Santee Energy Master Plan: A Clean Energy Opportunity

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There is nothing more important for our economy, our environment and our national security than energy policy. Unfortunately, special interests have placed road blocks in front of efforts to develop coherent national policy. State governments have struggled as well. So increasingly, local governments are taking the lead to set up successful models that harness the power of the free market by restoring competition, innovation and choices that produce clean, more reliable energy at lower costs. Savings and profits recirculate at the local level.

That is why I am supporting to develop an .

The first highly successful model in California is the Marin Energy Authority where a cooperative energy district was established. In certain respects it's like supporting your local credit union rather than a large Wall Street bank. It empowers local initiatives and commerce. Instead of sending our energy dollars to Goldman Sachs for more dirty fossil fuels from a Quail Brush Power Plant, homeowners and businesses get paid for the extra power they produce with clean rooftop solar and those profits recirculate in the local economy. Imagine the value of your home and business increasing because you can use that space to not only offset your energy costs, but to produce real income. You now have incentive to both conserve and produce clean energy. Then multiply that benefit throughout the community.

In only it's first two years, Marin Clean Energy district has returned its initial investment and generated a profit in excess of $300K. It's clean renewable energy content far exceeds the state's large investor owned utilities (IOUs). It is clear that local communities that are able to overcome the hurdles placed by the IOUs will have a competitive advantage over laggards. Santee cannot afford to be left behind and there are great advantages to being among the leaders.

At the world level, the German example demonstrates this fact. The German economy has benefitted from generating more clean solar energy than the entire rest of the work combined. German solar power is the equivalent of twenty nuclear power plants. On weekends, Germany is now capable of providing half it's energy needs with solar power. This is in a nation without much sunshine. Imagine what we can do here.

Finally, the consequences of status-quo energy policy are unacceptable in Santee where we are being asked to risk our health and sacrifice our parks and property values for a business as usual fossil fuel plant. Status-quo consequences are unacceptable for a state and nation that is rapidly destroying and degrading our public lands and public trust resources in a desperate effort to remain afloat. The consequences of status-quo energy policy are unacceptable for the world, where climate change is increasing the impacts of extreme weather events and stressing natural systems required to support peaceful society. Under these circumstances, our greatest risk comes from inaction. United at the local level, we can lead and overcome narrow monopolistic investor interests that have diverged significantly from the public interest.

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