National Energy Policy Taps California Experience

By Ed Joyce / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published January 21, 2009 at 2:45 AM PST

This story was published more than 15 years ago.

California is one of the state's expected to benefit from the incoming Obama Administration's energy policies. The state's new law creating low-interest financing for solar installations may get a boo

California is one of the state's expected to benefit from the incoming Obama Administration's energy policies. The state's new law creating low-interest financing for solar installations may get a boost with federal incentives. KPBS Environmental Reporter Ed Joyce explains.

President Barack Obama talked about harnessing the sun's energy in his inauguration speech.

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Spurring the development of renewable energy is expected to create jobs while reducing the country's dependence on imported oil.

Andrew McAllister is with the California Center For Sustainable Energy.

He says California's efforts to tap renewable energy will help guide national efforts.

McAllister: California's been doing a lot of the experimenting and a lot of the bold policy moves on how to make clean energy work, with much success. Now that Stephen Chu from Berkeley Labs and a number of other policy folks are headed to Washington from California, I think California's experience really will be playing a large part in the formation of the national policy agenda on energy.

McAllister says federal incentives combined with a new California law to provide low-interest financing, would make converting to solar more affordable.

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Ed Joyce, KPBS News.

Ed Joyce

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Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.

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