LGC: Energy : Renewable Energy

Most electricity in the United States is produced from coal, nuclear and natural gas plants. Producing electricity from these sources generates about two-thirds of the nation's emissions associated with global warming, one-third of the pollution that causes acid rain and smog, and over half of our nuclear waste.

Renewable energy is defined under California law as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and small hydropower - facilities less than 30 MW. These resources are termed "renewable" because they do not rely on burning scarce, highly polluting fossil fuels and are regularly replenished using the earth's own natural processes.

Part of a solution to electricity pollution is using electricity produced by cleaner renewable resources. Under restructuring, local governments may be able to carve out an elevated role in building new local markets for clean renewable power technologies.

While the Local Government Commission's recent focus has been on energy efficiency, renewable energy resources are also important to us. Our Currents newsletter contains articles related to local government efforts to buy and promote renewable energy. The Energy Aware Planning Guide: Energy Facilities, an earlier LGC project with the California Energy Commission, includes background information on the environmental effects and permitting issues associated with renewable (and other energy) technologies.

We also provide links to other organizations' web pages that will provide you with specific information from renewable energy purchasing assistance to how to insure that the electricity you buy is really "green." If you know of other sites that merit linkages, please let us know.

Resources

LGC has developed resource guides for renewable energy including Energy Conservation Under the Sun: A Resource Book for Local Governments. Here you can also find information on utility restructuring and more as you browse through:

Resources

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