Center for Energy Efficiency & Renewable Technologies

"The road to meeting California’s climate targets won’t be easy, so it is imperative that we implement strong policy across every sector of the economy."

Tuesday, December 8, 2020 5:30PM 7:30PM CEERT celebrated the work and achievements of Mary Nichols; Chair of the California Air Resources Board and champion of environmental policy. We held this event online. Mary Nichols is the Chair of the California Air Resources Board, where she occupies the attorney seat. She has served on the Board under Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. (197582 and 201018), Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (20072010) and Governor Gavin Newsom (2019pres...ent). She also served as California’s Secretary for Natural Resources (19992003), appointed by Gov. Gray Davis. When not working for the State of California, Mary was a senior staff attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council; Assistant Administrator for US EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, in the administration of President William Jefferson Clinton; and headed the Institute of Environment and Sustainability at UCLA. Over a career as an environmental lawyer spanning over 45 years, Mary Nichols has played a key role in California and the nation’s progress toward healthy air. She has also led the Board in crafting California’s internationally recognized climate action plan. EVENT SPONSORS GOLD The Nature Conservancy SILVER Berkshire Hathaway Energy EDF Renewables Natural Resources Defense Council NextEra Union of Concerned Scientists Vote Solar BRONZE American Wind Energy Association CalETC EDP Renewables LDESAC Lucas Public Affairs Mark Abramowitz Peter Weiner SMUD Toyota Motor North America

See our Director, Virgil John White, speak about the necessity for reducing demand for gas energy. Governor Gavin Newsom can shut down Aliso Canyon and protect the health of Californians if the state shifts from gas to clean energy.

"December 10: the way forward on climate and clean energy."

CEERT Staff Report May - September 2020 / Celebrating the work and achievements of Mary N...

"With an inexhaustible, dispatchable, flexible renewable energy source so close to breaking through, the vision of a fully renewably powered world seems less and less utopian, more and more tantalizingly within reach."

SAN FRANCISCO, September 29, 2020 Today, national business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) released results of a report that quantified significant economic benefits associated with investments in advanced clean energy deployment for the state of California. The report, which was produced by international economics consultant Analysis Group for AEE, used an industry-standard modeling tool to estimate the impact of investing state or federal stimulus funds in advanced en...ergy technologies, products, and services to boost economic activity in the wake of the COVID-19 slowdown. The full report Economic Impact of Stimulus Investment in Advanced Energy: An economic assessment of applying stimulus funds to advanced energy technologies, products, and services in California, is available at https://info.aee.net/economic-impact-of-stimulus-investment.

"California’s renewable energy system can be designed to solve this challenge through investments in storage, wind and other power sources available around the clock. But to get there, state leaders must lead a coordinated effort to ensure that many more renewable projects are planned, permitted and built." ~ Phil Angelides, former California State Treasurer ~

CEERT Staff Report January - May 2020

"Renewables are not to blame for California's rolling blackouts - in fact, they provided the reliability - and California lawmakers should reject calls for increased reliance on natural gas fired generation to support reliability."

"Why is the state suffering its first energy emergency in almost 20 years? Well, where do we start?"

The five Ford, Honda, BMW, Volkswagen and Volvo sealed a binding agreement with California to follow the state’s stricter tailpipe emissions rules. https://www.nytimes.com//california-automakers-pollution.h

"California’s power grid operator delivered a blistering rebuke Monday to the state’s Public Utilities Commission, blaming the agency for rotating power outages the first since the 2001 energy crisis and warning of bigger blackouts to come."

The change in direction at SMUD came about thanks to leadership both from the SMUD board and the community, born out of a growing awareness that the climate crisis is worsening and that the costs of energy production and storage are rapidly falling.