Clean energy for all its promise and coverge in the media and in Bay Area cocktail chatter is entwined in the history and economics of energy in California, as well as the competing technologies and costs associated with each. Tonight we are going to get an in depth perspective on the challenges and opportunities with moving to a cleaner and renewable source of energy. New technologies like wind and solar, as well hsitorically controversial energy generation methods like nuclear fusion, are now being pushed as ways for electric utlities like PG and E to meet the California 2020 requirement of 33% of the electricity generated in the state be from renewables.
But how much much does California's history of deregulation and current interest in Community Choice Aggregation effect how these sources will be integrated and accepted? Will the interest in clean energy create a short term hike in fees that customers face, and will the electricity you use be any cleaner in reality?
In building a clean energy portfolio, the idea of nuclear energy and the purported improvements made since the 30+ year ban on new nuclear plants was enacted is partly seen in the federal money flowing to new plants in Georgia, as well as the prominence in President Obama's State of the Union. With 15% of California's power coming from our 2 nuclear plants, will the need for cleaner, safer, and cheaper technologies make nuclear an option? Or have competing technologies like wind and solar become better options due to unanswered environemntal and safety concerns? But with todays guest, we will be talking about the more likely scenario that a clean energy portfolio is a mix of a number of technologies that balance cost, risk, and the enthronement.
What is your vision of clean(er) energy portfolio? Have the concerns and memories of nuclear risks diminished? Which of these technologies would you want to have in your neighborhood?
- Severin Bornstein, Professor of Business Administration and Public Policy at the Haas School of Business and the Co-Director of the Energy Institute
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