“Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa celebrated an environmental milestone on Thursday, confirming what had been predicted for much of last year: the Department of Water and Power managed to secure 20% of its power from renewable sources, including wind and solar power, in 2010.”
Villaraigosa celebrates Los Angeles DWP milestone: 20% of power from renewable sources via LA Times Local
“The auto industry is embracing the age of electrification, and so too is the Ward’s 10 Best Engines list.
Both the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle and Chevrolet Volt extended-range EV earn their way onto the 2011 list, as selected by Ward’s editors after evaluating 38 vehicles with new or significantly improved engines for the ’11 model year.”
Ward’s Names 10 Best Engines Winners via Tom Murphy at Ward’s Auto
“NEW YORK–The car of the future is here, at least according to Ford, which unveiled its first all-electric car today with glitzy events here in New York and in Las Vegas.
Unlike its competitors, Ford will roll out its electric vehicle as a new version of an existing model, the popular Ford Focus. In a further move to distinguish itself from the field, the Focus will be available not just as an all-electric car, but also as a hybrid, a plug-in hybrid, and as a conventional gas engine vehicle.”
Ford Unveils New All-Electric Focus via Amy Lee at Huffington Post
“The iconic Empire State Building, undergoing a multimillion-dollar green renovation, announced Thursday that it will buy wind power for all its electricity.”
Empire State Building goes greener with wind power via USA Today Green House
San Francisco - December 21, 2010 Mayor Gavin Newsom and the California Independent System Operator (California ISO), the nonprofit state organization that oversees the reliability of California’s electric grid, today announced that the GenOn Energy/Mirant-owned Potrero Power Plant in San Francisco will effectively cease operations by December 31. With the Trans Bay Cable successfully placed into commercial operation and the final segment of the San Francisco Recabling Project (Martin-Bayshore-Potrero) completed by PG&E, California ISO will release the Potrero Power Plant from its reliability must-run (RMR) contract obligation, allowing the plant to close entirely.
“Today is a historic day for so many who have worked for years to close this power plant,” said Mayor Newsom. “This is a monumental step towards cleaner air, environmental justice and our future of renewable energy and healthier communities. I want to express my sincere thanks to California ISO President & CEO Yakout Mansour for working closely with San Francisco to find a way to shutter the City’s last fossil fuel power plant while protecting the reliability of our electric grid. It has been a long and sometimes difficult road, but at last, we come together to celebrate this victory for the people of the Southeast sector and our entire City.”
“The California ISO’s job was to keep the lights on while the local infrastructure was developed to support removal of the Potrero Power Plant from the power grid,” said Yakout Mansour, California ISO President & CEO. “We thank Mayor Newsom for striking the right balance between the wishes of the community and the security of the electric supply to San Francisco.”
In a letter today, California ISO provided the RMR termination notice to GenOn Energy/Mirant effective January 1, 2011, which would technically terminate the RMR agreement by February 28, 2011. However, the California ISO will not plan to dispatch the Potrero power plant at all during this two month termination period, except in an extreme emergency, effectively ceasing operations after December 31, 2010.
“We are happy to be partners with the City and County of San Francisco,” said John Chillemi, President of GenOn West, formerly Mirant. “It has been a bit of a roller coaster to get here, but today we’re celebrating what was anticipated in our agreement with the City.”
“It’s a win-win for the residents of Potrero and Dogpatch neighborhoods and our entire City,” said Supervisor Sophie Maxwell. “The closure of the last fossil fuel plant in San Francisco furthers our clean energy goals and ensures a healthier environment for our City’s future.”
Full Press Release available at City and County of SF Office of the Mayor online.
San Francisco — September 15, 2010 In the wake of the explosion of PG&E’s natural gas line in San Bruno, the Local Clean Energy Alliance is calling on PG&E to halt its expansion of natural gas infrastructure and focus on safety and clean energy instead. The Local Clean Energy Alliance is comprised of over 60 Bay Area community organizations and local businesses advocating for clean energy, healthy communities, and green jobs (www.localcleanenergy.org).
“PG&E should be prioritizing the safety of their customers. This means investing in the safety of their aging natural gas infrastructure over wasting ratepayer funds on unnecessary power plants and liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects,” noted Rory Cox, California Program Director for Pacific Environment.
Cox observed that there are currently several new gas fired power plants planned for the PG&E service territory, even though PG&E had 44 percent more generating capacity than needed on the hottest summer day of 2009. Residents near these proposed projects have expressed concern about additional air pollution. In addition, PG&E is planning to build a new 234-mile pipeline from Coos Bay Oregon to Northern California to bring in natural gas from foreign sources, via Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) technology. The Alliance deems these projects unnecessary and counter to the State’s climate action goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“This explosion is another wake up call that we need to transition away from the use of dangerous, polluting fossil fuels,” asserted Kirsten Schwind, Program Director at Bay Localize. “PG&E is not meeting its state mandated targets for saving energy and transitioning to renewable energy. Weather stripping, solar thermal hot water heaters, solar photovoltaics, and windmills don’t blow up.”
“The Bay Area can meet significantly more of its energy demand from safe, clean renewable energy right here in our communities,” noted Al Weinrub, a member of the Sierra Club’s State Energy-Climate Committee. “Investing in local renewable energy generation creates clean energy jobs in our cities while reducing the public health risks and climate impacts of fossil fuels.”
“Earlier this year PG&E spent $46 million on Proposition 16, which was ultimately rejected by CA voters. A utility which chooses to waste valuable dollars on political shenanigans over investments in public safety should raise serious questions for the CPUC and all PG&E customers,” observed Larry Chang, a green architect who serves on the steering committee of the Local Clean Energy Alliance.
The following steering committee members of the Local Clean Energy Alliance are available to comment on news and analysis stories following up on the San Bruno natural gas explosion:
Kirsten Schwind, Program Director, Bay Localize (former Chair of the City of Berkeley Energy Commission): 510-834-0420, kirsten@baylocalize.org – Karen will be presenting “Community Resilience” with Aaron Lehmer (also of Bay Localize) and Dan Homsey of the Neighborhood Empowerment Network at the Community Action (Better World) Pavilion at Green Festival San Francisco.
Rory Cox, California Program Director, Pacific Environment: 415-399-8850 x302, rcox@pacificenvironment.org
Al Weinrub, Member of Sierra Club California Energy-Climate Committee: (510) 531-0720, al.weinrub@comcast.net
Larry Chang, Green Architect: 510-534-1804, lc_arch@yahoo.com