A California watchdog agency is warning the state's move to incorporate more solar and wind power into its energy mix could cost taxpayers billions due to poor planning and lack of oversight.
According to the
Los Angeles Times, the nonpartisan Little Hoover Commission has validated the newspaper's own stories indicating the state’s renewable energy policies are being implemented in ways that will have both high fiscal and environmental costs.
The commission suggested that a lack of an overarching plan to meet the goal of transitioning the state's power grid to more renewable energy could put ratepayers and state government at considerable risk of being gouged by energy company contracts.
"Without more careful calibration of these policies, Californians may wind up paying more than necessary for electricity and the state may unnecessarily degrade pristine habitat in its rush to implement renewable energy goals," Commission Chairman Daniel Hancock said in a statement.
State law requires California to produce a third of its electricity from solar, wind, and other renewable sources by 2020.
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