California legislature passes historic bill to achieve 100% clean energy

California legislature passes historic bill to achieve 100% clean energy

In massive rebuke of Donald Trump, California goes all in on clean energy

SACRAMENTO-- The California Assembly today voted in favor of Senate Bill 100 (Kevin de Leon)-- a bill to move California to 100 percent renewable energy by 2045. This bill also increases California’s clean energy goals from 50 percent by 2030 to 60 percent by 2030. Governor Brown has thirty days to sign this bill into law. Once signed, California will represent the largest global economy and one of the biggest states of any kind in the world to have a goal of moving to 100 percent clean energy.

Going all in on clean energy will signal a massive energy shift around the country as the United States’ wealthiest and most populous state commits to power itself entirely by carbon-free electricity.

California has a long history of setting ambitious clean energy commitments and environmental safeguards. As bolder goals have been set, thousands of jobs were created and billions of dollars in revenue generated across the state. According to the Department of Energy, over 500,000 people work in California work in the clean energy sector-- a number that far surpasses any other state in the country. Unlike coal, jobs in renewable energy have a positive growth outlook. SB100 will accelerate an already growing sector to provide Californians across the state new, productive jobs.

Meanwhile, the state remains the world’s fifth largest economy, proving that strong clean energy goals and environmental safeguards are a recipe for a stronger, more inclusive economy.

Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club, issued the following statement:

"This is a pivotal moment for California, for the country, and the world. While Donald Trump abandons reality by ignoring the climate crisis and the incredible growth of  clean energy, California is stepping up to lead the transition to a 100 percent clean energy economy. Now, one of the world’s largest economies and millions of homes and business will be powered by 100 percent by clean, renewable energy by 2045, if not sooner.

“Ongoing wildfires fueled by record-high temperatures and drier conditions exacerbated by climate change have shown us that we can't wait any longer to tackle the climate crisis and move to clean energy. Moving to a clean energy economy will bring on a new era of prosperity that leaves no workers behind, protects our health and our communities, and creates new jobs and opportunities for people across the country.

“Today, California is showing the world that moving to 100 percent clean energy is within our reach and what bold climate leadership looks like in the face of a Trump Administration."

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Background on Senate Bill 100: Senate Bill 100 (SB100) will move California away from dirty fuels like gas and towards 100% clean, renewable sources of energy like wind, solar, and geothermal.

SB100, is a proposed amendment to California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). An RPS is a regulatory standard requiring a certain amount of energy to come from clean, renewable sources like solar and wind. Currently, the state of California RPS requires half of all electricity delivered by utilities to come from clean, renewable sources of energy by 2030.

SB100 builds on California’s clean energy leadership by establishing bold new targets for our state. SB100 creates a new target of having 60 percent of the electricity in our state come from renewable sources by 2030 and 100 percent from zero-carbon sources by 2045. The legislation creates flexibility for California between 2030 and 2045 for new clean, renewable technologies to emerge as the state pursues 100 percent clean energy by 2045.