Silicon Valley Clean Energy to provide cleaner energy in California starting April

Today, the common American may be uncertain about the future of environmental reforms as a result of the current administration’s stance on climate change. Meanwhile, energy companies like Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) have been working to implement electricity sourced from energy plants that emit no greenhouse gases.

The new program by SVCE involves purchasing cleaner energy sourced from exclusively solar, wind, and hydroelectric power plants and having Pacific Gas and Electric Company, otherwise known as PG&E, distribute it to areas like Saratoga for customers’ electrical needs.

In a hypothetical example, the energy is bought by SVCE from a wind power plant somewhere in California and distributed to the power grid. From there, PG&E will supply houses with electricity while still being responsible for all the infrastructure necessary.

“There’s only one set of wires behind your house, and PG&E owns those wires. If PG&E says that Saratoga can provide electricity, but Saratoga has to put up all its own wires, then there can never be any competition to PG&E,” said Miller.

For Saratoga, small and medium businesses, along with 20 percent of residential buildings, will be automatically switched over to the new program in April, followed by the remaining infrastructure in July. Those who prefer to stay with the natural gas sourced energy PG&E purchases can opt out of the automatic transition.

Approximately half of SVCE energy is sourced from wind and solar power plants, while the other half is sourced from hydroelectric power. On the other hand, PG&E utilizes 25-28 percent natural gas with nuclear making up another 22 percent and various other sources making up the remaining percentage.

The main benefits and reason for SVCE energy is that it’s “cleaner” energy, as the power plants it is sourced from emit no greenhouse gases and are far more renewable than typical PG&E  energy sources such as oil or coal, which are only 30 percent renewable and 60 percent greenhouse gas free.

"By placing 100 percent carbon-free energy onto the grid, Silicon Valley Clean Energy will reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from carbon-emitting sources of electricity generation, such as natural gas,” said SVCE CEO Tom Habashi in an email to the Saratoga Falcon. “This will have a positive impact for our air quality, which also helps the environment in other ways, including improving water quality.

Furthermore, SVCE energy will not be more expensive than the old PG&E, as the costs will be either equal, or less than PG&E electricity.

“About half the fees on the energy bill are fixed, and the rest are cheaper than PG&E, so at best, you’ll save two or $3 a month on the new SVCE energy plan,” said Saratoga City Council member Howard Miller said.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Wang also approves of the city council decisions to promote environmentally friendly energy.

“This is an important step toward permanently shifting from greenhouse gases to cleaner, more sustainable sources of energy that will help ensure the safety and well-being of our and future generations,” Wang said. “Hopefully other communities will also begin implementing similar programs.”