Study: Energy Demand to Increase

A new study released Thursday reveals the economic impacts of different strategies to meet California's energy demand.

USC hosted "Powering California,"a statewide forum, which revealed three options to meet California's energy needs in the upcoming decades while providing cost-benefit analyses for each option.

"There are some real opportunities for developing oil and gas resources in the state because these resources generate a lot of profits," said Timothy Considine, director of the Center on Energy Economics and Public Policy of the University of Wyoming.

The three options include increasing energy imports, accelerating renewables and replacing oil and gas imports with in-state oil and gas production.

According to the study, energy demand will continue to grow by one percent a year, or 63 percent by 2050 due to growing residential, commercial and industrial population.

The study predicts that renewables will provide most of California's energy in the future, but currently only a fourth of the state's energy is from renewables.

Considine says the empolyment gains in solar energy are great in the short run, but poor in the long run as the companies have to pay higher electricity bills. He says the glitches should be worked out by engineers but for now it doesn't provide the most economic profit for the state.