Cement, Energy and Environment

public about the benefits of RE. The sector received a further fillip after Arnold Schwarzenegger took over as Governor of the state. The major policy mechanism and legislation enacted till date are listed bellow. • In January 2006, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) created the California Solar Initiative (formerly known as the Million Solar roofs programme)- a $2.9 billion incentive plan for home and building owners to install solar photovoltaic systems. The programme intends to target one million solar roofs in the state by 2018, providing 3000 MW of power and reducing emissions by 3 million tonnes. The New Solar Homes Partnership was launched as part of this programme to provide financial incentives and other support to home builders to set up energy efficient solar homes. The Governor in February 201 0 signed AB 510 to double the net metering cap in California from the existing 2.5 to 5 per cent; ensuring home and business owners continue to invest in solar power. • The Renewable Portfolio Standa. J Programme established in 2002 initially set a target of generating 20 per cent of electricity from renewables by 2017. The target was recently raised by Governor Schwarzenegger to 33 per cent by 2020. • The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 established a comprehensive programme of regulatory and market mechanism to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in California to 1990 levels by 2020. Mandatory caps will begin in 2012 for significant sources and ratchet down to meet the 2020 goals. The Governor has called for the state to reduce carbon emissions to 80 per cent below 1990 levels by the year 2050. • In 2008, 3 bills were passed to promote renewable energy use in the state. AB 1451 offers property tax exclusion for projects utilizing solar energy; AB 2267 requires the CPUC to grant incentives to eligible technology manufacturers from the state; and AB 2466 authorizes local governments to receive a utility bill credit for surplus renewable electricity generated at one site against the electricity consumption at other sites, thus increasing energy efficiency. • In October 2009, the Governor and Secretary of Interior signed an MOU to expedite the siting of large - scale RE projects in California. In March this year, the Governor signed into law a new programme to make it easier for developers to build large– scale renewable energy projects in the state. • The Green Tech Sales Tax Exemption bill was passed in 2010 to exempt all clean technology manufacturing equipment from sales tax. • The Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Reserve Programme of 2010 lowers financing costs for businesses and residences in California to make energy improvements through retrofits on existing properties. PACE is expected to help increase energy efficiency and lower energy costs, besides creating more than 10,500 jobs. • In 2006, an Executive Order dealing with biomass and biofuels was issued, which stated that (1 ) by 2010, California needs to produce 20 per cent of its biofuels within the state, increasing to 40 per cent by 2020 and 75 per cent by 2050, and (2) by 2010, 20 per cent of the renewable electricity should come from biomass resources, maintaining this level up to 2020. The California Bioenergy Action Plan released in 2006 aims to establish California as a market leader in technology innovations, sustainable biomass development and market development for bio– based products. • The California Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative (RETI) was launched in 2007 to upgrade the transmission infrastructure in the state so as to accommodate the latest renewable energy goals, support future energy policy, and access the most cost-effective and environmentally sensitive zones of renewable resources to meet the state's en~y targets. Courtesy: Green Energy, Vo/.6 No 5, Sep.-Oct. 2010, P12. 71