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.
