Energy

Solar plant nearly forced to buy carbon emission rights

The giant $2.2 billion Ivanpah solar plant off Interstate 15 just west of the California-Nevada border has apparently won its fight with state regulators and won’t be classified as a heavy polluter that is required to buy carbon-emissions rights in

Coal and California: State not as green as it may seem

Chris Reed November 17, 2015

California regularly wins national acclaim for AB32 and other state laws pushing the Golden State toward the use of cleaner renewable power. A recent New York Times editorial page blog post was typical. But on niche websites devoted to energy

Ruling adds to case against San Onofre settlement

Chris Reed November 2, 2015

A judicial ruling last week slamming Southern California Edison adds to pressure on the California Public Utilities Commission to abandon a $4.7 billion deal it cut last year with Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric over the cost of

Moody’s: Energy edict will hammer SoCal municipal utilities

Chris Reed October 23, 2015

Assembly Bill 32, the landmark 2006 law requiring California to begin shifting to cleaner-but-costlier forms of renewable energy, hasn’t hit consumers as hard as some economists feared for an ironic reason: Dirtier “brown energy” got cheaper. The U.S. fracking/shale revolution

Brown warns climate fight will cost trillions, disrupt lifestyle

Dave Roberts October 12, 2015

Gov. Jerry Brown warned at a recent climate change workshop that trillions of dollars, the transformation of our way of life and a worldwide mobilization on the scale of war will be required to stave off climate change’s “existential threat”

Lawmakers upset with vetoes of PUC reforms

Chris Reed October 12, 2015

Many state lawmakers appeared surprised and upset with Gov. Jerry Brown’s weekend decision to veto six measures adopted in response to a series of scandals at the California Public Utilities Commission that have prompted criminal and civil investigations as well

Politics of CA solar power getting messier

Chris Reed September 9, 2015

The standard narrative of solar power in California has long been that it’s a wonderful idea that everyone should embrace, a view touted by Democratic governors and Republican governors alike for nearly a quarter-century. But as CalWatchdog reported last week,

Californians slash water use by 27.3 percent in June

Chris Nichols July 30, 2015

Motivated by a fourth year of drought — and mandatory water cuts — Californians reduced urban water use by 27.3 percent in June, compared with the same month two years ago, the state reported on Thursday. The results are the first since state-ordered

Poll: 64% of Californians link drought to global warming

Chris Nichols July 30, 2015

A strong majority of Californians say they support tougher limits on greenhouse gas emissions and more ambitious renewable energy goals to combat climate change, according to a statewide poll released late Wednesday. Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said global

Electric car sharing program rolls out in L.A.

Chris Nichols July 29, 2015

As many as 7,000 low-income Los Angeles residents could eventually take part in a state-funded electric car sharing program that rolled out last week. State and city officials celebrated the soft launch of the endeavor — which aims to improve