Renewable energy bill clears California senate

By Ari Barak

May 19, 2007

A bill that would require California utilities to receive a third of their electricity from renewable resources has passed one hurdle in the state legislature, State Sen. Joe Simitian's office reported.

The bill, SB 411, introduced by Simitian, D-Palo Alto, was approved by a margin of 21 to 15 on Thursday and will now move to the state assembly for a hearing in June or July, according to Simitian's office.

If passed, the bill would require utilities to derive 33 percent of their electricity from renewable resources by 2020, according to Simitian's office.

Currently, the state Public Utilities Commission can only mandate that 20 percent of utilities' electricity come from renewable energy, according to Simitian's office.

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