We’re now at an inflection point when it comes to conversations about our sources of energy. Generating stations like the one you see behind me are what we all rely on for the electricity in our homes and in our public spaces. So communities like ours are caught between a rock and hard place; we rely on these generating stations for energy, yet at the same time it’s these very sources of energy that are poisoning our communities, polluting the air, and destroying the planet. This is not due to a lack of alternatives, this is not due to a lack of knowledge in the field of energy, it’s simply due to the lack of political will. That unwillingness- which is bought and paid for by large fossil fuel companies- has given us little time, which gives us little choice but to demand nothing less than a full shutdown of this generating station. Shut it down!

We don’t want answers- we have our answers. The answer is a multi-faceted, multi-trillion dollar Green New Deal. We don’t want you to fix the leak in November, we want you to shut down the entire operation now. But, therein lies the choice we have, which is really no choice at all. Do we want to turn on the lights in our homes, or be poisoned 10,000 cubic feet of methane per hour? Questions like these should have been addressed by our leaders 20 years ago- not now. Indeed, the time is long passed due to elect progressive politicians who will push for and implement a Green New Deal in Congress as soon as possible, but what we see today- smoke filled skies, unprecedented wildfires- is going to get worse even if we overhaul our energy system today. So, as we gather here today, demanding that the Sun Valley Generating Plant be shutdown, let’s also keep in mind that the heatwaves which have been gripping our state already creates stress on our electricity system.

Even this past week there have been shortages and shutoffs. Fossil fuel gas plants, like this one, have gone offline. Make no mistake that as the weather continues to heat up, as the temperature rises, these plants will not be able to produce the same amount of electricity anyways. We will deal with more and more heat waves, and our electricity system, as it is now, will become unreliable.

Let’s start anew today. Let us begin a new era of clean energy in the East San Fernando Valley, and let us jumpstart that new era by shutting down this plant which is, as I speak, is literally poisoning the surrounding community, and fueling the climate crisis at 10,000 cubic feet of methane per hour. If Congress acted today, and spent the kind of money we saw in the 2 trillion dollar CARES Act, we could install enough solar panels by the end of this year to power each and every home in this district, at more than half the cost per megawatt hour. How about, through a federal mandate, we provide sliding-scale grants for low- and moderate-income families and small businesses so they can easily make the switch to these new alternatives? How about we end fossil fuel subsidies, and take that same money and transform it into solar, wind, and water subsidies? How about we stop signing off on fossil fuel infrastructure permits that would allow new generating stations like this one to ever be built again?

These are the answers I’m looking for! I want to make it clear that I stand with the

scientists, engineers, and everyday employees of the energy sector. When I’m in Congress I will work hand in glove with these folks so that we can, together, make sure our communities are powered by clean energy in less than a decade. I will fight to provide the federal resources they too would need for research, deliberations, and training for transitioning our energy grid away from dirty energy.