San Diego Secures Its Future by Choosing Clean Energy

"This renewable energy initiative shows what happens when environmental groups, organized labor and city governments rally around clean energy," said JP Ross, Greenpeace campaigner. "San Diego is showing that cities across the nation can follow its lead and take control of their energy future."

San Diego's historic decision is the latest example of how major California institutions are quickly becoming a driving force in the emerging clean energy economy, both within the state and nationally. Examples of clean energy initiatives include:

• In November 2001, San Francisco voters passed Proposition B, a $100 million revenue bond to finance 10 Megawatts of clean energy and energy efficiency measures for city buildings, as well as proposition H, a 50 MW solar utility for the City of San Francisco.
• In June 2002, the Los Angeles Community College District passed a policy to power all new buildings with 20-25 percent clean energy from on-site solar power and utility purchases.
• Last month, the University of California passed the country's most comprehensive college clean energy policy that will increase grid-connected solar systems in the U.S. by around 20 percent and create enough new clean energy to power 36,000 homes.

Coinciding with today's announcement Greenpeace released, "Endless Power: San Diego's Roadmap for a Clean Energy Future," a new report written with Power Shift and the Solar Community Campaign. The report outlines the many financing options available to San Diego, as well as the job and environmental benefits expected from this initiative. The report also illustrates the economic benefits of the city�s goal, as the initiative will create over 1,240 jobs, 373 of which will be local. Furthermore, more than 70 million pounds of carbon dioxide will be kept out of the atmosphere — the equivalent of pulling more than 7,000 cars off the road, reducing San Diego's global warming pollution.