Friday, April 15, 2011

Brown To Sign 'Most Aggressive' Mandate In The U.S.

Gov. Jerry Brown plans to sign legislation that would require California utilities to get one-third of their power from renewable sources, giving the state the most aggressive alternative energy mandate in the U.S.

Under the bill, California utilities and other power providers would have until the end of 2020 to draw 33 percent of their power from solar panels, windmills, landfill gases, small hydroelectric plants and other renewable sources.

Supporters said the increase from the current 20 percent target will reassure investors that demand for renewable energy will grow, fueling a field that has been one of the few growth spots for California's economy during the recession.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu was expected to attend the bill signing ceremony Tuesday at the SunPower-Flextronics solar manufacturing plant in the San Francisco Bay area city of Milpitas.

"Instead of watching from the sidelines, America needs to get back in the clean energy race, and that's exactly what California is doing," said Stephanie Mueller, spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Energy.

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