Edison International has joined environmental groups, labor organizations and,somewhat unexpectedly,renewable energy producers in opposing an initiative on the November ballot that would require the utility to double the pace of contracts for renewable energy.
The Rosemead-based parent of Southern California Edison, which provides power to nearly all of North Orange County, has taken a leadership position by spending at least $14 million to oppose Proposition 7 on the November ballot.
Dubbed the “Solar and Clean Energy Act of 2008,” Proposition 7 is the brainchild of Jim Gonzales, a former San Francisco supervisor and is being bankrolled by billionaire University of Phoenix founder John Sperling.
It would require all electric utilities in the state to get half of their electricity from renewable sources,such as wind, solar and geothermal energy,by 2025.
But the proposition could freeze out smaller renewable energy providers.
Backers of the proposition say smaller generators still would be included in the contracts.
But they wouldn’t get a streamlined approval process granted to projects with the capacity to produce 30 megawatts. A megawatt is 1 million watts and can power 500 to 1,000 homes.
The state’s electric utilities now receive almost 11% of their power from renewable sources. Edison is ahead of the pack with 16%. But state officials have conceded that most, if not all, of the state’s investor-owned and municipal utilities will not meet the existing 20% mandate by 2010.
To reach the goals set forth in Proposition 7, electric utilities would have to grow their renewable energy portfolios by at least 2% a year, double the pace currently mandated. If the utilities fail to show effort toward meeting the target, they could face substantial fines.
In a July poll by the Field Corp., before ads began running against the measure, Proposition 7 received 63% support.
Proponents contend that the state needs to speed up its renewable energy projects to maintain the state’s lead in the cutting edge field because rising oil prices have led to a shift in attitude toward renewable energy.
But opponents contend Proposition 7 would raise electric rates, create supply problems and subject existing energy contracts to cancellations or renewals.
The opposition is almost entirely funded by the state’s two largest utilities,Edison and San Francisco-based PG & E; Corp.,each of which has put in $13.7 million to date, dwarfing the $5.5 million that Sperling has put in.
“Southern California Edison believes Proposition 7 is misguided because it would upend the existing regulatory process, disrupt existing renewables development, significantly raise rates and threaten reliability,” the utility said in a statement.
The utility is far from the only opponent in an unusually broad coalition. Earlier this month, the state Public Utilities Commission voted to oppose the measure.
Most of the state’s major business groups are opposed.
Opponents also fear a rapid increase in renewable power contracts could wreak havoc on the state’s already overtaxed electricity transmission grid.
What is unusual about the campaign is that several environmental organizations have joined Edison and PG & E; in opposition. They say the initiative is poorly written and could end up excluding small-scale renewable projects.
“This initiative is well-intentioned but is badly designed,” said Ralph Kavanagh, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco, noting that the ballot language takes up 70 pages.
“Many of these renewable power projects are small-scale; cutting them out of the process makes no sense,” said Jan Smutny-Jones, executive director of the Independent Energy Producers Association, which represents about 80 percent of the renewable energy generators in the state.
The 30 megawatt threshold prompted the Independent Energy Producers Association to take the unusual step of opposing a measure whose stated aim is to increase the production of renewable energy in the state.
“My job is to promote renewables,” Smutny-Jones said. “So opposing this initiative is awkward.”
Fine is a staff writer with the Los Angeles Business Journal.
