Renewable Energy

Today was the deadline for a myriad of bills introduced on the Legislature floor with hopes of eventually becoming law. Those introduced to the Senate had to make it to the Assembly and vice versa for the second round of consideration before possibly advancing to the governor’s office for a signature. Below is summary of some of the locally produced bills that did and didn’t make it to the next round.   RENEWABLE ENERGY The state Assembly approved two bills aimed at promoting renewable energy that were authored by local lawmakers.

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — Being a California utility could get a lot more challenging under strict state-imposed greenhouse gas emission goals on the horizon, especially if they fail to take into account recent strides Glendale Water & Power has taken in going green, officials said. Earlier this month, state regulators took a major step forward in defining exactly how every economic sector will contribute to slashing California’s greenhouse emissions to 1990 levels. Utilities will shoulder a major portion of that effort when the schedules are established, power officials say, but in the meantime, many of them — including Glendale’s — have carried on with their own “greening” plans, unsure whether those efforts will count toward forthcoming emission-reduction goals.

CITY HALL — A $60-million overhaul of the city’s aging power plant is beginning to pick up steam, according to an update to the Glendale Water & Power Commission earlier this week. The Grayson Power Plant came online days before the December 1941 Pearl Harbor attacks, but has yet to undergo a major modernization, instead relying on upgrades on a largely as-needed basis. In a presentation Monday to the Glendale Water & Power Commission, utility officials outlined their plan to modernize the power plant by 2014, a key initiative in their five-year, $87-million strategic plan that the City Council approved in March.

CITY HALL — Nearly a year of interim leadership for Glendale Water & Power will come to a close in February after the City Council on Tuesday voted to confirm the appointment of a new director for the city-owned utility. Glenn Steiger will officially take over as director of the utility Feb. 20, replacing interim Director Dan Waters, who was brought in April 30 to fill the void left by former Director Ignacio Troncoso in March 2006. Council members and city officials said his background in renewable energy and extensive experience with water issues played prominently in their decision to choose Steiger during a nationwide search that yielded a pool of 20 candidates.

After introducing an ordinance last week that would give Glendale Water & Power customers the option of powering their homes using 100% renewable energy, the City Council on Tuesday will hold a final vote to approve the program. Called the Green Partners program, businesses and residents could opt to lock in a fixed, five-year ?Green Partners Charge? in lieu of the more volatile fuel adjustment charge, which is adjusted in a regular basis to cover the changing costs of power and fuel purchases for the utility.

Last week, the American economy lost 71,400 jobs — in a single day. The International Monetary Fund warned that world economic growth is set to fall to 0.5% in 2009, its lowest rate since World War II. And at the just-concluded World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, business leaders from around the world were gloomy and skittish. Their mood reflected the global fear about the state of the world economy. We have a unique opportunity to achieve two important goals with the stimulus package that recently passed the House and is now awaiting action in the Senate: to create jobs and get commerce moving again through a combination of infrastructure spending, tax cuts and other fiscal stimulus, so that families can maintain their income, standard of living and health care; and to make investments in our future and promote our long-term prosperity.

Future points toward natural gas Regarding “Council approves fueling station,” Wednesday: It should not be news to anyone that our dependence on petrochemicals is having a disastrous effect on our planet, the environment and the other species who share this Earth with us. While no change is ever effected without resistance, it is clearly past time for the switch to be made from oil to other cleaner and less invasive forms...

Forced by the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Glendale's City Council approved a sweeping plan this week to reduce the city's carbon footprint. The plan sets ambitious goals in citywide recycling efforts. It also calls for increased efficiency at city facilities to cut down on local emissions of greenhouse gases. The 115-page Greener Glendale Plan focuses on municipal operations, which account for about 3% of Glendale's total greenhouse gas emissions. But a second plan aimed at the community as a whole is in the pipeline.