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@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
