California Law Requires Majority Renewable Energy Sources by 2030

Energy efficiency is a popular topic around the world, especially when being discussed in relation to transportation and construction. The fact is, every time a new vehicle is produced or a new building is constructed, the total amount of energy usage in the world goes up. However, if engineers and designers are able to make the new products more energy-efficient than the ones they are replacing, then over time, energy consumption can realistically be reduced significantly. The main reason that many people oppose using "green" sources of power, like solar or wind, is that the types of equipment needed to produce and store renewable energy have very high initial costs when compared with non-renewable resources like gasoline and coal. Over time, the costs tend to be offset by lower electricity costs, but it can be difficult for a new homeowner to come up with an extra $10,000 or more to put up solar panels.

A law passed in California will make it so that new homeowners will no longer really have a choice on the matter. Surprisingly, the unanimous approval of the bill by the California Energy Commission was preceded by very little debate, which just goes to show how much of a priority clean energy is for Sacramento lawmakers. The new law now requires that, by 2030, over half of the energy used in the state will have to come from renewable resources (i.e. non-carbon fuels). Additionally, the electricity pricing scale in California is getting restructured over the next year. The new pricing is expected to adjust the rates based on what time of day electricity is being used. So, more energy-efficient homes (especially those with the capability of storing power) will be able to save money.

Even though California is already the country's leading state in terms of renewable energy sources like solar panels, solar power only provides about 16% of the state's total energy (significantly less than the future 50% requirement). In order to meet the expectations, builders/designers have two ways to incorporate solar power: they could design all new homes with solar panels on the roof, or they could design neighborhoods with a central hub of solar panels that can be used to supply power to all homes in the surrounding community. Analysts expect that the addition of solar panels to new construction houses will raise the price by at least $8,000. Although the electricity cost savings over years of solar panel usage will outweigh the extra cost over time, some homeowners might instead choose to "lease" the panels, by which they pay a monthly rate to use the solar panels instead of buying the panels outright.

There are other sources of green energy that don't involve solar panels, but many of them require a very large investment in local infrastructure. Generally, wind energy and nuclear power are difficult to collect on an individual basis. It's not like designers could realistically put up a wind turbine in every backyard. So, although the panels are costly and the technology still needs time to advance, solar energy seems to be the only way of accomplishing the legally-mandated goal by 2030 without having a private company take over the electricity grid. It's hard to tell what options will be cheaper in the long run, but for now, solar seems to be the safest bet.

***************************************************************************************************
Find out more about us at www.sepulvedaescrow.net. Any Questions? Contact our Escrow Expert! Sepulveda Escrow Corporation (818) 838-1831. Follow our company on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.

**************************************************************************************************

LADWP Pauses Planned Work on Natural Gas Power Plants in Favor of Green Alternatives

Energy is one of the most important commodities in this day and age. Whether it comes from fossil fuel, natural gas, or green sources, energy is a necessity in our increasingly technological world. Up until recently, California legislators had plans to build new natural gas power plants and renovate some older ones that run on fossil fuels. According to Ivan Penn's L.A. Times article, they are instead looking at other potential options for energy generation throughout the state.

Before this week, a $2.2 billion plan was in the works to fix up some older natural gas power plants and get them ready to produce electricity. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power put that plan on pause while they look into green electricity alternatives. Among a few other reasons, this change in trajectory is likely due mainly to recent investigative journalism that found that California has an oversupply of electricity, which drove prices up instead of down as expected.

It is expected that by 2020, the state's power plants will be able to produce over 20% more electricity than is needed, which will lead to Californians being stuck with a $40 billion-per-year bill for energy they're not even using. Even after reducing energy usage and installing more energy-efficient appliances, Californians will still be paying almost $7 billion more for electricity than they did in 2008, the state's record high.

Now that the LADWP sees that generating more power from natural gas is not going to solve the problem, they have to turn to other alternatives. Because so much energy is produced that is not being used, it makes more sense to look at different ways of producing energy rather than methods of producing more energy. For example, many homes are beginning to install personal solar panels and batteries to store excess collected energy. Solar farms or wind turbines could be a potential source of green energy for the state.

No matter how the LADWP ends up generating the proper amount of electricity for the state, it seems clear that natural gas will not be invested in without a fight. It will be difficult to hide oversupply, especially if the excess energy comes from sources that are not environmentally friendly. Legislators hope to have California 100% reliant on renewable energy by 2045. This is just the first step, but with enough work, it could be a feasible goal.

***************************************************************************************************
Find out more about us at www.sepulvedaescrow.net. Any Questions? Contact our Escrow Expert! Sepulveda Escrow Corporation (818) 838-1831. Follow our company on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.

**************************************************************************************************