REC's & Out of State Power Deliveries Stymying a 33% Deal

Capitol Weekly reports that, as of yesterday, intense disagreement over the nature and role of REC's and over the timing of out of state power deliveries were holding up a deal on a Senate bill legislating a bump in the RPS to 33%.

Capitol Weekly:

"By Tuesday afternoon, the package remained a work in progress, four days before the end of the legislative session. Negotiators included representatives of business, manufacturing, the investor-owned utilities, the public utilities, the environmentalists and regulators, among others.

The sticking points included details of renewable energy credits, which could be bought and sold on the open market, and the delivery and timing of out-of-state power coming into California.

There also were questions of whether existing power contracts can be grandfathered in, and the extent of provisions that would ease the rules on utilities if they were forced to buy renewable power at 6 percent or more above a market benchmark.

The sharpest opposition came from the manufacturers, who purchase large amounts of electricity. Aside from the cost, they note that the state Air Resources Board, which enforces the state’s landmark greenhouse gas emissions law, also has authority to the renewables to 33 percent, according to a scoping plan adopted by the board. "

Renewable power: People love it, but devil is in the details: Capitol Weekly