Time to Secure a Clean Energy Future for Angelenos

As the days get longer and electricity use begins to rise, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) is embarking on a planning process that will set the course for the utility’s energy development over the next several decades.

Each year, LADWP updates its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), a strategy document outlining its energy portfolio over a 20-year period.  Every other year, the department engages the public in this planning process, and this is one of those years, providing opportunities for all of us—whether in Los Angeles or elsewhere around the state—to stand up for a clean energy future.

LADWP is crucial to the success of getting California off coal, and shifting the state toward a clean energy future. As LADWP accounts for approximately 10% of the state’s electricity, it is critical that the state’s largest publicly-owned utility shift aggressively toward a future powered by energy efficiency and renewable energy.

That’s why Environment California, together with NRDC, the Sierra Club and the Vote Solar Initiative, wrote a letter to LADWP last week, urging that the utility develop and implement a comprehensive clean energy plan.

At Environment California, we’re especially excited by the possibility of capitalizing on the city’s tremendous solar power potential.  As such, we’ve asked LADWP to consider installing 1200 MW of solar power by 2020, or 10% of the amount that Governor Brown has called for across the state.  By greatly expanding its solar power commitment, LADWP can lead California towards fulfilling its solar power goals, and the city will reap direct environmental and economic benefits—cleaner air, more local jobs, and an investment in our future.

Environment California will continue our campaign to ramp up LA’s solar commitment and we’ll be sure to keep you posted over the next few months on how you can take part in shaping the city’s future.

Together, we can make LA a clean energy leader.