Green Energy

California's investor-owned utilities will be allowed to pass on to customers the costs of building lines to transmit renewable power from sources such as wind farms, the California Public Utilities Commission ruled Thursday. The wind farm being developed at Tehachapi will cost an estimated $1 billion to connect to the grid, and the commission's ruling will allow utilities to make the deals needed to recover power-line costs when several companies share lines and costs.

Los Angeles city officials proposed Friday to increase the amount of electricity they obtain from solar, wind and other renewable sources to 20% by 2017, but warned the shift to green power could boost utility rates. The Department of Water and Power said any rate increase would be deferred at least three years, then gradually phased in over 13 years. Officials also held out the possibility that bills may not increase at all if bids from green-power producers come in lower than expected.

Judy Watson watched as the California Poppy Reserve was established in the 1970s just five miles from her home. She was looking forward to cherishing its vistas forever. But today Watson is among area residents and nature lovers who fear that the state park's annual blaze of orange blossoms will be overshadowed by "green" — energy, that is, in the form of sprawling solar panels and gigantic industrial-size wind turbines. "The whole area will be changed forever," said Watson, 70, who lives in Kings Canyon at the base of verdant Portal Ridge.

Here's a mind-bending thought: The United States can wean itself from oil and coal by 2050 — and without action by presidents or Congress. "It's refreshing to think that we needn't wait for Washington," Amory Lovins told me recently. The founder and chairman of the Old Snowmass, Colo.-based Rocky Mountain Institute, Lovins has been a leader in the science of energy efficiency for decades. His institute's latest book, "Reinventing Fire," is a manifesto for a new approach to converting the U.S. to an economy based on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power while enhancing the efficiency of everything we use energy for, whether it's running our cars, manufacturing plastics and pharmaceuticals or heating our offices.

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jerry Brown quietly unveiled a jobs plan Sunday that calls for creating green-energy jobs, investing in the state's infrastructure and education, increasing manufacturing jobs and improving job-training programs. "Most new jobs should and will be created in the private sector, but government can play an important role in establishing a favorable climate for job creation," Brown wrote. The 10-page plan was released with no fanfare on the candidate's website.

Spray-on solar panels, power beaming down from outer space and gasoline-like fuel made from bacteria. Sound far-fetched? Maybe, but these and other futuristic concepts for producing power are being taken seriously in scientific, business and academic circles. Some have even raised millions in funding. This is the dream era for green technology, when even concepts that sound wildly innovative or insane ? depending on who's describing them ? are getting attention. "People who aren't afraid to take chances in completely uncharted waters sometimes succeed beyond their wildest dreams and turn the world on its head," said industrial designer and entrepreneur Richard Alan Hales.

As Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus talked up his proposal Monday to expand a multibillion-dollar economic stimulus package, he spoke of the need to help seniors, disabled veterans and the unemployed. There was just one industry the Montana Democrat singled out for special assistance: renewable energy.

William R. Gould, a former Southern California Edison executive who championed the development of renewable and alternative power sources decades before the concept was commonly accepted, has died. He was 86. Gould, who was the utility's chairman and chief executive officer from 1979 to 1984, died Saturday at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center of complications associated with old age and a stroke, said his son, Wayne.

President Obama on Tuesday nominated former Edison International Chairman and Chief Executive John E. Bryson to be Commerce Secretary, tapping an environmental lawyer-turned-corporate executive in hopes of reaching out to a business community that has been critical of the administration. If confirmed by the Senate, Bryson, 67, would replace Gary Locke, the former governor of Washington who was nominated in March to be the new ambassador to China. Bryson is best known for having headed Edison International, parent company of the Southern California Edison electric utility, during the state's electricity market meltdown in 2000-01.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration announced Monday that he would not sign a bill passed by lawmakers that would ease taxes for some homeowners and green energy companies, largely because the measure would ramp up penalties against those who abuse such tax credits. The decision came at the urging of a business coalition that lobbied against the bill, saying it would make businesses reluctant to claim the tax breaks for fear of making an error. The proposal, which would match credits and penalties already allowed for federal taxes, was intended to help Californians who lose their home in a short sale and businesses in the state's green-technology sector.