California Energy Commission — Exciting New Ruling

Earlier this year, the California Energy Commission (CEC) unanimously approved a new way of making decisions about the state’s future energy projects. In the future, the State of California will incorporate “non-energy benefits”—including things like the health impact of a project or how many jobs it might create—into its energy selection process.?

Kudos to the CEC.

This is a big step in the right direction. Traditionally, when evaluating whether or not to fund a project, entities like the CEC have only taken the project’s economic viability into account—whether or not its financial benefits would outweigh its costs. This, however, leaves out all kinds of benefits—like how much a clean-energy project might reduce pollution for local residents—as well as all kinds of costs, like the medical bills required to treat patients with breathing conditions. And historically, pollution disproportionately affects those who are already marginalized and disadvantaged, so this new ruling moves us toward correcting that imbalance. Quantifying these “non-energy benefits” won’t be easy—doing so will always be a bit of an estimate—but this is still very exciting, a sign that we’re moving toward a cleaner, more equitable California.?

I look forward to seeing more regulations like this in our incredible state.