On October 7, Gov. Brown signed into law the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015 (“SB 350”) 2015. This comes as no surprise, because when the state legislature passed SB 350 on September 11, 2015, Gov. Brown said that “taking carbon out of the modern economy requires heroic efforts and tireless struggle. SB 350, in both efficiency and renewable energy, ratchets up the California commitment. We have the technological means, and now we have the legal mandate to reduce carbon pollution.” To put it in context: the new requirements will double the use of renewable energy in California, which means California now has the third-highest renewable energy requirements in the nation, just behind Hawaii (required to be 100 percent renewable by 2045) and Vermont (75 percent renewable by 2032).

In large part, SB 350 conforms with the governor’s climate policy goals that he announced in his 2015 State-of-the-State speech, which called for 50 percent of California’s electricity to come from renewable energy sources, 50 percent greater energy efficiency of existing buildings, and a 50 percent reduction in the amount of petroleum used in cars and trucks – all by 2030.

What, then, are some of the specific implications of SB 350 becoming law?

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