Just Who Is Saying "No" To Proposition 23?

Oct. 13, 2010 -

Supporters of renewable energy are emerging to champion the "no" campaign to California's Proposition 23 amidst worries of the future for the renewables industry in California. On Sept. 27, I wrote about the California renewables' tug-of-war. Will California continue to be the forerunner in the U.S. when it comes to the development of renewable energy, or will Proposition 23 pass, slowing down that ship?

On Nov. 2, Californians will vote on Proposition 23, which has been created to suspend A.B. 32, a law that requires cutting carbon and other greenhouse emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 by mandating power companies to cap their emissions and by slashing carbon in gasoline. Proposition 23 would keep the law from going into effect in 2012 until California's unemployment falls to 5.5 percent or lower for at least four consecutive quarters. Since that has happened just three times over the last 40 years, the passing of the proposition could effectually kill A.B. 32.

About 74 percent of the "Yes" campaign contributions for Proposition 23 have come from oil companies Tesoro and Valero, and Flint Hills Resources, the petrochemical company owned by Kansas billionaires Charles and David Koch, according to campaign records.

But just 20 days before the election, foes of the proposition have spent twice as much as the backers on campaigning efforts. However, Steven Maviglio, a spokesman for the main "No" campaign, told The New York Times that he expects the "Yes" campaign to "drop of nuclear bomb" of campaigning in the coming weeks.

Many of the main contributors to the "No" campaign are involved in renewable developments of some sort. Wendy Schmidt, a philanthropist and wife of Eric Schmidt, Google’s chief executive, has donated $500,000. Google made renewable energy headlines with the Oct. 11 announcement that it will spend $5 billion on an underwater transmission network that will harvest electricity from wind farms off the Mid-Atlantic coast and power 1.9 million homes across Virginia, New York and New Jersey.

Members of San Francisco’s Fisher family, founders of the Gap clothing chain, have donated more than $ 1 million. Gap Inc. has its own social responsibility campaign, which includes an environmental segment that teaches people how to lessen their environmental footprint. The company also makes its annual energy consumption numbers public information through its web site.

Foes of Proposition 23 are abounding at the same time that nationwide expectancy of renewables growth, particularly solar, is all abuzz.

A solar jobs census conducted by The Solar Foundation with the help of Cornell University tallied 93,000 solar power industry jobs in the United States as of August, and projects industry job growth of 26 percent in 2011. According to the survey's results, roughly half of solar employers plan to add employees next year, compared with just 2 percent for private industry economy-wide.

Will California supporters of renewables and the public's belief and expectations in clean energy put an end to Proposition 23? Nov. 2 will tell.