A $5 billion bond to fund alternative and renewable fuels qualified for the November state ballot June 10. If approved, the state would pay $325 million in annual bond costs over three decades, the California Secretary of State stated the same day. The engine behind the Alternative Fuel Vehicles and Renewable Energy initiative is Texas oilman and former takeover artist T. Boone Pickens. The company he founded in 1996, Clean Energy, provided most of the $1.5 million needed to qualify the measure for the upcoming ballot. Clean Energy, which is based in Seal Beach in Orange County, touts itself as the largest provider of natural gas for transportation in North America. Renewable advocates generally have not yet taken a position on the measure. The ballot initiative would authorize the sale of bonds to provide rebates to motorists and businesses that buy high mileage and alternative fueled vehicles that cut greenhouse gas emissions. It also would provide research and development funding for low carbon fuels and money to train the labor force to work in the alternative fuels field. It allocates the funds in the following way: -Just under 60 percent of the funds would be used to pay drivers between $2,000 and $50,000 to offset the cost of fuel efficient cars; -One fifth of the money would be dedicated to research, development and production of renewable energy technology; -One tenth of the funds would be spent on alternative transportation fuel R&D; -Five percent would be used as incentives to purchase renewable power; -Four percent would go for grants to eight cities for alternative fuels education; and, -Three percent would be earmarked for grants to colleges for clean energy technology training. If passed by voters, the state could face up to $10 million in administrative costs which are not funded by the measure, according to the Secretary of State. Pickens is Clean Energy’s largest shareholder, according to the company’s website.
