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20% of California’s energy soon to be green

The state remains on track to get 20 percent of its electric power from renewable
sources such as wind, solar or hydropower, Gov. Gray Davis told a group of Silicon Valley business
leaders Thursday.

By Douglas Fischer
Oakland Tribune Staff Writer

But it will be a while before you can buy such "green energy" exclusively from the local utility, he said.

And California’s power grid should see relief this summer under a renewed "20/20" conservation
program, which was born in the dark days of last year’s power crisis and will return albeit in a
scaled-back version.

"I’m … strongly committed to using renewable power as much as we can to meet our electrical needs
in our state," he told about 120 members of Environmental Entrepreneurs, or E2, a fledgling but
influential group of Silicon Valley executives dedicated to proving that conservation and profitability
are compatible.

Just more than 12 percent of the state’s power comes from renewable sources now, he said.

In a wide-ranging speech on business and the environment before the group, Davis touted his
environmental record. He also promised to push for a review of federal offshore oil leases and
vowed to support higher education — what he called the best economic booster the state has.

"That’s why I won’t raise fees," he said. "You can’t price people out of that education."

But budget woes can price industry and agriculture out of the 20/20 energy conservation program,
which the governor renewed Thursday.

The program attempts to reduce peak power use from June through October, when demand is
fiercest. Customers using 20 percent less power from the prior year receive a state rebate equal to
20 percent of their power bill.

Last year, the program proved wildly successful, according to the governor’s office, which expected
10 percent of California’s customers would qualify. Instead, 34 percent of the state’s residential
customers and 30 percent of its industrial customers collected a rebate, costing the treasury $285
million.

This year, a $23 billion budget gap has Davis omitting industry and agriculture, even though the two
account for 70 percent of the state’s power use. But the governor said changes made last year will
continue to pay off.

"I don’t have enough for industry," he said. "The hope is the corporate community has made
investments that will pay dividends this year."

The program, according to Davis’ office, should cost $150 million this year.

Davis also promised to support E2’s top goal: getting the Legislature to pass a ground-breaking bill
to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles.

The bill, AB 1058, is one vote away from passage. Bob Epstein, E2’s co-founder who made his
fortune as the co-founder of database giant Sybase Inc., is worried about eroding support in the
Assembly. Davis preached patience.

"I’m committed to doing the best we can to get that bill on my desk," he said, stopping short of
promising to sign it. But with the state budget the "overwhelming concern" in Sacramento now, he
said, "I have to move a lot of things now to get that budget done."

Founded in 2000, E2 is part of a growing trend — business leaders trying to show that what’s good for
the environment is good for the economy. E2 leverages members’ business and political contacts to
sway debate on environmental policy.

The group’s goals are as ambitious as its members’ resumes. After AB 1058, Epstein said the group
aims to tackle ocean sustainability.

"We only do big stuff," he said with a grin.

http://www.oaklandtribune.com/framework/0%2C1918%2C82%257E1865%257E632394%2C00.html

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