Making Solar Law and Solar Sausages: How It’s Done in California

There is an old saying attributed to the 19^th century German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck: “Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made.”  This show is about law and sausages in California.

If you ever took a civics or government class in high school or college, you probably learned about how a bill becomes law through a clean and straightforward process.  You might have learned about lobbyists and interests, too, but probably never traced legislation from its origins to its implementation.  The actual process is a good deal more sleazy and arcane than we are taught, and is more like a game of Calvinball, in which the rules are made up as you go along.

My guest on this show is Allie Detrio, Founder and Chief Strategist of Reimagine Power, which she founded. At Reimagine Power, Allie focuses on policy and market strategy for microgrids, distributed energy resources, cleantech, and sustainability in the west coast. She works with clean energy developers, cleantech startups, nonprofits, serves as the representative for the microgrid industry, intervenes in regulatory proceedings, lobbies for bills, writes papers, organizes grassroots support for policy, and serves as a liaison for  many  trade associations. So she is thick in the middle of California law and sausages.