A November ballot measure to boost the amount of renewable energy generated by California utilities has attracted a wildly diverse group of opponents - from the Natural Resources Defense Council to the Democratic Party and Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

"It's kind of like I'm uniting every warring group in the state," said Jim Gonzalez, the former San Francisco supervisor who's behind Proposition 7, the Solar and Clean Energy Act of 2008.

The opposition comes as a surprise to Gonzalez and Peter Sperling, son of John Sperling, the billionaire founder of University of Phoenix and a longtime supporter of liberal causes. Peter Sperling already has put $3 million into the initiative campaign.

The measure requires all California utilities to generate at least half their power from alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, biomass and geothermal by 2025, (more...)