Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Feb. 11 the city is abandoning a plan to spend billions of dollars rebuilding three natural gas power plants along the coast, the Los Angeles Times first reported. Garcetti said the abrupt change of plans was intended to help the city get to its goal of 100% renewable energy.
The L.A. Times report said top staffers as the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) have argued in recent months that the gas plants are critical to keeping the lights on in the city. But Garcetti sided with environmental groups who lobbied the mayor not to rebuild Scattergood, Harbor and Haynes power plants, saying the gas-fired plants contribute to climate change and local air pollution.
The move comes just days after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) released their Green New Deal resolution. “This is the Green New Deal,” Garcetti was quoted in the article. “Not in concept, not in the future, but now.”
The Green New Deal, supported by several Democratic candidates for President of the United States, faced widespread criticism since it was announced over aggressive goals and high costs, among other criticisms.
The mayor’s decision comes several months after state lawmakers passed a bill requiring California to get 100% of its electricity from climate-friendly sources by 2045, up from a previous target of 50% renewable by 2030, according the Times article.
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