"Power Struggle"-Vino & Voltage
Thursday, November 30, 2006SUSIE GHARIB: The state of California wants to be a leader in renewable energy. So it has launched ambitious plans to boost energy efficiency, increase sources of renewable energy and cap carbon dioxide emissions. But as Stephanie Dhue reports in the conclusion of our series, "Power Struggle," just how to meet those goals is a struggle itself.
STEPHANIE DHUE, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Homebuilder Lennar is constructing these houses with solar roofs. The move is in anticipation of a solar initiative by California that requires new homes have solar roofing as an option by 2011. Lennar's Sherman Haggerty says state and Federal incentives help make solar an attractive sales point now.
SHERMAN HAGGERTY, REGIONAL VP, LENNAR: I believe, as people get more comfortable with how to manage their electric and understand that they are a power producer as well as a power user, they'll be able to have a very significant impact on their energy bill.
DHUE: Some businesses are already seeing a significant impact on their energy bills. Domaine Carneros winery made the decision to buy a solar system for its pinot noir facility three years ago. Using this solar system saves the winery $90,000 a year. At that rate and with state and Federal incentives, the system should pay for itself in five years. Eileen Crane is the CEO and chief wine maker at Domaine Carneros. She has become a point person for solar in Napa Valley.
EILEEN CRANE, CEO & WINEMAKER, DOMAINE CARNEROS: When it started to be known that we have put in the system and, so to speak, lit it up, there was an overwhelming press for information on our collection system and we saw within a matter of a few months people putting in systems as big or even bigger.
DHUE: The push for solar is part of an ambitious program in California to boost energy efficiency, increase renewables and cap greenhouse gases.
DIAN GRUENEICH, COMMISSIONER, CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION: We're both hopeful and pretty confident that what it means is it's going to lay the path to a sustainable future that's not just good for the environment, but also good for the economy.
DHUE: But not everyone agrees. Manufacturers support the solar initiative but worry the cap on greenhouse gases could push up energy prices. Past policy mistakes have contributed to California's high electricity prices, which are 45 percent above the national average.
DOROTHY ROTHROCK, VP/GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, CALIFORNIA MANUFACTURERS & TECHNOLOGY ASSOC.: So the companies that are surviving and doing well in California have already adopted very aggressive energy efficiency measures. So we're talking about gold standard companies that are doing all they can do and stay profitable, in terms of energy use. When you're adding even more cost burden, you're putting them really outside the ballpark of being able to survive.
DHUE: And some businesses fault politicians and policymakers for not doing enough to address a key source of California's greenhouse gas emissions -- cars. Tesla Motors has designed and is marketing an all- electric car. The $100,000 Tesla roadster will hit the roads next year and, in two years, the company plans to roll out a sedan in the $50,000 range.
MARTIN EBERHARD, CHAIRMAN & CEO, TESLA MOTORS: You can put a million solar panels on our roofs and it will reduce California's oil consumption by not one drop -- unless we have electric cars, because we don't use oil today to make electricity.
DHUE: California wants to be a driving force behind a new energy future with less dependence on fossil fuels and abundant supplies of renewable energy. But it, like the rest of the nation, is facing a power struggle, balancing the energy needs of a growing economy with the impact on the environment. Stephanie Dhue, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, San Francisco.
