Los Angeles gets plenty of sunshine, but the city government has
dropped the ball on boosting solar power and other clean-energy
sources. Almost four years after the launch of a $40 million
initiative meant to shift the city toward renewable power
sources, the L.A. Department of Power and Water has increased
the amount of clean energy it produces by less than half a
percentage point, and the city continues to rely on coal,
nuclear power, and natural gas. Tens of thousands of L.A. power
customers signed up to pay about $3 extra per month to support
the development of clean power sources and the purchase of clean
power from other utilities, but they’ve gotten little for their
investment. The Green Power program has resulted in the
installation of only a small number of solar panels and the
opening of one facility that generates a tiny amount of
electricity from landfill gas.