California
Opinion: Rooftop Solar Made California a Climate Leader — We Can’t Throw This Away
California is a clear power chief in the US, thanks largely to the widespread adoption of photo voltaic by 1.5 million residents and companies all through the state. Over the previous 5 years, half of all photo voltaic in-built California has come from shoppers changing houses, church buildings, faculties, flats, and companies into mini-electricity turbines for themselves and their communities.
It’s been spectacular to look at all of those small-scale methods add as much as the equal of six nuclear energy vegetation — sparing us from the waste that comes from nuclear power and the air pollution of fossil fuels. Nonetheless, this progress is threatened by a proposal pending earlier than the California Public Utilities Fee to switch the favored and efficient program referred to as web metering, a billing course of that credit photo voltaic house owners for the electrical energy they add or export to the grid.
Beneath strain from investor-owned utilities, the CPUC is now proposing to slash the worth of photo voltaic power despatched again to the grid on sunny days by 75% to 80%.
If permitted, this might be the steepest decline in worth of photo voltaic power in the US, together with Nevada’s disastrous determination from 2015, which was later reversed by its legislature. These cuts would take impact virtually instantly and would put photo voltaic out of attain for many shoppers, choking off the expansion of solar-charged batteries on the similar time.
In its proposal, the CPUC tried to ease the transition to decrease worth for patrons promoting extra photo voltaic power again to the grid. Regardless, the worth of rooftop photo voltaic power would nonetheless be reduce by 75% on common. California’s rooftop photo voltaic market, the crowning jewel of its clear power market, would grind to a halt.
We admire that CPUC’s newest proposed determination is a big enchancment from its unique December 2021 proposal. The 2021 proposed determination would have carried out a punitive tax on rooftop photo voltaic customers and retroactively slashed advantages for Californians who had already put in photo voltaic. Nonetheless, the absence of those provisions on this up to date proposal alone doesn’t equal good coverage.
California requires much more clear power if we’re to maintain the lights on whereas assembly the clear power targets our planet calls for. The California Air Sources Board, one of the crucial influential local weather companies on the planet, lately supplied a reminder of how we should speed up the transfer towards clear power. Its up to date local weather motion plan discovered that native photo voltaic must triple by 2045 for California to attain its local weather objectives.
That is an instance of why, as members of Congress, we labored exhausting to cross the Inflation Discount Act, which prolonged the tax credit score for shopper photo voltaic methods by 10 years and bumped the credit score up from 26% to 30%. Our objective was to speed up the adoption of photo voltaic power, together with storage batteries, and assist shoppers save on their month-to-month utility payments. A number of impartial analyses have discovered that the general incentives within the act will scale back greenhouse fuel emissions by roughly 40% by 2030 beneath 2005 ranges — however these analyses assume the continuation of supportive state insurance policies.
By making photo voltaic power dearer in a single day, California would erase the worth of the prolonged tax credit score, elevating prices for Californians and threatening our nation’s capability to satisfy our emissions discount targets. It will reverse years of progress making photo voltaic extra inexpensive for low- and moderate-income households.
The excellent news is the proposal can nonetheless be modified, beginning with creating an actual glidepath to permit for batteries to turn out to be accessible and inexpensive for working and middle-class shoppers. There was dialogue of an eight-year transition to steadily step down the worth of rooftop photo voltaic offered onto the grid to scale back the probability of a photo voltaic market crash. That appears affordable, particularly given headwinds from world provide chain constraints and rising prices. The state must also take into account shopper rebates to additional drive storage adoption.
In the end, California wants to stay a clear power chief and it may’t do this with out rooftop photo voltaic. This proposal, if adopted as is, wouldn’t solely threaten the state’s clear power objectives, however it could venture the unsuitable type of management for the remainder of America and the world.
Rep. Mike Levin represents the forty ninth District in north coastal San Diego and south Orange counties. Rep. Mike Thompson represents the fifth District in Napa, Contra Costa, Lake, Solano and Sonoma counties.
Democrat Derek Tran ousted Republican Michelle Steel in a southern California House district Wednesday that was specifically drawn to give Asian Americans a stronger voice on Capitol Hill.
Steel said in a statement: “Like all journeys, this one is ending for a new one to begin.” When she captured the seat in 2020, Steel joined Washington state Democrat Marilyn Strickland and California Republican Young Kim as the first Korean American women elected to Congress.
Tran, a lawyer and worker rights advocate and the son of Vietnamese refugees, declared victory earlier this week. He said his win “is a testament to the spirit and resilience of our community. As the son of Vietnamese refugees, I understand firsthand the journey and sacrifices many families in our district have made for a better life.”
The contest is one of the last to be decided this year, with Republicans now holding 220 seats in the House, with Democrats at 214. The Associated Press has not declared a winner in California’s 13th district, where Democrat Adam Gray was leading Republican John Duarte by a couple of hundred votes.
Steel held an early edge after election day, but late-counted ballots pushed Tran over the top.
Steel filed a statement of candidacy on Monday with federal regulators, which would allow her to continue raising funds. It wasn’t immediately clear if she planned to seek a return to Congress.
In the campaign, Tran warned of Republican threats to abortion rights. Steel opposes abortion with exceptions for rape, incest or to save the life of the pregnant woman, while not going so far as to support a federal ban. Tran also warned that Donald Trump’s return to the White House would put democracy at risk.
On Capitol Hill, Steel has been outspoken in resisting tax increases and says she stands strongly with Israel in its war with Hamas. “As our greatest ally in the Middle East, the United States must always stand with Israel,” she said. She advocates for more police funding and has spotlighted her efforts on domestic violence and sexual abuse.
The largest demographic in the district, which is anchored in Orange county, south-east of Los Angeles, is Asian Americans, and it includes the nation’s biggest Vietnamese community. Democrats hold a four-point registration edge.
Incomplete returns showed that Steel was winning in Orange county, the bulk of the district. Tran’s winning margin came from a small slice of the district in Los Angeles county, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly two to one.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Dickies is leaving Cowtown for the California coast, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.
The 102-year-old Texas workwear brand, which is owned by VF Corp., is making the move from Fort Worth to Costa Mesa in order to be closer to its sister brand, Vans.
Dickies was founded in Fort Worth in 1922 by E.E. “Colonel” Dickie. Today, Dickies Arena is the entertainment hub of the city and home of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.
The company is expected to make the move by May. Approximately 120 employees will be affected, the report said.
By moving one of its offices closer to the other, VF Corp. says it can “consolidate its real estate portfolio,” as well as “create an even more vibrant campus,” Ashley McCormack, director of external communications at VF Corp. said in the report.
Dickies isn’t the only rugged brand owned by VF Corp. The company also has ownership of Timberland, The North Face and JanSport.
VF Corp. acquired Dickies in 2017 for $820 million.
“Their contributions to our city’s culture, economy and identity are immeasurable,” District 9 City Council member Elizabeth Beck, who represents the area of downtown Fort Worth where Dickies headquarters is currently located, said in a statement to the Fort Worth Report. “While we understand their business decision, it is bittersweet to see a company that started right here in Fort Worth take this next step. We are committed to supporting the employees who remain here and will work to honor the lasting imprint Dickies has left on our community.”
Caitlyn Jenner considers another run to become California governor
Caitlyn Jenner, the gold-medal Olympian-turned reality TV personality, is considering another run for Governor of California. This time, she says, if she were to go up against Vice President Kamala Harris, she would “destroy her.”
SAN FRANCISCO – Caitlyn Jenner, the gold-medal Olympian-turned reality TV personality, is considering another run for Governor of California. This time, she says, if she were to go up against Vice President Kamala Harris, she would “destroy her.”
Jenner, who publicly came out as transgender nearly 10 years ago, made a foray into politics when she ran as a Republican during the recall election that attempted to unseat Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021. Jenner only received one percent of the vote and was not considered a serious candidate.
Jenner posted this week on social media that she’s having conversations with “many people” and hopes to have an announcement soon about whether she will run.
Caitlyn Jenner speaks at the 4th annual Womens March LA: Women Rising at Pershing Square on January 18, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images)
She has also posted in Trumpian-style all caps: “MAKE CA GREAT AGAIN!”
As for VP Harris, she has not indicated any future plans for when she leaves office. However, a recent poll suggests Harris would have a sizable advantage should she decide to run in 2026. At that point, Newsom cannot run again because of term limits.
If Jenner decides to run and wins, it would mark the nation and state’s first transgender governor.
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