David R. Baker, Business Reporter - SFGate

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David R. BakerBusiness Reporter

David Baker covers energy, clean tech, electric vehicles and self-driving cars for the San Francisco Chronicle. He joined the paper in 2000 after spending five years in Southern California reporting for the Los Angeles Times and the...

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The Chronicle

Electric school buses charge at the transportation services station in Sacramento, California, Friday, December 15, 2017. The buses require several hours to obtain a full charge and are plugged in immediately after a route.

Goodbye, diesel: California school buses drive toward electric age

January 16, 2018

FILE - This April 15,2013 file photo shows the hazy skyline of Los Angeles seen from Mount Wilson, Calif. A sensor atop the Los Angeles County mountain has found that methane emissions in the area are up to 61 percent higher than government estimates. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

California sues Trump administration over global-warming gas rules

December 19, 2017

Fires burn across Romero Canyon hillside in Montecito, California, north of Santa Barbara on December 12, 2017. Crews battling wildfires ravaging southern California for a week have managed to slow the spread of the worst of the blazes, officials said, as residents were taking stock of the catastrophic damage. The biggest 'Thomas' fire has charred nearly 95,000 hectares (234,000 acres) of land and is only 20 percent contained, according to the state agency. / AFP PHOTO / FREDERIC J. BROWNFREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

PG&E; considers cutting power amid Bay Area fire warning

December 15, 2017

Michael Shellenberger at his Berkley home on Thurs. January 28, 2016, in Berkeley, Calif. Shellenberger is the co-founder of an environmentalist group that is banding together to save the Diablo Canyon Nuclear power plant from shutting down.

Pro-nuke activist from Berkeley to run for California governor

November 30, 2017

Wendy Paskino, left, and Frank Jordan.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (December 3, 2007) � The iconic Cybill Shepherd will make her San Francisco stage debut in the new comedy Curvy Widow by Bobby Goldman. The new solo show, directed by Scott Schwartz, will play San Francisco�s Post Street Theatre (450 Post Street, 2nd floor) for a very limited engagement beginning Thursday, January 24, 2008 and continuing through Sunday, March 9, 2008. Opening Night is set for Sunday, February 3, 2008.

Deborah Strobin hosted the party at Tommy Toy's in San Francisco, 21 January 2008

Former SF mayor to sue PG&E; over Wine Country fires

November 13, 2017

FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2017 file photo, a Pacific Gas & Electric crew works at restoring power along the Old Redwood Highway in Santa Rosa, Calif. A report says California utilities have delayed efforts for nearly a decade to map where power lines pose the greatest wildfire risk. The report Sunday, Oct. 22, in The Mercury News comes as the state investigates whether downed power lines owned by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. sparked the deadliest wildfires in California history. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

Wildfire victims could see easier utility billing process

November 7, 2017

An American flag was placed inside the broken out back window of a burned out vehicle in the Coffey Park neighborhood, a week after the start of the massive fires in Santa Rosa, Ca. as seen on Monday October 16, 2017.

Can utilities make customers pay wildfire costs? Regulators delay decision

November 7, 2017

PG&E continues to repair the power across the area, here in the Wikiup neighborhood, a week after the start of the massive fires in Santa Rosa, Ca. as seen on Monday October 16, 2017.

Proposed bill would block utilities from passing wildfire costs to customers

November 3, 2017

SANTA ROSA, CA - OCTOBER 13: PG&E workers work to repair power lines in the Coffey Park neighborhood following the damage caused by the Tubbs Fire on Oct. 13, 2017 in Santa Rosa, California. Twenty four people have died in wildfires that have burned tens of thousands of acres and destroyed over 3,500 homes and businesses in several Northern California counties. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)

PG&E; reports from fire zones show toppled trees, downed lines, broken poles

October 31, 2017

Pro-union Tesla employees rally outside the company's auto factory on Oct. 24. The United Auto Workers filed a complaint Wednesday with federal authorities accusing Tesla of firing workers for supporting the union.

UAW complaint alleges Tesla fired employees for backing union

October 26, 2017

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