Gov. Jerry Brown signs clean-energy bill

Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed into law a mandate that California get 33% of its electricity from renewable sources by the year 2020, predicting the change will help jump-start the state’s economy.

Brown said he expected that an aggressive shift from coal and natural gas to wind and solar energy sources would help create jobs and put the state on the cutting edge of new technology. "Its about California leading the country. It's America potentially leading the world," Brown said at a signing ceremony Tuesday at a recently opened SunPower/Flextronics solar manufacturing plant in Milpitas.

The governor spoke in the firm's cavernous factory where more than 100 employees make solar panels. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu attended the ceremony and said he saw the new law as a model for other states.

-- Patrick McGreevy