- May 1, 2024
- Uncategorized
- Minute Read
California’s renewable energy sector is producing results on a scale that has never been seen before.
As of April 22, wind, solar, and hydro power have combined to exceed 100% of the energy demand on California’s main grid on 38 of the past 46 days.
While renewables are still not producing enough energy to power the state around the clock, this marks the first time that a state’s renewable energy grid has been able to repeatedly reach or exceed 100% of main grid energy needs over any significant period of time. Production has exceeded demand for varying lengths of time ranging from a quarter hour to several hours per day.
“On April 22nd (Earth Day), Stanford University professor of civil and environmental engineering Mark Z. Jacobson noted on Twitter (X) that the state exceeded 100% of energy demand for 4.5 hours that day, reaching a peak of 109.6%.”
California also boasts the world’s largest grid-connected battery storage facility, which will play an integral role in seamlessly delivering clean energy around the clock.
The California Independent System Operator (ISO) recently recommended 26 new transmission projects worth $6.1 billion, with a heavy emphasis on offshore wind. Numerous initiatives are also underway to expand solar generation capabilities across the state, including efforts to repurpose targeted tracts of groundwater-challenged farmland that is either currently fallow or is at risk of becoming fallow.
On April 4th, Professor Jacobson predicted that California will be running entirely on renewables and battery storage by 2035. That would beat the state’s ambitious 2045 deadline for achieving net zero carbon energy production by a full decade.
This would be a major step forward for renewable energy, and the expansion of community solar projects will need to play a central role.
