California's electricity - Phasing out coal

In its headlong rush to take the front line in the fight against Global Warming (California's AB32) the California Energy Commission has approved regulations that limit the purchase of electricity from power plants that fail to meet strict greenhouse gas emissions standards. That has to be considered bad news for neighboring states which have built coal plant facilities specifically to service the insatiable electricity demands of Californians. According to the Los Angeles Times, 47% of the electricity purchased by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power comes from giant coal-fired plants in Arizona and Utah.

The benchmark number that new contracts must meet is 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) per megawatt hour. A 2000 study by the U.S. Department of Energy, Carbon Dioxide Emissions from the Generation of Electric Power in the United States, shows that the standard means electricity coming from plants that are cleaner than the average natural gas plants of 1999 (1,321 versus coal's whopping average of 2,095 pounds of CO2 per megawatt hour).

There is no discrimination between carbon positive (fossil fuels) vs. carbon neutral sources of energy. There should be because co-firing carbon neutral biostock could ease the blow to existing coal plant operations.

It is important to note that California periodically suffers brown-outs during the summer months and was the victim of the deregulation electricity nightmare of 2000 and 2001. As Wikipedia recounts the tail:

The California electricity crisis (also known as the Western Energy Crisis) of 2000 and 2001 resulted from the gaming of a partially deregulated California energy system by energy companies such as Enron and Reliant Energy. The energy crisis was characterized by a combination of extremely high prices and rolling blackouts. Price instability and spikes lasted from May 2000 to September 2001. Rolling blackouts began in June 2000 and recurred several times in the following 12 months.

That is not to suggest that current legislation is a "result of gaming". However, it is important that compensating power generators be contracted relatively quickly with a clearcut guarantees that the current benchmark does not suffer downward creep that would raise the risks for investors. As we learned in 2001, it is the public that will suffer the possible consequences and pay the ultimate tab of mis-steps of our energy decisionmakers.

Here is a reprint of the press release made May 23, 2007 by the California Energy Commission...

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New Regulations Restrict Purchase of Electricity From Power Plants That Exceed Greenhouse Gas Emission Limits
New Performance Standard to Regulate Power Plants

The California Energy Commission today approved regulations that limit the purchase of electricity from power plants that fail to meet strict greenhouse gas emissions standards. New regulations, as part of SB 1368 (Perata), prohibit the state's publicly owned utilities from entering into long-term financial commitments with plants that exceed 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) per megawatt hour.

"Working with the Legislature, the Governor has demonstrated a clear vision with this first-in-the-nation legislation to reduce emissions," said Energy Commission Chairman Jackalyne Pfannenstiel. "His bold leadership is helping to reduce California's carbon footprint by ensuring a clean supply of electricity," continued Pfannenstiel.

The implementation of SB 1368 is part of the Energy Commission's further implementation of AB 32 (Nunez), a landmark bill signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger that calls for California to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases by 25 percent by 2020.

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, SB 1368 directed the Energy Commission, in collaboration with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California Air Resources Board, to establish a greenhouse gas emission performance standard for power plants.

This standard was reached by evaluating existing combined-cycle natural gas baseload power plants across the west and is the same CO2 measurement approved by the CPUC.

Created by the Legislature in 1974, the California Energy Commission is the state's primary energy policy and planning agency. The Energy Commission has five major responsibilities: forecasting future energy needs and keeping historical energy data; licensing thermal power plants 50 megawatts or larger; promoting energy efficiency through appliance and building standards; developing energy technologies and supporting renewable energy; and planning for and directing state response to energy emergency.

technorati BIOoutput, emissions, electricity, legislation

CALIFORNIA: Governor Targets Fuel Emissions

Governor Schwarzenegger has announced new targets for gasoline producers to hit in a continuing state campaign to lead the nation in innovative public policy regarding fuels and vehicle emissions.

According to the L.A. Times -

The order could also usher in a new generation of alternative fuels in California, experts say, as refiners consider adding ethanol or other biofuels into gasoline blends. It could also mean a shift of part of the state's auto fleet to hydrogen or electric power.

According to the white paper, a drop of 10% in carbon released by vehicles in California would translate to a 20% drop in gasoline consumption and more than triple the size of the state's renewable-fuels market.

Transportation accounts for more than 40% of California's annual greenhouse gas emissions, and the state relies on petroleum-based fuels for 96% of its transportation needs.

The white paper suggests that a shift to lower-carbon fuels could be supplemented by creation of a market that would trade credits that could be used to satisfy state requirements to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

For example, high-carbon-fuel makers could meet their mandate by purchasing credits from electric utilities that supply low-carbon electrons to electric passenger vehicles.

The mandate also would provide a significant boost to the state's fledgling alternative-fuels industry, said Bill Jones, chairman of Pacific Ethanol of Fresno, the state's leading biofuel producer. Jones was a former California secretary of state and longtime state legislator.

Here is an abridged version of today's announcement as presented on the Governor's website...

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Gov. Schwarzenegger Issues Directive to Establish World's First Low Carbon Standard for Transportation Fuels

Continuing his historic leadership to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and lower California's reliance on foreign oil, Governor Schwarzenegger today announced he will issue an Executive Order establishing a groundbreaking Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) for transportation fuels sold in California. By 2020 the standard will reduce the carbon intensity of California's passenger vehicle fuels by at least 10 percent. This first-of-its kind standard will support AB 32 emissions targets as part of California's overall strategy to fight global warming.

The LCFS requires fuel providers to ensure that the mix of fuel they sell into the California market meets, on average, a declining standard for GHG emissions measured in CO2-equivalent gram per unit of fuel energy sold. By 2020, the LCFS will produce a 10 percent reduction in the carbon content of all passenger vehicle fuels sold in California. This is expected to replace 20 percent of our on-road gasoline consumption with lower-carbon fuels, more than triple the size of the state's renewable fuels market, and place more than 7 million alternative fuel or hybrid vehicles on California's roads (20 times more than on our roads today).

The LCFS will use market-based mechanisms that allow providers to choose how they reduce emissions while responding to consumer demand. For example, providers may purchase and blend more low-carbon ethanol into gasoline products, purchase credits from electric utilities supplying low carbon electrons to electric passenger vehicles, diversify into low carbon hydrogen as a product and more, including new strategies yet to be developed.


technorati emissions, California, biofuels, legislation, global warming, bioenergy, environment, investment, carbon credits

"Living with Ed" Begley, Jr. in Studio City

Grist just ran a nice interview with everyman environmentalist, Ed Begley, Jr. His first of six episodes of his reality show Living with Ed premiered just after the Rose Parade on HGTV and will be running at its regular timeslot on Sundays (at 10pm ET/PT but check your local airtimes and channel). It's a tongue-in-cheek look at what is like for his celeb-wife Rachelle Carson to live with this committed environmentalist.

He'll tell you that he is a staunch believer in nuclear power - so long as it remains 93 million miles away. More seriously, he'll tell you he is interested in solutions.

Living about a mile away from my home, I have met and broken bread with Ed several times. He is true to his energy hierarchy (walk, bike, public transportation, electric car, hybrid car). He walks the talk with a long stride and a sense of purpose. His habits have affected life in our community in many ways. Priuses now dot the landscape. His daughter goes to the local public elementary and when I jog in the morning I see a stream of parents walking their kids to school - no doubt emulating Ed.

You can catch him hawking his Begley's Best Cleaner at most weekly Sunday Farmer's Markets in Studio City, the funky entertainment "town" buried in the center of Los Angeles County that is residence to many real and aspiring celebrities. I've also seen him make speeches at local green events like the recent Alt Car Expo in Santa Monica and the "World Without Oil" rally at the local Unitarian Church.

One of my earlier blogs (November, 2005) included a letter that Ed wrote advocating conversion technologies regulatory reform being supported by Los Angeles City and County utilities interested in diverting waste from landfills. Strangely enough, California's Against Waste and the California Assembly Natural Resources Committee ignored this stand and the legislation did not pass - delaying deployments of needed legislation in California.

But knowing Ed backed it sure made me feel like I was on the side of the angels.


technorati bioenergy, plug-in, hybrid, electric, environmentalist, automobile , television

A Tale of Two Auto Shows

Friday's opening of the international Los Angeles Auto Show will feature the usual leggy models draped across carnauba-waxed chassis. It will showcase the usual engine housings, gleaming under spotlights, and futuristic dashboards twinkling like front-yard Christmas displays.

So begins veteran reporter Dan B. Wood of the Christian Science Monitor in his well-written review of Press Day at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Promoted as a tribute to the green turn the automobile industry is taking, the MPG ratings told the true story of this show - very few automobiles rated above 34 HWY. The buzzword was "power" not "efficiency" - style and glitz over substance. Hybrids were on display but pimped out rides like the Suzuki Xbox with its front and back game screens stole the imagination. Impractical concept sports cars abound at each manufacturer's booth at the expense of reminders about global warming and the oil crisis. In my opinion, GM did not focus adequate attention to their pricy Live Green/Go Yellow campaign publicized with great fanfare less than one year ago.

In striking contrast, fifteen miles away in green-and-proud-of-it Santa Monica a different tone was set. The first day of the Alt Car Expo brought car enthusiasts, environmental activists, politicians, celebrities, and families out to see a vision of the future test-driven on the tarmac, displayed in a hanger, and forecast in the seminar room. Many of the hybrids featured plug-ins and were rated at 100+ MPG. Several cars were all electric including one solar-powered Prius with solar cells embedded in its roof.

Star Sighting!
Emblematic of the difference of these two shows was one of the last EV-1 automobiles in public existence. In defiant red, this non-functioning but fully loaded martyr of auto history - the star of "Who Killed the Electric Car?" - had to be hauled to this site on a flatbed truck and manually pushed into position. Hopefully this is not the eventual fate of the American auto industry. The only GM presence at this show was a GM Avalanche flex-fuel pick-up truck - neither Ford nor Chrysler had any presence at all.

In addition to the wide variety of vehicles on display during Media Day, attendees were able to visit the exhibition booths of about sixty-five vendors and organizations. Spotted in the crowd were auto legend Lee Iacocca, environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr., former L.A. Councilmember and urban plannerMichael Woo, and CA Assemblymember Fran Pavley, author of numerous emissions capping bills in California.

It was in the seminar room that speakers provided the pulse of the show - defining current environmental and business conditions, advocating a broad range of solutions, and making predictions for the future. More than one "railed against machine" including former Cal/EPA director Terry Tamminen who blasted the oil and automobile industry for their feckless stewardship of our energy and transportation needs. But all spoke about the possibilities of the future given the ingenuity and coordination of effort between industrialists, consumers, environmentalists, and political leadership. The consequences of inertia couldn't be more clear - unstable geopolitics, global warming, cultural friction, decaying infrastructure, energy price gouging, commuter standstill. The status quo is not an option.

James Woolsey's Presentation
Former CIA Director James Woolsey is a staunch advocate for advancing national security and public health by reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. He gave the most engaging and reasoned presentation of the expo. I recorded his address and have paraphrased those portions dealing directly with the issues of this blog.

"We have vulnerabilities in our electricity grid that we need to fix... fortunately it is here for us to fix." "Not so with oil. Because the infrastructure is outside of the United States, it is susceptible to forces we are unable to control." He said that if terrorists for whatever reason were successful at destroying sulfur clearing towers in Saudi Arabia, it would interrupt production for years that would likely raise oil prices to around $200 per barrel. "That's devastating..." Centralization of oil reserves in the Middle East also enables them to drive down the cost of oil to bankrupt competition if they so please. It is not a free enterprise system - it is under OPEC control.

"What can we do? I think there are a number of alternatives. One that should not be on the front burner is hydrogen." The expense of infrastructure alone could approach $1 Trillion and there are other hurdles. A second set of options includes increased drilling, oil extraction, or coal to liquid conversion. But you would have to capture the carbon. This does not solve the problem of dependency on hydrocarbons.

BIOconversion
"Two things I think are the most interesting and promising in the short term." First is biomass and/or waste conversion to ethanol or other biofuels. Diesel fuels can also be made from agricultural waste. These are essentially carbon-neutral. "You are not digging up the carbon from beneath the ground." You are recycling carbon that is already a part of the above ground carbon cycle. We are not talking about a single process. We are talking about moving away from hydrocarbon and moving to carbohydrates. This would help national security in several ways including helping the rural areas of the country.

In addition, if we use cheap feedstock like municipal solid wastes for these biorefineries, we make it extremely hard for OPEC to undercut our cost of manufacturing fuels - which enhances national security.

Plug-in hybrids
"The final technology I think is promising is plug-in hybrids (PHEVs)" The American public will be attracted to having the option of running their vehicles on electricity at 1-2¢ per mile vs. 10-20¢ per mile for gasoline. If you drive less than 20 miles per day, you may not need to use the gasoline/ethanol/biodiesel stored in your gas tank for long periods of time. "If you use ethanol (E85) in place of gasoline on a car that gets 100+miles per gallon, you are effectively getting roughly 500+MPG of gasoline."

"For those who say that don't get excited by any of this in the short term - they need to look at the possible mutually reinforcing effect of using renewable fuels and plug-in hybrids... If instead of spending $1 Trillion on hydrogen infrastructure we spend $50 per new car to make it flexible-fuel compatible with ethanol we have, I think, we have some exciting possibilities before us and not too far in the future."


technorati bioenergy, PHEV, plug-in, hybrid, electric, flex-fuel, ethanol, automobile

Alt Car Expo: A Day at the Beach

The Media Event/Ride-n-Drive for the two-day Alt Car Expo was a fun day at the sunny, warm Santa Monica beach - half a city and a parallel universe away from the gargantuan Los Angeles Auto Show. Touted as the "most comprehensive presentation ever of alternative fuel vehicles" it was a day for the media to ask the organizers questions about trends in fuel, life style, social commitment, and mobility - all the things this quixotic town is known for.

On display was an incredible array of tinkerer answers to the central question - what fuels and vehicles will be the "killer apps" that will help wean America from its addiction to oil? More that just cars were on view - electric bikes and scooters, a two-wheeled Segway, 3-wheelers, wagons, golf carts, and a minibus were on hand. Converted Toyotas and Hondas sported an array of fuel alternatives - biodiesel, fuel cells, hydrogen, electric, natural gas, solar, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids. During the expo a standard Triumph sportscar will be converted to all-electric by Left Coast Conversions.

On hand to kick off the event was the legendary poster boy of "walking the walk", Ed Begley, Jr. Ed is so identified with environmental issues that he and his wife (Rachelle Carson) are about to hit HGTV cable television as a reality show Living with Ed on January 1, 2007. Activist/actress Alexandra Paul from the movie "Who Killed the Elecric Car" was also on the pier to support the cause and answer press questions.

Perhaps the most exciting component of the two-day expo will be the free topical seminars. The featured speakers and panelists include Schwarzenegger-Cal/EPA appointee and author Terry Tamminen, Assemblywoman Fran Pavley who authored California's Global Warming Solutions Act, and ex-CIA chief James Woolsey.

At the conclusion of the press event, the attendees were invited to test-drive the vehicles by participating in a caravan to deliver them to the Expo site at Barker Hanger of the Santa Monica Air Center. Those wishing to attend the free event Dec. 9-10 will find it at 3021 Airport Ave. from 9am-4pm.


technorati bioenergy, PHEV, plug-in, hybrid, electric, flex-fuel, ethanol, automobile

"Mermaids' Tears" - Unrecycled plastic chokes the seas

Last August I wrote an article about the China syndrome problem of non-biodegradeable plastic waste escaping our recycling programs and polluting the oceans. The Algalita Marine Research Foundation (AMRF) of Long Beach, California has been covering this environmental catastrophe for years and has produced a series of videos called Our Synthetic Sea which can be previewed online.

Anyone who has ever ridden the bike path near Playa del Rey, California can attest to the pileup of plastic containers in Ballona Creek - which spills Los Angeles drainage water into the ocean daily. The Los Angeles Times ran a "page one series" on Plague of Plastic Chokes the Seas. It told the story of the continuing buildup of plastic in giant ocean "gyres" that perpetuate in our oceans.

Biopact has contributed a story about research being conducted at England's University of Plymouth. Titled Plastics are "poisoning the world's seas", the focus is on what happens when seawater breaks plastic down into tiny, seemingly indestructable fragments that can be carried by water and ingested by even the tiniest of sealife - impacting every level of the food chain.

Plastic rubbish, from drinks bottles and fishing nets to the ubiquitous carrier bag, ends up in the world's oceans. Sturdy and durable plastic does not bio-degrade, it only breaks down physically, and so persists in the environment for possibly hundreds of years.

By shipping these products to developing countries for disposal or combustion (because their regulations are more lax than ours) only exacerbates the air and water pollution problems. It is a flawed and ineffective way to gain credit for diversion from landfills without addressing the key issue - how do we recycle waste matter in a way that does not perpetuate pollution?

We cannot delay implementing technologies that will gasify waste plastic to its molecular components so that we can either convert the syngas into biofuels, use the heat of the process to generate electricity, or convert it to char or green chemicals. Only then can we separate out these elements and control their toxic impact on our environment.


technorati plastic, conversion, CTs, polution, diversion, bioenergy

Enforcing Greenhouse Gas Emissions Limits

The real, gritty work involved in carrying out what is probably the biggest project in the history of state regulation has begun.
- Daniel Weintraub

Here's a challenge that may put a practical halt to the enforcement of the far-reaching Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.

The legislators who passed the bill are displeased with how Governor Schwarzenegger intends to bring companies into compliance with its carbon caps. In short, the Democrats and their environmentalist allies want to force companies within each industry to comply across-the-board with the limits contained in the bill.

The Governor, who signed the bill, sees using a carbon credit program as being a more practical way to implement the bill's provisions. Daniel Weintraub of the Sacramento Bee describes it as " a market-based system that allows companies to buy the right to pollute from others who have done more than their share to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The idea behind such a market is to achieve the desired amount of reduction without crippling a particular industry or company."

It is incumbent upon drafters of the legislation to realize that resistance to change by those who will have to pay for it will ultimately delay its implementation. Imagine the lawsuits that could pit major industries and utilities (electricity generation, oil and gas extraction, oil and gas refineries, cement production and landfills) against the State. They are trying to comply with the provisions of the bill but are prevented from implementing solutions because of failure of the State to reform antiquated regulations and permitting legislation.

To read the rest of this article on the BIOconversion Blog, press HERE.


technorati greenhouse, California, legislation, global warming, bioenergy, environment, investment, carbon credits

General Motors - Marketing Flex-Fuel Cars Nationwide

There are two articles that indicate that General Motors (GM) is getting serious about marketing Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFV) in the U.S.

FFVs are cars that have been modified to run on both gasoline or ethanol. They feature stronger fuel lines (ethanol is more corrosive than gasoline) and a device that can differentiate the particular blend of ethanol/gasoline in the tank to adjust carburetion. The upgrade cost to GM to produce a FFV from a normal model is surprisingly cheap (a few hundred dollars), particularly when compared to the upgrade cost of hybrids or EVs. They have been manufacturing and marketing FFVs in Brazil for years (where all new cars will be FFVs beginning in 2007).

The first article from Treehugger Blog details a joint initiative made by GM, the State of California, Chevron, and an alternative fuel company called Pacific Ethanol (which Bill Gates has invested in through his personal investment company).

The second article comes from a press release (1/4/2006) by the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition concerning GM's "First E85 National Ad Campaign". It is reprinted here in its entirety.

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GM Serious About Ethanol And Flex-Fuel Vehicles?
January 5, 2006 06:07 PM - Michael G. Richard, near Ottawa

Excerpts from the GM press release...

General Motors will help lead a joint demonstration project along with the state of California, Chevron Technology Ventures, and Pacific Ethanol to learn more about consumer awareness and acceptance of E85 as a motor vehicle fuel by demonstrating its use in GM’s flexible-fuel vehicles. The announcement was made as a result of a non-binding understanding made public today at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

GM intends to offer between 50 to 100 of its E85-capable Chevrolet Impala passenger cars and Silverado pickup trucks for consideration in the state’s annual competitive bid process. Flexible-fuel vehicles will be used by the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) at various operations in Northern California and the state’s Central Valley. Chevron Technology Ventures intends to work with CalTrans to provide E85 fuel and install the necessary refueling pumps in these locations. Pacific Ethanol, a California-based ethanol production and marketing company, intends to provide the ethanol to Chevron Technology Ventures for the project.

GM’s environmental consultant has assured us that GM is aware of the problems facing corn ethanol production and that, while the fuel may initially be made from corn, that cellulosic ethanol is a potential choice for the future. Apparently, GM does have a relationship with Iogen, a leading Canadian cellulosic technology manufacturer (see this press release). We'll have to wait and see where that goes, but the quicker the public stops to think that ethanol equals corn, the better.

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First E85 National Ad Campaign

Jefferson City, MO – The first flexible fuel vehicle/E85 national advertising campaign has been kicked off by General Motors. Advertisements in the January 4, 2006 editions of the USA Today and Wall Street Journal describes the new GM 2007 E85 Chevy Tahoe.

The full page ads includes statements regarding the ability of the Tahoe to operate on the clean, renewable product. It also directs individuals to the NEVC website, www.E85Fuel.com, to locate availability of E85.

“To my knowledge, this is the first time that any automaker has included a reference to the FFV capability of a vehicle in a national advertisement,” stated Phil Lampert, Executive Director of the NEVC. “While I obviously only have access to regional versions of these two very large circulation papers, we are very pleased that GM has included information in these ads acknowledging the E85 capability of the new Tahoe!”

The 2007 Tahoe will be available January 10. Different from the 2006 Tahoe, the new model will offer a feature called Active Fuel Management™ where the engine will provide power to all eight cylinders when needed and only four when not needed.

General Motors has been a long time supporter of E85 and a member of the NEVC.

CALIFORNIA: Gov. Schwarzenegger's Biofuels Executive Order

Conversion technologies (CTs) promise to solve both environmental and fossil fuel problems by completing the cycle between waste and energy. With this Executive Order (S-06-06) issued April 25th, Governor Schwarzenegger clearly understands the link. Furthermore, he is ordering his state agencies and commissions to meet specific targets in the production and use of biofuels.

This important message is not getting print space in California newspapers nor other media. Why? As a culture have we become numb to solutions as we stare into the headlights of problems?

I invite other bloggers to comment - and get the word out.

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EXECUTIVE ORDER S-06-06
by the
Governor of the State of California

WHEREAS, abundant biomass resources from agriculture, forestry and urban wastes can be tapped to provide transportation fuels and electricity to satisfy California's fuel and energy needs; and

WHEREAS, ethanol is a renewable transportation biofuel that California consumes more than 900 million gallons a year which is approximately 25 percent of all the ethanol produced in the United States; and

WHEREAS, California produces less than five percent of the ethanol it consumes; and

WHEREAS, biomass fuels, including ethanol produced from cellulose and bio-diesel produced from a variety of sources, can reduce the state's reliance on petroleum fuels and work to lower fuel costs for consumers; and

WHEREAS, in the Hydrogen Highway plan, the state has invested $6.5 million to support a network of more than 16 filling stations and a growing fleet of cars and buses that run on this clean fuel of the future; and

WHEREAS, biofuels can be a clean, renewable source for hydrogen; and

WHEREAS, biofuels offer greenhouse gas reduction benefits; and

WHEREAS, biomass as a source of energy has the potential to power more than three million homes or produce enough fuel to run more than two million automobiles on an annual basis; and

WHEREAS, biomass is a renewable resource which currently contributes two percent of the state's electricity mix, or nearly 1,000 megawatts of the state's generating capacity and is one of the options needed to achieve the State Renewables Portfolio Standard requirements; and

WHEREAS, improvements in the use of waste and residues from forests and farms for energy production can actually decrease the greenhouse gas emissions associated with biomass decomposition that otherwise would occur; and

WHEREAS, harnessing California's biomass resources to produce energy and other products is good for the state's economy and environment and contributes to local job creation; and

WHEREAS, the increased use of biomass resources contributes solutions to California's critical waste disposal and environmental problems, including the risk of catastrophic wild fires, air pollution from open field burning, and greenhouse gas emissions from landfills; and

WHEREAS, sustained biomass development offers strategic energy, economic, social and environmental benefits to California, creating jobs through increased private investment within the state.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENGGER, Governor of the State of California, by virtue of the power invested in me by the Constitution and the statutes of the State of California, do hereby order effective immediately:

1. The following targets to increase the production and use of bioenergy, including ethanol and bio-diesel fuels made from renewable resources, are established for California:

a. Regarding biofuels, the state produce a minimum of 20 percent of its biofuels within California by 2010, 40 percent by 2020, and 75 percent by 2050;

b. Regarding the use of biomass for electricity, the state meet a 20 percent target within the established state goals for renewable generation for 2010 and 2020; and

2. The Secretary for the California Resources Agency and the Chair of the Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission ("Energy Commission") shall coordinate oversight of efforts made by state agencies to promote the use of biomass resources; and

3. The Air Resources Board, Energy Commission, California Environmental Protection Agency, California Public Utilities Commission, Department of Food and Agriculture, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Department of General Services, Integrated Waste Management Board, and the State Water Resources Control Board shall continue to participate on the Bioenergy Interagency Working Group chaired by the Energy Commission; and

4. The Energy Commission shall coordinate with other responsible state agencies to identify and secure federal and state funding for research, development and demonstration projects to advance the use of biomass resources for electricity generation and biofuels for transportation; and

5. The Energy Commission shall report to the Governor and the State Legislature through its Integrated Energy Policy Report, and biannually thereafter, on progress made in achieving sustainable biomass development in California; and

6. The California Air Resources Board is urged to consider as part of its rulemaking the most flexible possible use of biofuels through its Rulemaking to Update the Predictive Model and Specification for Reformulated Gasoline, while preserving the full environmental benefits of California's Reformulated Gasoline Programs; and

7. The California Public Utilities Commission is requested to initiate a new proceeding or build upon an existing proceeding to encourage sustainable use of biomass and other renewable resources by the state's investor-owned utilities; and

8. As soon as hereafter possible, this Order shall be filed with the Office of the Secretary of State and that widespread publicity and notice be given to this Order.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have here unto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this the twenty-fifth day of April 2006.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Governor of California


technorati biofuels, greenhouse, California, legislation, ethanol, Schwarzenegger, pollution