California Utilities’ Green Power Plans
California utilities are now also filing their Green Power plans with their Power Content Labels. We examine those of the major utilities in our previous post summarizing their normal power sources.
Southern California Edison:
Green Rate 100% is 100% Solar: and
Green Rate 50% is 56% solar, 17% Unspecified, 5% Wind, 4% Geothermal, 4% Large Hydro, 3% Nuclear, and 1% Eligible Hydro, for those who prefer a smorgasbord.
San Diego Gas and Electric:
EcoChoice Mix is 100% Solar, so not a mix.
Sacramento Municipal Utility District:
Greenergy (really?) Partner is 100% Biomass and Biowaste; and
Greenergy PartnerPlus is 57% Wind, 28% Solar, and 15% Biomass and Biowaste.
Pacific Gas and Electric:
They are already 78% clean energy with 33% Renewables, but there are local CCAs that fill complementary roles. Here is the San Mateo County one:
Peninsula Clean Energy has two plans:
ECO100 is 100% Renewables, with 50% Solar and 50% Wind; and
ECOplus is 53% Renewables composed of 24% Wind, 9% Eligible Hydro, 7% Solar, 7% Biomass, 6% Geothermal. Then there is 33% Large Hydro, and 15% Unspecified, making it 85% clean energy.
I will refrain from pointing out that plants invented green power with photosynthesis a billion years ago. Also, farmers have grown fruits and lettuce with green power for centuries. Prometheus invented using biomass for cooking and heating, and maybe a billion people unfortunately have to burn cowpies or Biowaste for cooking and heating. I will also not mention that Large Hydro is renewable yearly, allows us to grow summer crops, and also protects us from frequent droughts. Finally, I will not mention that fossil fuels were once green, and are renewable on a time scale of hundreds of millions of years. Actually, there is nothing color-wise green about solar or wind, either. Plants and trees already use solar for photosynthesis, and wind for transpiration and seed transport.
People using the 100% Solar plans will notice that they are on reduced power on cloudy days, and have no power once the sun sets, until the sun rises (I’m kidding, of course).
People on Greenergy plans will notice that their electrons are colored green, while those feeding their neighbors on natural gas plans are colorless.
People using Wind power should remember that in Oklahoma, “They Call the Wind Maria”. That also explains why the neighboring Oilgarchy of Texas is by far the highest wind-powered state.