加州能源委員會23日通過新規定，規範公營機構必須長期投資於潔淨發電；公營機構若要向不合乎溫室氣體排放標準的電廠購買電力，將多所限制，例如每仟度（megawatt-hour）電力排放超過1100磅二氧化碳的電廠，州立公營事業不得與其簽訂長期購買契約。
此法是依2006年通過的加州溫室氣體排放標準法所訂定，將幫助加州達成至2020年時，溫室氣體排放量減少25％的目標。
「阿諾州長與立法部門合作，以全國首個排放減量法規，展現清淨未來的遠景，」能源委員會主席芬尼斯特（Jackalyne Pfannenstie）表示，「他大膽的領導風格，確保電力以乾淨方式提供，幫助加州減少碳足跡」。
依據該法律，加州能源委員會必須與公用事業委員會（CPUC）及空氣資源委員會（CARB）共同合作，一同為電廠建立溫室氣體排放標準。芬尼斯特表示，此標準的訂定，已納入對「複循環式天然氣基載電力電廠」（combined-cycle natural gas baseload power plants）的評估，且與CPUC核准的二氧化碳測量法相同。
看準加州的市場，目前西部有數十座新燃煤發電廠正在計劃興建。而燒煤發電所排放的二氧化碳，是複循環式天然氣電廠的兩倍。
新規定並不限制電力以燃煤取得，但卻提出警告，若想得到加州政府的補助，就必須使用乾淨有效能的科技作為電力來源。
Municipal utilities in California must make long-term investments in clean electricity generation under new regulations adopted Wednesday by the California Energy Commission, CEC.
The CEC approved regulations that limit the purchase of electricity from power plants that fail to meet strict greenhouse gas emissions standards. The new rules prohibit the state's publicly owned utilities from entering into long-term financial commitments with plants that exceed 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide, CO2, per megawatt hour.
The rules are required under the state's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Performance Standard Act passed last year and will help California achieve its goal of reducing these emissions by 25 percent by 2020.
"Working with the Legislature, the governor has demonstrated a clear vision with this first-in-the-nation legislation to reduce emissions," said Energy Commission Chairman Jackalyne Pfannenstiel. "His bold leadership is helping to reduce California's carbon footprint by ensuring a clean supply of electricity."
The act directs the Energy Commission, in collaboration with the California Public Utilities Commission, CPUC, and the California Air Resources Board, to establish a greenhouse gas emission performance standard for power plants.
Pfannenstiel says this standard was reached by evaluating existing combined-cycle natural gas baseload power plants across the west and is the same CO2 measurement approved by the CPUC.
Dozens of new coal-fired power plants are in the planning and development stage throughout the West, with their eyes on the California market. Burning coal to produce power with conventional technology emits about twice the main greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, as a typical combined cycle natural gas power plant.
The new regulations do not rule out electricity from coal, but they signal the industry to employ cleaner and more efficient technologies if they want California financing.
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