Los Angeles announces end to coal power

Business Green

By Danny Bradbury

July 7, 2009--The City of Los Angeles last week committed to completely eliminate the use of electricity generated using coal by 2020, replacing the 40 per cent of the city's coal power with energy from renewable sources.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said that the city would stop buying energy produced from coal plants outside the state by 2020.

Instead, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will deliver 40 per cent of its power from renewable sources, with the rest coming from natural gas, nuclear, and large hydroelectric sources. The immediate goal is to get 20 per cent of the city's power from renewables by next year.

The move is part of a major low-carbon initiative from the Mayor, who also recently announced plans to develop a clean-tech corridor designed to help revitalise the city's economy through the creation of green jobs.

He used the fourth State of the City Address in April to announce plans to bring together research, commercial and residential clean-tech projects into a five-mile strip of former industrial land. The mayor said that a 20-acre Clean Tech Manufacturing Centre will be built, along with a Clean Innovations Research Centre, and a LEED-compliant neighbourhood called Cornfields Arroyo Seco.

"This is a unique moment of opportunity," said the mayor. "It's an opportunity to stand at the forefront of the clean-tech revolution; to transform our old industrial core into ground zero for green jobs and sustainability."

The planned initiative was announced at the same time as the CleanTech Los Angeles scheme – a partnership between business, government and academia, designed to support clean-tech projects in the city.

The scheme will aim to provide a wide range of support for clean-tech developers, providing them with advice on how to commercialise products, apply for funding, develop a market, and put together an economic development strategy.

Partners include the University of California, Los Angeles, California Institute of Technology, and the Los Angeles Business Council.

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