By Dian Grueneich, Theresa Cho, and Paul Esformes (8/2/2011; 5 pages) 

California's Renewable Energy Resources Act was signed into law in April, updating the state's renewable portfolio standard to require sellers of electricity to obtain 33 percent of their annual retail sales from renewable sources by 2020. The authors review the requirements of the updated standard, the first state RPS to exceed 30 percent; implications for developers of renewable energy; and the challenges of a program that attempts to balance cost containment and aggressive renewable targets.