Budget agreement opens the door to extending the life of fossil fuel generation and misses the mark on creating a more reliable, clean and affordable grid system
SACRAMENTO, June 30, 2022 — Today, national business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) responded to the California Legislature’s passage late Wednesday of new budget trailer bills that include billions of dollars for clean energy and transportation investments while also allowing aging fossil fuel power plants to keep running longer beyond planned retirement.
“AEE is pleased to see multi-year investments go towards critical clean energy and zero-emission transportation solutions such as electric school buses, however the latest budget package also puts valuable state resources toward keeping polluting, uneconomic power plants online,” said Emilie Olson, policy principal at AEE. “The plan to strengthen energy reliability is lacking and at odds with California’s climate leadership. Going forward, the Governor and Legislature should call on a much more comprehensive set of solutions that combine large-scale and localized clean energy strategies to address unmet electricity demand.
“Better planning to meet near, medium- and long-term needs will set California up for success,” added Olson. “California leaders must work with other states in the West on regional solutions that can enhance reliability. In the absence of strong climate leadership at the federal level, the state must forge a path on how to accelerate state climate and clean energy goals while strengthening grid reliability and keeping the lights on in California. Greater collaboration with our neighbors in the West along with focused investments on scaling clean energy resources in-state will prevent Californians from having to resort to subsidizing uneconomic power generation resources in the future.”
The California Legislature still has an opportunity to improve on the budget plan during the final month of the legislative session.
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