Isra-Mart srl:California approves clean energy target as GOP moves to neuter EPA

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California has further underlined its position as the leading clean energy hub in the US after lawmakers voted yesterday to beef up the state's renewable energy goal. It will now require energy firms to source a third of their energy from renewable sources by 2020.

The State Assembly voted 55 to 19 to approve bill S.B. 2, which requires the state to generate 33 per cent of its energy from renewables. The bill has already been approved by the state senate and will now move to governor Jerry Brown's desk where it is expected to be approved.

California has had its renewable energy target in place since September 2009 when former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an executive order requiring the target to be met. Since then, regulators have put in place a series of measures designed to ensure the goal will be met.

However, the bill has significantly more power than an executive order and will provide businesses and investors with greater certainty.

For example, future governors will not be able to suspend the bill as was requested by a group of oil firms last year.

The vote came as the US Senate prepared to vote later today on controversial amendments to small business legislation which would block the Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing climate change rules.

The amendments are being put forward by Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and mirror another bill put forward by Republican climate sceptic James Inhofe. Neither is expected to secure the 60 votes required to pass.

However, Republicans hope that this will force Democrats to go on record with their support of the EPA ahead of a series of votes similarly designed to strip the watchdog of its authority.

Two Democrat senators have also put forward amendments that would place less stringent restrictions on the EPA.

Senator Max Baucus has tabled proposals that would limit rules covering small polluters and exempt the agricultural sector from emissions rules, while senator Jay Rockefeller has proposed a two-year delay in rules governing power and industrial plants.

None of the amendments arte expected to pass. However, they highlight growing fears among Democrats that EPA efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions will become a major political issue in the run-up to next year's presidential election.

They also pave the way for further Republican legislation aimed at the EPA that is expected to pass through the House of Representatives in the coming weeks.

Senior Republicans attacked the Democrat compromise amendments, accusing them of simply delaying the economic damage that will be done by the EPA.

Democrats maintain that the EPA rules will deliver net benefits to the economy and are necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit US reliance on foreign energy sources.

Meanwhile, president Obama is today expected to outline his plan for America's energy security in a speech at Georgetown University.

He is expected to reiterate his support for a Clean Energy Standard that would require the US to generate 80 per cent of its power from clean sources by 2035, and set out the economic benefits of shifting to cleaner energy sources.

He is also scheduled to promote the emergence of advanced vehicle technologies on a trip to a UPS facility in Maryland where he will look at the logistics giant's expanding fleet of green vehicles.