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Executive Summary
As the new home of CALPIRG's environmental work, Environment California
can be contacted with any questions regarding this report.
California continues to face challenges satisfying its electricity demand. However, this
does not preclude the state from making a transition toward clean energy sources. In fact,
it offers the perfect opportunity to change the way the state generates its electricity and to
use less power.
Potential near-term shortfalls can only be reduced if the state aggressively pursues
renewable energy sources and puts in place an array of energy conservation programs. As
these options are often quicker and cheaper than traditional generation sources, pursuing
them immediately is in the best interest of the state. Energy conservation and renewable
energy production are win-win solutions – helping the state out of its power supply
difficulties and reducing the adverse impacts of electricity generation.
Recent analysis by state agencies shows that energy conservation efforts can provide
significant savings on peak demand, though the legislature may be losing much of its
window of opportunity for this year. Throughout the next decade, in-state wind resources
can be tapped to provide for much of the expected increases in demand. In the long term,
decentralized production from solar cells combined with regional sharing of resources
from the windiest areas can provide for much of our energy needs.
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