By Andrew Christie, Chapter Director
In this week’s SLO New Times, I venture a reply to a gentleman who, on the previous issue’s Opinion page, touted his math skills to proclaim -- amidst verbal forehead-slapping, eye rolling, and volleys of invective against environmentalists -- that it essentially will be impossible to replace the power from the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant with renewable energy.
There were any number of ways to refute his argument. Mine had to be circa 200 words long, and I used my allotted space to point out his false premises (renewable energy = solar panels; the price of solar five years ago = the price of solar now; the omission of any calculation of or comparison to the cost of clean up after a nuclear mishap; etc.).
I could have just suggested that he read the helpfully titled World Future Council handbook “How to Achieve 100% Renewable Energy” and left it at that.
Or I could have expanded on the point that all the energy Diablo Canyon currently generates will not, in fact, have to be replaced with more energy because Senate Bill 350 has required California to identify all potentially achievable energy efficiency savings and establish targets for statewide energy efficiency goals and demand reduction. On Sept. 7, the California Energy Commission will host a workshop in Sacramento before finalizing its draft report, “2030 Energy Efficiency Savings Doubling Targets” – with all the proposed energy-saving measures therein affirmed to be feasible and cost-effective, as required by law.
Or I could have introduced him to the U.S. cities that have already done what he affirmed could not be done:
- As of 2015, Aspen, Colorado, has been powered by 100% renewable electricity - a mix of approximately 50% wind, 45% hydropower, and the remaining 5% from solar and landfill gas. (Learn More)
- As of 2014, Burlington, Vermont, has been powered by 100% renewable electricity. (Learn More)
- As of 2013, Greensburg, Kansas, has been powered by 100% renewable electricity. (Learn More)
- Since 2012, Kodiak Island has been powered by 100% renewable electricity.
- Rock Port, Missouri, is powered by 100% wind energy. (Learn More)
Or I could have steered him to the current list of 37 cities that have adopted 100% clean energy goals and are now working toward them.
I did squeeze in the tag #Readyfor100 – the place where you can go to find the tools you’ll need to get in on this action.
In that regard, big kudos to SLO Mayor Heidi Harmon, who last June joined 117 of her mayoral colleagues nationwide in signing on to the Mayors for 100% Clean Energy initiative. The next step: the formal adoption of a community-wide goal establishing 100 percent clean, renewable energy as the target for the city’s energy planning.
Cities produce an estimated 76% of all the carbon emissions from energy use. Now more than ever, taking on global climate change means we need to stand in the place where we live and weigh in with our local elected officials to insure that we get where we need to go, one city at a time, Trump or no Trump.