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Green Ballot Measure Wins In Missouri, Fails In California, Colorado

Missouri voters stood alone yesterday in approving a renewable-energy ballot initiative. Californians rejected two measures, and Coloradoans rejected one. A nonbinding measure was passed in Massachusetts.

In Missouri, Proposition C was passed, requiring investor-owned electric utilities "to generate or purchase electricity from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass, and hydropower with the renewable energy sources equaling at least 2% of retail sales by 2011 increasing incrementally to at least 15% by 2021, including at least 2% from solar energy; and restricting to no more than 1% any rate increase to consumers for this renewable energy."

Utilities opposed the measure. One of those, AmerenUE, cited the reliance on regarding renewable energy certificates (RECs) and solar energy. The Missourian newspaper quotes Richard Marks, a spokesman for AmerenUE, as saying: "If companies can't achieve or feel that it's not possible to achieve the requirements for solar, they're just going to buy those RECs in Texas or Arizona. Every customer in Missouri will pay for those RECs, but the development and research for that energy will benefit the states in which those RECs were purchased. That will not promote development and growth in Missouri."

In California, Proposition 7 on renewable energy generation was handily defeated. With 77% of precincts reporting, the measure lost by a 2-to-1 margin. Likewise, Proposition 10 failed by a wide margin. Had it been approved, Proposition 10 would, according to the official voter information guide, "eliminate a credit that allows oil and gas companies to deduct property taxes from severance taxes. The change would bring in an estimated $321 million in the first year, with most going to college scholarships, plus communities affected by energy development, wildlife habitat, and clean energy projects."

The measure was strongly opposed by many environmental and civic groups, including the Sierra Club and the Consumer Federation of California, which stated: "Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens bankrolled Prop 10. He profits from giveaways that favor the trucks that will fill up at a Pickens-owned natural gas station. Interstate trucking companies can collect California handouts of $50,000 per "clean" truck, and relocate the trucks out of state. We pay -- others get the benefit."

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