clean power Projects

In energy, policy matters. Public agencies at all levels make decisions affecting which energy resources and technologies receive public and private investment, how and where that energy is produced and distributed, its public health and air quality impacts, and what it all ends up costing us.

Even with clear policy direction from the top, like California's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), focused implementation oversight is needed to ensure that the many fragmented responsibilities needed to achieve the big picture goal are performed. Helping to sustain public support and momentum for cleaner energy supplies and promoting multiagency and stakeholder cooperation in policy implementation efforts are fundaments of our work.

That work now takes us before all of the traditional energy rulemaking bodies as well as to wherever the next troubleshooting target or opportunity appears. To find out more follow the links to our project pages:

 

Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Implementation

Achieving California's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) goals will require California's regulated public utilities to acquire 20% of their electricity supply from renewable resources by 2010. Our state's energy regulatory agencies are tasked with the job of enforcing this mandate in a way which is most likely to succeed and most beneficial to ratepayers. With the continuing support of the Energy Foundation and our new technology affiliates, CEERT has been a leading public interest intervener in the CPUC RPS implementation proceedings which are writing the rules for the future acquisition and system integration of clean and renewable power supplies by utilities. Learn more about what is being accomplished and at stake in the RPS regulatory implementation process.

 

State Climate Policies

California's landmark Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) requires close collaboration by the Air Resources Board, Public Utilities Commission, California Energy Commission, and the Independent System Operator to plan and implement the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in California back to 1990 levels by 2020. To help guide this process we developed a forecast of what success in this effort might look like in our "2020 Vision" analysis. We also recently sponsored a symposium of some of the world's leading climate scientists on how to improve on the climate targets in the Kyoto protocols. Learn more about what is being done to help California set and achieve its Climate protection goals.

 

Renewables Transmission Planning and Development

Transmission is to renewable energy resources what the transcontinental railroad was to opening up the West. Simply put, we need to connect California's renewable resource-rich regions --Wind from Tehachapi, Geothermal and Wind from the Imperial Valley, Concentrated Solar Power from the Mojave, and to a lesser extent, Bio-energy from the Central Valley -- to the large coastal urban load centers of the state where it is needed. Making this vital connection will require not one but a series of massive, multi-billion dollar investments in new transmission infrastructure. In conjunction with the California Energy Commission, we have been promoting a unique stakeholder collaboration project to expedite planning and development of vital transmission projects. Learn more about what is being done to wire California's renewable resources to the electricity market.

 

Greening the Grid

Not every answer to our future energy supply solution can come from the grid to the customer. On the other side of the electric meter, in the homes and businesses of utility customers, lie countless opportunities for us to reduce and improve energy consumption through smarter usage, as well as the power to meet some or all of our own needs with self-reliant distributed generation technologies. California is a breeding ground of energy technological innovation aimed at turning traditional one-way electricity distribution networks into smarter interactive grids of the future. Fuel cells, residential and commercial solar photovoltaic (pv), advanced solar heating and hot water, small renewable generation, net metering, time of use meters, and more effective passive and active "green building" design and investments are some of the innovations on the demand side of the energy equation that we promote in our "Greening the Grid" project . Learn more about how these ideas are taking shape in California.

 

Coal Demand Reduction

The best way to keep carbon out of the atmosphere is by leaving coal in the ground. California presently gets over 20% (and America over 50%) of its electricity supply from coal-fired generation plants. In a global climate context it is meaningless for a single state to pursue climate emission reduction goals which result in its pollution being passed on to its neighbors. That is why California last year adopted a ban on future long term electricity supply imported from conventional coal power plants in other states. Working with the Western Clean Energy Campaign and others, CEERT has been urging municipal utility leaders to say no to coal and yes to renewables for their constituents. Learn more about California's coal demand reduction effort.

Big Solar Renaissance

Even though Californians use less electricity per capita than residents of any other state, our total population and commercial demand for electricity keep on growing. In order to meet this demand growth and achieve our climate emission reduction targets ---in addition to developing all available wind, geothermal, solar PV, and biomass power we can, plus installing all cost-effective energy conservation and efficiency improvements --- we still must get busy and harvest the most abundant energy resource we have: California's storied sunshine, or what we call "Big Solar". Ironically, California was the original incubator of large concentrated solar power technologies in the 1970's. Today those same technologies are been employed in other nations to commercially generate electricity from Spain to South Korea. However we possess the high-quality solar resources and the advanced technology required to take advantage of this clean and virtually limitless energy resource. All that is lacking is the political and economic will to make it happen. Learn more about the efforts underway to help foster the American renaissance of Big Solar energy.

 

Wind Power Outreach

As with Big Solar, California for decades led the world in wind power technology innovation and generation. With world-class wind energy resources and a strong commitment from both the public and private sectors, we are poised for a quantum leap in wind power generation. More than 6,000 megawatts of wind energy planned for Southern California's Tehachapi region alone, and this is just the start. Barriers to development include lack of transmission from remote resource regions, market mechanisms for power procurement, land use and siting issues, and guidelines for minimizing adverse impacts on wildlife. The purpose of this project is to facilitate cooperation and consensus among stakeholders and public interest advocates in removing barriers to wind power development. Learn more about our role in the collaborative efforts by wildlife conservationists and wind energy companies to resolve environmental and siting concerns about wind power development.

 

Cleaner Transportation and Alternate Fuels

Gasoline and diesel transportation fuels represent a major share of America's most pernicious air pollution, water borne toxins, and climate emissions. While we presently have better technological choices for cleaner electricity production than transportation fuels, there is still significant progress available from more fuel efficient vehicles, hybrid technologies, and alternate fuels. There is also much future promise in hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle technologies. Working with the Energy Foundation and the Goldman Fund we have been working to clean up CO2 from cars and trucks, smarter transportation and development planning, and the development of an alternate fuel distribution infrastructure as near-term means to reduce the impacts of fossil fueled transportation. Learn more about the need for and efforts to promote cleaner transportation and the use of alternate fuels.