Allison Smith: What Does California’s 100 Percent Energy Act of 2018 Mandate?

Environmental and energy attorney Allison Smith authored an article for the Daily Journal’s “New California Laws” supplement. The article, “SB 100: Clean energy law,” published January 9, 2019, (subscription required) outlines California’s new 100 Percent Clean Energy Act of 2018. The act expands and accelerates the state’s renewable portfolio standard, which mandates how much electricity consumed in state must be generated from renewable energy sources.

SB 100 increases the renewable portfolio standard to 60 percent by 2030 and sets a goal of supplying 100 percent of retail sales of electricity in California from eligible renewable energy and zero-carbon resources by 2045, while maintaining reliability of the grid, preventing unreasonable rate hikes for consumers and ensuring that greenhouse gas emissions are not increased elsewhere due to non-renewable electricity generation being shifted to other states in the region.

Smith concluded, “Governor Jerry Brown’s signing statement for SB 100 emphasized that the bill is designed to send a clear signal to the markets to expand clean energy generation, while ensuring that the state’s electricity resource planning process maintains reliable and affordable energy.”