California Leader Proposes Ending Fossil Fuels For Energy

Senate Democratic leader Kevin de Leon is introducing a bill that would require that California generate 100-percent of its electricity from renewable sources, by 2045.

De Leon, and four other Democratic lawmakers, announced plans for Senate Bill 100 at a press conference in Davis. De Leon stated, “Clean energy is an extraordinary economic success story in California. Solar, wind, energy efficiency and other clean energy power sources now collectively employ over half a million Californians. In fact, there are nearly 10 times more clean energy jobs in California alone than there are coal mining jobs in the entire nation.”

The legislation would result in state regulators drafting new regulations and requirements to phase out the use of fossil fuels.

Early critics of the bill are arguing that it could put California’s energy security at risk by only relying on renewable power. The most recent state figures, from the year 2015, showed that only 20% of California’s energy came from renewable sources.