The Desert Sun | By K Kaufmann | Link to article
Pèrez lining up support for plan that puts added focus on Salton Sea’s potential
PALM DESERT — Assemblyman V. Manuel Pèrez is looking for support from Coachella Valley officials and business leaders for an ambitious bill to push California utilities to procure more than half of their power from renewable resources, including geothermal energy from the Salton Sea.
“This is a big lift,” the Coachella Democrat said, speaking about Assembly Bill 177 at the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership’s Renewable Energy Roundtable on Thursday. “We have to figure out ‘What do people in Riverside and Imperial counties feel?’ Is it feasible? Are people willing to engage and think about it, and think about it as an element of the restoration of the Salton Sea?”
The bill, which Pèrez introduced earlier this year, would push the state’s renewable energy target from 33 percent in 2020 to 51 percent in 2030. It would also establish a new approach to energy planning for the state’s utilities, requiring them to consider energy efficiency, greenhouse gas reduction and grid reliability in addition to cost.
