Prop. 23 would push wind-energy producers to the side in favor of continued oil profits
Forgive the pun, but having worked to move the wind-energy industry forward for more than 30 years, I'm blown away that two Texas oil companies are spending millions on a ballot measure to kill California's clean-energy and air-pollution-control standards.
For nearly three decades, our company has been providing energy to California by tapping one of our cleanest natural resources: the wind. We operate 60 megawatts of wind turbines in Kern County, between Tehachapi and the Mojave Desert.
It is no coincidence that California has the world's largest wind-turbine collections, currently generating enough clean energy to provide the annual power needs of more than 800,000 homes. This investment in renewable energy is made possible by the state's ambitious clean-energy policies, which provide a strong, long-lasting market signal to companies like mine.
And that's a market signal Texas oil companies do not want to hear. Their dirty energy ballot proposition -- Proposition 23 -- will allow polluters to avoid our state's clean-energy standards, kill competition and jobs from California's emerging clean-technology companies, and keep us addicted to dirty, costly oil.
While these two out-of-state oil companies have not only exported $9 billion in profits from their operations in California, they have also violated dozens of pollution laws within the past three years. Their reasons for supporting Prop. 23 are not about saving jobs; their deception is based on the fact that they do not want to play by the rules and keep their profits in check.
This ballot measure would cause irreparable damage to our growing clean-energy and clean-technology sectors. Last year, while other sectors saw little or no investment, the clean-technology sector in California received $2.1 billion -- 60 percent of the total in North America. Clean-tech venture capital investments in the Golden State now total nearly $10 billion since 2006, about five times more than our nearest competitor, and more than all other states combined. That's a huge amount of money pouring into our communities, spurring innovation and creating jobs.
The Wall Street Journal's recent first survey of clean-technology companies found seven of the top 10 firms are in California. Three of the top five cities in the U.S. for clean-tech are located in California, including San Diego, which was recently named the nation's top city to start a clean-tech venture.
These are exciting times for clean-energy companies like mine. We started building our first wind farm in California in 1982, and we have worked hard to build this industry here and across the country since then. Our industry now employs thousands of Californians, giving them jobs in construction and operation of this clean-energy source.
Clean-technology companies, investors, politicians and traditional business entities around the globe are looking to California as a leader of innovation. The clean-tech industry has continued to show an ability to think outside the box, create new opportunities for economic recovery and provide safe, clean energy.
If we let the Texas oil companies have their way, companies like mine would be pushed to the side as other countries and states take on this valued leadership role. Job creation, investment in California companies and the health of Californians would be put in jeopardy.
We must protect the state's clean-air and clean-energy standards by saying no to Prop. 23, the Texas Oil Companies' Dirty Energy Proposition.
Ed Duggan is executive vice president for Oak Creek Energy Systems Inc., a wind energy pioneer that started development in Tehachapi in 1982 and is now headquartered in Escondido. Duggan has been a resident of Tehachapi since 1987.
