On its way to transitioning to net-zero carbon emissions by 2045, California set a new record earlier this month when its power grid briefly ran on 97% renewable energy.
The California independent system operator said in a statement last week that the state hit the 97% renewable energy mark as of 3:39 p.m. Sunday, April 3, beating the previous record of 96.4%, the one week earlier, Bloomberg reported.
“While these all-time highs are short-lived, they provide a solid demonstration of the progress being made to reliably meet California’s clean energy goals,” said Elliot Mainzer, CEO of the independent California system operator, in a statement.
Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Monday the new record, which was mainly achieved by state production of solar and wind energy.
California has aggressively increased solar and wind power production in recent years, with hopes of generating half of its energy from renewable sources by 2025. State lawmakers continue to draft legislation that accelerates the clean energy transition, with more than 25 bills currently under consideration in the Legislature, the Los Angeles Times reported last month.
Solar installers place solar panels on the roof of a home in San Diego, 2016. (Mike Blake/Reuters)
While Newsom unveiled a $10 billion electric vehicle plan in January to help Californians transition from gas-powered cars to electric cars, and the state wants to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035, clean energy advocates are noting that electricity Electric vehicles should also come from sources that do not emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In 2020, only 33% of the state’s energy came from renewable sources, according to the California Energy Commission.
Since then, however, the country’s most populous state has been working to increase capacity for renewable energy sources.
“In 2021, California was second only to Texas in the nation in total electricity generation from renewable resources, including generation from small-scale solar PV generation,” the US Energy Information Agency says on its website. “California is the nation’s largest producer of solar, geothermal, and biomass power. The state is also the fourth-largest producer of conventional hydroelectric power—after Washington, Oregon, and New York—and the sixth-largest from wind power.”
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Renewable energies are on the rise nationwide. In late March, the US marked another major milestone when electricity generated by wind turbines was the second-highest source in the country over any 24-hour period, according to the Energy Information Agency.
The challenge ahead for California and the US is to ensure that renewable power generation milestones continue to fall regularly. Ashutosh Bhagwat, chairman of the board of governors of the California Independent System Operator, sees last week’s record as an encouraging sign.
“When we see renewable energy peaks like this, we can reimagine what the grid will look like for generations to come,” he said, according to the Sierra Sun Times. “These moments help to flesh out the vision of the modern, efficient and sustainable power grid of the future.”