[Sustain] HUGE NEWS! Supe Maxwell Just Introduced Clean Energy Act At Board!

[Eric Brooks]

Hey all,

San Francisco Supervisor Sophie Maxwell has just introduced the Clean 
Energy Act as legislation at the Board of Supervisors! The legislation 
will direct the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to draft a new 
plan to close the last remaining fossil fuel power plant in the City 
(the Mirant Potrero Hill plant) and to draw up a new energy action plan 
which adopts the Prop H mandates; replacing Mirant with only renewables 
and efficiency.

PG&E is going to lean -hard- on the Supervisors so we must not take 
-any- of them for granted. Any of you who have good relationships with 
any of them should make contact right away to solidify their support. We 
must get 8 secure votes at the Board of Supervisors to ensure that the 
Mayor's veto will be over-ridden and the measure will become law.

This move by Maxwell wouldn't have been possible without all of our hard 
work. Our campaign laid strong political ground for this moment.

See Maxwell's legislation attached.

Here is an article about the measure:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/index?blogid=55


        Tuesday, December 16, 2008


    The power plant issue that won't die
    <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?blogid=55&entry_id=33704>

Sup. Maxwell.

Liz Mangelsdorf/The Chronicle

Sup. Maxwell.

Supervisor Sophie Maxwell has made good on her promise to keep the Board 
of Supervisors involved in decisions 
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/26/BAPM14C7CE.DTL> 
surrounding the future of a polluting power plant in Potrero Hill.

On Tuesday, Maxwell introduced a measure that would make it city policy 
to close the plant at the earliest possible date, and to replace the 
power generated at the plant with clean resources. It calls on the San 
Francisco Public Utilities Commission to create a plan for doing so.

But the measure goes even further. It sets aggressive clean energy goals 
for San Francisco, mandating that the city meet 51 percent of its 
electricity needs with clean resources by 2017; 75 percent by 2030; and 
100 percent by 2040.

Those numbers sound familiar, you say? Well, it's because they're 
exactly what was called for in Proposition H, the public power 
initiative that voters rejected in November 
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/04/BATD13RC1Q.DTL>.

At issue is the Mirant Power Plant in Potrero Hill, which was set to 
close and be replaced 
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/04/BACF13S15S.DTL> 
with a newer facility that would only run when necessary. But this 
summer, the mayor and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, 
which regulates the plant, changed their minds, saying it didn't make 
sense to build a new fossil-fuel burning facility when renewable energy 
sources are gaining ground.

Maxwell and other supervisors balked at the change 
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=55&entry_id=31999>, 
pointing out that they have been working with city officials and the 
community for years on a plan to close the plant 
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/05/EDS110FFM6.DTL>. 
They also question whether the retrofit will actually lead to acceptable 
emission reductions.

The board last month killed a measure that would have allowed the mayor 
to move forward with the proposed retrofit. But state regulators won't 
let the city shutter the plant without an alternative source of energy 
in the city's limits. Maxwell is apparently hoping to have the best of 
both worlds -- a shuttered plant and a new, city-owned clean 
energy-producing facility -- with this latest legislation.

Posted By: Marisa Lagos 
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/author?blogid=55&auth=140> 
(Email <mailto:mlagos at sfchronicle.com>) | Dec 16 at 05:28 PM

Listed Under: Being green 
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/category?blogid=55&cat=1945> 
| Permalink 
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?blogid=55&entry_id=33704> 
| Comments (2) 
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?blogid=55&entry_id=33704#comments> 
: Post Comment 
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?blogid=55&entry_id=33704#commentpost>

-- 
"I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves." -- Che Guevara

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://list.sfgreens.org/pipermail/sustainability/attachments/20081217/91eab310/attachment-0001.htm 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 4838 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://list.sfgreens.org/pipermail/sustainability/attachments/20081217/91eab310/attachment-0001.jpeg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Maxwell__Clean_Energy_Power_Plants_Ord.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 67277 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://list.sfgreens.org/pipermail/sustainability/attachments/20081217/91eab310/attachment-0001.pdf