Vote for the Future of Renewable Energy on Nov. 4
GreenMountain, October 28, 2008
As renewable energy professionals most of us in the San Francisco office at GreenMountain have received requests from our friends, family, or associates for information on the two alternative energy propositions on the California ballot November 4th. So one week before the election I’m offering my perspective on Propositions 7 and 10.
Proposition 7
It’s unusual to see Democrats, Republicans, conservation groups, utilities, and leading solar power companies agree on anything, but opposition to Proposition 7 is that rare exception. It's because Prop. 7 is so flawed that it would likely hurt the cause of renewable energy more than it would help. Prop. 7 discourages development of small-scale distributed generation, sets pricing policies that would most likely lead to high consumer costs for renewable energy, utilities, and is too inflexible to successfully function as a part of the diverse policy mix we need to support renewable energy growth in California. For more information, Vote Solar and the Union of Concerned Scientists both offer insightful analysis on the issue.
Proposition 10
Proposition 10 is a little bit less clear-cut, though I personally oppose it. The bulk of funding from Prop. 10 would go to subsidies for natural gas transportation technologies. A primary concern, voiced by the Union of Concerned Scientists and the opposition coalition, is that these subsidies will give natural gas an immediate financial advantage over other transportation technologies that might under other conditions provide greater improvements in energy efficiency and carbon emission reduction. Opponents also point to the proposition’s prominent financial support by Oklahoma businessman T. Boone Pickens, who stands to garner significant financial benefit from its passage (and also happens to have funded the “swift boat” ads against John Kerry in 2004.)
On the other hand, proponents argue that this is a step in the right direction towards decreasing dependence on oil. In addition to natural gas, Mr. Pickens supports major wind developments in the western US as the other key component of his Pickens Plan.
California needs strong renewable energy leadership, so it's unfortunate that these ballot propositions provide more public confusion than solid solutions.
