California one of the greenest economies in the world
Power lines in Los Angeles, California (source: flickr/ JMR_Photography, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
19 May 2015
California is a leader in green energy not only in the US but worldwide.
California has been taking big strides to boost its renewable energy industry, but what happens if we consider the Golden State as a economy in itself?
According to the San Francisco Gate, if we were to assume this, California would be “the world’s second least carbon-intensive economy, according to a new study from public policy group Next 10. Only France, with its large fleet of nuclear power plants, emits fewer greenhouse gases for each dollar (or euro) of economic activity. California has more electric cars than any other state or country, leads the world in clean-technology investment and boasts a fast-growing fleet of renewable power plants.”
The reason behind this green success is legislation, “State law requires California utilities to get 33 percent of their electricity from the sun, the wind and other renewable source by the end of 2020. And Gov. Jerry Brown wants that expanded to 50 percent by 2030. The state has also created a cap-and-trade system to rein in emissions from factories, power plants, oil refineries and other sources.” according to the aforementioned source.
This is something to be very proud of, and as we know, geothermal plays a major role in the renewables prowess of the state. We only hope that this trend continues and more geothermal power plants and project can be develop to eventually phase out fossil fuels.
Source: San Francisco Gate
