CLEAN California will give Harvest the opportunity to develop moreprojects that transform organic wastes into clean, renewable biogas by making theprocess of contracting, financing, and interconnecting projects more predictable andreasonable.”
“Ramping up local clean energy is the best way to accelerate the replacement of pollutingpower plants while avoiding risks to environmentally sensitive land,” said Rory Cox fromPacific Environment.
According to a UC Berkeley study led by Dan Kammen, a robust CLEAN Program forachieving California’s 33 percent Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) will stimulate fargreater economic benefits to the state, including three times more jobs, $50 billion inadditional private investment, and significantly more state and local revenues. The USDepartment of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) estimated that CLEANPrograms are responsible for 45 percent of all wind energy and 75 percent of all solarphotovoltaic capacity installed before 2008. Currently, roughly 90 percent of the solarand the vast majority of biopower and wind capacity deployed in the world are driven byCLEAN Programs.
Contact:
Stephanie Wang
Program Director, Clean Coalition
Campaign Director, CLEAN California
steph@clean-coalition.org
212.433.0247 (mobile)
