Or… simply more taxes for Californians already faced with the highest state taxes in the nation. We are all alternative energy fans but to what extend does it get out of hand? A start-up company BrightSource is under contract by PG&E for the installation of 1.31GW deal in California. Their alternative energy solution is plucked right out of the Sci-Fi books. BrightSource will build a “Power Tower” that uses a field of mirrors or heliostats, to concentrate sunlight to heat water atop a central tower to generate electricity from a steam turbine. All they need now is 007 dangling from the side in a tooth and nail battle for the safety of all mankind.

California has been a leader in alternative energy initiatives producing over 10% of its energy from green resources currently with an aggressive goal of 33% by 2020. Though 33% seems quite impressive it could be achieved by 2012 with proven technology and smart planning.

The Renewable Energy Atlas of the West estimated the annual wind electricity generation potential in California to be 45 billion kWh providing California with an abundant very inexpensive, substantially less than solar, resource for alternative energy.
Are we in such a crunch to produce energy that we need to fund start-up companies with unproven technology at a cost of hundreds of millions when in an economic state of crisis? California is underway to be the first state to go bankrupt – this state’s investment in these types of startup solutions is exactly why.

Saving energy through efficiency is the only realistic economic solution and substantially less expensive than building new technology power plants.