Is Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin stepping on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s toes?

Last week Palin released what the press is calling an “ambitious” renewable energy plan — some even said it’s the “most ambitious” renewable energy plan in the nation — that sets a goal for her state to produce half its energy from renewable sources by 2025.

Whoa, wait a minute there. That’s Arnold’s territory. Will California’s RINO governor be able to share the green spotlight with a GOP star who can legally take the presidential oath of office?

Since the passage of the ridiculously flawed “Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006” during the heat of summer that year, Arnold has been praised for — and touting — his environmental credentials. The act codifies California’s goal to reduce carbon emissions by 25 percent before 2020.

Palin and Arnold have crossed paths on the environment before. Just before John McCain tapped her as his veep pick, Palin asked Schwarzenegger to veto a California bill that would increase fees on cargo containers moving goods into the state’s ports (which he did).

But here’s the kicker. The Alaska plan could actually work, while California’s will likely end up debilitating the state’s economy without even coming close to Palin’s goals.

The Alaska governor — whom Arnold once called “feisty” and “a good looking woman” — summed up the differences, as reported in the Juneau Empire: “Palin said that high quality energy plans that have been developed in the past weren’t put into use, but instead gathered dust on some bureaucrat’s shelf.”

The difference between the two plans is that Palin’s actually explains how the state can switch to renewable sources. Arnold’s doesn’t. Palin’s plan makes sense economically. Arnold’s doesn’t.

His “sweeping” statute left the details to the increasingly powerful Air Resources Board and relies heavily on emissions regulations and the made-up economics of cap-and-trade. The board approved its scoping plan in December under a cloud of controversy and doubts that it won’t destroy the state’s economy. It is still unclear how exactly California will meet its goal.

Here’s how Palin does it:

Palin and energy advisor Steven Haagenson also revealed that the plan isn’t actually a plan for action. Instead, it is a list of resources on which local communities may use to develop their own solutions.

A complete database of community resources brings it to more than 1,000 pages, Haagenson said.

Haagenson acknowledged that was a different approach, but said they actually “avoided” developing a plan, and instead tried to develop something that would work.

The plan identifies resources available in and near communities throughout Alaska, and helps to find ways to make use of them.

Getting to and utilizing those resources will take some capital investment, but will save money in the long run. Consider that last year energy prices spiked some 400 percent in parts of Alaska because of reliance on diesel and other fossil fuels that can only be brought in on barges and airplanes.

Generating energy locally would eliminate the effects of chaotic energy prices, creating a very real economic reason to switch — especially with some help from the state, which Palin says she plans to dole out. From the New York Times:

Experts say that Alaska probably has the country’s best geothermal, wind, tidal and wave resources. But many of these energy sources are hard to tap effectively because they are far from population centers. Still, energy costs in many Alaskan villages are high, providing long-term incentives to switch.

Another advantage Alaska has is the willingness to actually tap those renewable sources. Already some 24 percent of the state’s power comes from renewable sources such as hydropower.

In California, building hydroelectric plants and solar power plants is a bureaucratic and NIMBY nightmare. Just look at the opposition to San Diego Gas & Electric’s attempt to build a power line from a solar plant in the desert to the city where power is needed. The Sierra Club and its pals would do everything they could to stop California from producing even 10 percent of its energy using hydro-electric plants — and Schwarzenegger would bow to them.

Arnold may be the self-titled “green governor,” but Palin’s plan makes more sense. Identifying the state’s resources and providing a roadmap for local communities is a realistic and economically sound path toward energy independence. Imposing goals without a roadmap and relying on excessive regulations is not.

But it’s doubtful Arnold was looking for anything more than the spotlight. And he may have just lost it.